Disruptive Proactivity

I’m have some interesting conversations recently.

We’re somewhat over a year into the transparency plans of the coalition. The second transparency letter is out; to general underwhelm. It’s got good stuff in it, but it was all about future potential, good, great potential, but potential. The very low hanging fruit were done by the labour government when this started; the medium fruit done over the last year; and now, it’s the stuff that needs the scaffolding to reach. And no one’s quite sure yet how muddy and soggy the ground is.

Using an example of LinkedGov, it started a year ago with meetings, conversations, and discussions; and really began as a funded project 12 months ago with 2 people. I don’t know how many meetings they each had a week; but some days it was double figures. They finally got funding for programmers in August.

Building a pebble castle on a beach is doable in an afternoon; but LinkedGov is being built of of Granite and Steel on concrete foundations, anchored to Bonar’s Bollards in the core of Whitehall. An invaluable use of time, resources, with a focus on sustainability and longevity. If it looks like it has more staff than 2 (both of whom work on multiple things), it’s because Hadley has secretly perfected the art of being in multiple places at once. I’m not entirely sure I’m joking.

As Tom Steinberg said at OGDcamp 2010, we need to deliver on the open data promise; but we’re being asked to measure the wrong thing.

If we want to look at new business, at tax revenue, and that sort of structure; it’s still too early. Those organisations are starting to exist, but most new projects come out of existing projects. Newly formed successful organisations are rare. And even if they did exist, it takes time to get to size, and small businesses get tax breaks – so don’t measure that form of tax revenue (other forms may work though).

There are many other options.

If open data is to be a success in the short and medium term, there should be some focus on quick solutions that meet the priorities of those who will decide how much more we get.

One such option, is peering into the haze that is large scale contracts. They’re often expensive, and somewhat confusing. But as one advocate of government transparency said, “Follow the money”.

What would it take to require all large contractors to produce organograms of their public-money-sourced spending on the same basis as the Civil Service do?

The NSF/NIH star metrics programme shows what great benefits that can bring. The UK should do the same.