My frank and fearless presentation on the state of Government digital engagement in Australia, covering the good, the bad and the ugly.

1. Open government &
Gov 2.0 in Australia
Craig Thomler
July 2013

2. Who am I?

3. 93%
99%
99%
100%
97%
99%
98%
65+ yrs
50-64yrs
40-49yrs
14-39yrs
Female
Male
Total
Australians online
Source: Sensis Social Media Report May 2012

4. Source: Sensis Social Media Report May 2012
38%
62%
38%
62%
Never
Use social media
2011 2012
Australian social media use

5. 38%
6%
19%
36%
38%
9%
24%
30%
Never
Less than weekly
Weekly
Everyday
2011 2012
Australian social media use
Source: Sensis Social Media Report May 2012

6. 2006 – Australian Bureau of Statistics begins releasing
data under Creative Commons
2007 – First mention of Gov 2.0 by an Aussie public
servant / First public sector Twitter account
2008 – eGovAU blog started
2009 – Gov 2.0 Taskforce / MashUp Australia data
competition / data.gov.au beta / Draft social
media use guidance for public servants
2010 – Government accepts majority of Gov 2.0
Taskforce report / Open Government declaration
(last act of retiring Minister)
Timeline: Gov 2.0 in Australia

7. 2010 - GovSpace launched / Grog exposed in media
(120+ articles). Agency allows him to keep
blogging, but no public statement is made
2011 – ‘Final’ APS social media guidance embedded in
Code of Conduct / Production data.gov.au site
released / Revised FOI laws come into effect,
pro-disclosure bias / Australian Government
adopts Creative Commons licensing by default
2012 – First GovHack (privately run)
Gov 2.0 agenda declared complete by
responsible agency
Timeline: Gov 2.0 in Australia

8. THE END(well not really)

9. • No whole-of-government agenda/goals or
measurement.
• No political support from Prime Minister.
• No responsible Minister overseeing agenda.
• Review of FOI underway with brief to reduce
disclosure.
• Parliamentarian expenses/activities ruled to be FOI
exempt.
Australian Gov 2.0 today

10. • Social media adoption in government still growing.
• Work continuing on open data agenda (unfunded).
• First Departmental Secretary on Twitter.
• Gov 2.0 primer released.
• Most states moving towards digital first strategy.
• Cloud normalised in government procurement.
• Australia joined the Open Government Partnership.
• GovHack 2013 – 1,000 developers, 6 jurisdictions.
• No public sector social media disasters.
But it’s not all bad…

11. Aussie government
use of social media

12. Community internet
use: 98%
Use social media:
• 62% of Australians
• 73% of Federal
agencies
• 72% of Federal
politicians
The social media majority

13. In mid-2012:
73%
of Australian Government agencies
reported using social media for
official purposes
The social media majority
Source: Craig Thomler – FOI request May 2012

14. Use Share of
responses
For stakeholder engagement or collaboration 54.24%
Operating an information campaign 42.37%
Responding to customer enquiries/comments/complaints 42.37%
For engaging with journalists and media outlets 40.68%
For engagement or collaboration with other government agencies 40.68%
Monitoring citizen, stakeholder and/or lobbyist views and activities 28.81%
For a public consultation process 27.12%
For a stakeholder or other restricted access consultation 22.03%
Other type of activity (i.e. recruitment, crowdsourcing, staff) 18.64%
For policy or services co-design 11.86%
How social media is being used

15. Over 1,500 online consultations in last four years
Over 880 Twitter accounts
Over 120 agency blogs
Over 350 Facebook pages
Over 300 agency mobile apps
Over 200 agency YouTube channels
Held 13 data competitions
Now 7 open data sites
All levels of Aus government

16. Growth in Twitter use

17. Government as media

18. Government as convenor

19. Government as platform

20. Crowdsourcing

21. • Australian Governments are better at using social
media than corporate Australia (but often think they
are worse).
• Has begun positively influencing policy development
and service delivery as a broader cross-section of
public servants recognise the value of social listening
and iterative design.
Outcomes so far

22. • Social media increasingly business as usual for
agencies and integrated as core in communications
planning.
• Social media broadening beyond comms and IT teams,
reaching broader public service.
• Best practice case studies now exist at all levels of
government.
• Gov 2.0 / Social Media groups for public servants
growing in many jurisdictions.
The good…

23. • No political leadership or mandate – Ministers even
asking agencies to close down social media
accounts/blogs to avoid potential risks.
• Limited talent pool in public sector – few public
servants with more than 2-3 years experience
establishing & managing social media accounts.
• Patchy support within and across agencies – few
senior champions.
• Limited training, support, mentoring available for
agencies or staff – some signs this might change.
The bad…

24. • States & Commonwealth pursuing own agendas.
• Code of Conduct social media guidance has gray
areas, causing concern and restraining social media
use by some public servants.
• Coalition (potentially next government) has instructed
members to avoid social media.
• Only 1/3 of Commonwealth public servants can access
social media services from work PCs.
• Secretaries Board mandated agencies “must use more
social media” – lack of clarity on what this means!
The ugly…

25. • Social media / Gov 2.0 works best as a horizontal, not
vertical, skillset in government.
• Cooperation is better than competition within gov.
• Gov 2.0 can be driven from the grassroots, but it is far
slower and more painful without senior support.
• Lack of skilled staff is No.1 barrier to more effective
use of social media – not money or mandate.
• Ask for forgiveness, not permission.
• Good change management makes Gov 2.0 stick.
My thoughts and learnings

26. • eGovernment Resource Centre: egov.vic.gov.au
• Innovation showcase: showcase.govspace.gov.au
• GovSpace: govspace.gov.au
• AGIMO blog: agimo.gov.au/blog/
• Trove: trove.nla.gov.au
• Video: Dumb ways to die (Vic Metro)
• iPhone: Run That Town (ABS)
Good examples of Aussie 2.0

27. Questions…
Craig Thomler
craig@delib.net
@CraigThomler
http://eGovAU.blogspot.com
www.delib.net/australia/
@Delibaunz