Technology,

social change
and
the future of
government
“to prophesy is
difficult –
especially about the
future”

- chinese proverb
my point:
new ways to organize
new expectations
new structures
1
new ways to
organize
new economics of
organizing
big
organization size

small

high low

transaction costs of cooperating

 Coasean Ceiling:
upper limit of
an organizations size…

high low

transaction costs of cooperating

 (government
& non-profit)

(private
Sector)

high low

transaction costs of cooperating

high low virtually zero?

transaction costs of cooperating

high low virtually zero?

transaction costs of cooperating

 (government)

?
(private
Sector)

high low virtually zero?

transaction costs of cooperating

example
space flight
April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin
April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin

(May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard)

April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin

(May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard)

June 21, 2004 Mike Melvill

SpaceShipOne
April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin

(May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard)

June 21, 2004 Mike Melvill

SpaceShipOne

Today, DirectLauncher
 (government)

(private
Sector)

High Low virtually zero?

transaction costs of cooperating

example
 open source
(public policy)
 Robin Rix, lead author
1
1
Robin Rix, lead author

national conference attendees

40
Robin Rix, lead author

national conference attendees

40

regional conference
attendees

100s
Robin Rix, lead author

National conference attendees

120
regional conference attendees

100s
supporters

1000s
Robin Rix, lead author

national conference attendees

regional conference attendees
100s

supporters
1000s readers

10,000+
 open
&
participatory
the long tail
 the long tail
of public policy
government of canada’s
knowledge/capacity
 thinktanks
knowledge/capacity
everybody else
an academic
you
your your
me mom neighbour
example
IDRC
inWent

me
example
program delivery
(health care!)
911
police/ambulance/fire

citizens
key points
1. costs of (self) organizing
are dropping
1. costs of (self) organizing
are dropping

2. knowledge outside your

organization is greater than
that inside
1. costs of (self) organizing
are dropping

2. knowledge outside your

organization is greater than
that inside

3. new successful
organizations architect
themselves for participation
2
new expectations
The Mozilla project is a global community
of people who believe that openness,
innovation, and opportunity are key to
the continued health of the Internet.
public benefit
The Mozilla project is a global community
of people who believe that openness,
innovation, and opportunity are key to
the continued health of the Internet.
 emergent,
citizen/consumer lead
response to a
regulatory crisis
new ways of organizing
open source
 Mike Beltzner, developer
1
1
Mike Beltzner, Developer

Firefox development team

120
Mike Beltzner, developer

firefox development team

120

daily contributors

100s
Mike Beltzner, developer

firefox development team

120
daily contributors

100s
weekly contributors

1000s
Mike Beltzner, Developer

firefox development team

daily contributors
100s

weekly contributors
1000s
beta testers

500,000
Mike Beltzner, Developer

firefox development team

daily contributors
weekly contributors
beta testers

500,000

daily users
120 million
self-organized
trust busting?
new ways of organizing
creates
new expectations
new ways of organizing
creates
new expectations
citizens
public servants
government
<citizens>
intuitive
adaptive
useful
<employees>
tools
allow users to
 communicate
quickly
and
to create,
repurpose, remix
and share
 in short.
to self-organize
wiki = chaos?
version control?
wiki ≠ chaos
wiki = control
http://direct.srv.gc.ca/cgi-bin/direct500/TE?FN=index.htm
http://direct.srv.g
c.ca/cgi-
bin/direct500/TE?FN
=index.htm
this is an HTTP
address that
screams
don’t find me
don’t use me
http://geds.gc.ca
http://directory.gc.ca
open architecture
Health
Canada

other
ministries
Health
Canada

other
ministries
Government
of Canada

citizens
Government
of Canada

citizens
ambulance

citizens
ambulance

citizens
transparency
objectivity = credibility
objectivity = credibility
“we want to see the
discussion”
-David Weinberger
vs
vs

vs
objectivity ≠ credibility
transparency = credibility
vs

vs

?
?
key points
1. the public service ≠ public
service (companies, orgs,
citizens)
1. the public service ≠ public
service (companies, orgs,
citizens)

2. I (citizen, public servant,

volunteer, etc..) will go
where I’m effective/leveraged
1. the public service ≠ public
service (companies, orgs,
citizens)

2. I (citizen, public servant,

volunteer, etc..) will go
where I’m effective/leveraged

3. credibility = transparency
3
new structures
social stresses can
arise out of the
uneven rates of
change in different
sectors of society
- William Ogburn
Policy lead

Policy team
department contributors
government contributors
public contributors

10,000+

Citizens
32 million
policy lead

policy team
department contributors
100s

government contributors
1000s contributors

10,000+
policy lead

5 policy team
department contributors

100s
government
contributors

1000s
policy lead

5
policy team
department contributors

100s
1
policy lead

policy team
5
 policy lead
1
executive
line
executive
line

Public Access?
Schopenhauer’s three
stages of any new
‘truth’
first, it is
ridiculed.
 second, it is
violently opposed.
 third, it is accepted
as being self-evident.
we have been here
before

the structure has

changed
public service:
pre-1905
public service:
1945
public service:
1970
public service:
2009
GCpedia
NRCan
 if you don’t
someone else will
www.google.com/transit
8,044,279
key points
1. the gap between the public
service and everyone else
cannot last
1. the gap between the public
service and everyone else
cannot last

2. small adjustments could

yield disruptive outcomes
1. the gap between the public
service and everyone else
cannot last

2. small adjustments could

yield disruptive outcomes

3. it has already begun

 David Eaves
david@eaves.ca
www.eaves.ca

This work is copyrighted using Creative Commons

Attribution 2.5

You may share and remix this work on the

condition that you attribute the work to its
original author.
 thank you’s
Re-mixes & Attributions Lecture made possible by
Mike Beltzner - Slides 67-73 Health Canada
Mark Surman - Slides 60, 61, 166

Re-mixed ideas Key readings

Clay Shirky Here Comes Everybody
Alvin Tofler Future Shock
David Weinberger Everything is Miscellaneous
Chris Anderson The Long Tail
Mike Beltzner
Mark Surman

Websites
http://www.directlauncher.com/
http://www.xprize.org/
http://www.canada25.com
http://www.inwent.org/index.php.en
http://www.ict-innovation.fossfa.net/
http://www.mozilla.org
http://www.wikipedia.org
http://ioptout.ca