Brookings Press Blog

Darrell West and Beth Noveck to Speak on Government 2.0 at the National Archives

On Thursday, November 5, the National Archives in Washington, D.C. will host the Fifth Annual William G. McGowan Forum on Communications, Technology, and Government. Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies at Brookings and the author of Digital Medicine, will chair a panel discussion on “Web 2.0 Technologies and Participatory Democracy.” The other participants will include Beth Simone Noveck, U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Open Government, and author of Wiki Government; Mark H. Webbink, visiting professor of law, New York Law School, and executive director, Center for Patent Innovations; Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder, Public Knowledge; and Jason R. Baron, director of litigation, National Archives and Records Administration.

- Learn more about the event

Government goes ‘wiki’ in the 21st century

Beth Noveck, U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer, launches discussion on emergent online democracy

In an event hosted by the Markle Foundation, Beth Simone Noveck, author of Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful, led a 50-plus person discussion in New York City while the rest of the world connected via satellite to the MacArthur Island conference amphitheater in Second Life. This could very much be the model for modern government in the near future. Noveck, who is the Obama administration’s deputy Chief Technology Officer for the Open Government initiative, led a 30-minute discussion on ways the public can use emerging technologies and social media to govern, address, and solve problems more effectively. With the rise of multimedia networks such as YouTube, Twitter, and even blogs, Noveck believes that government can also tap into the emerging resource that connects the government to more citizens and broadens the prospects of open government.

In a visionary, yet pragmatic way, Wiki Government explains how the vision of a true democratic government can be transformed into reality and reveals the ways an innovative government can tackle the needs and opportunities of the 21st century.

- Learn more about Wiki Government

- Read articles on the event from the Markle Foundation and Second Life

Beth Noveck interviewed on government transparency

Author discusses transparency as means of driving innovation with Government Technology

With the White House blog publishing new posts nearly every day and the accompanying Twitter feed boasting more than 670,000 followers, it seems that the “open government initiative” may be succeeding. In a July 6 interview with Steve Towns, editor of the news collective Government Technology, Beth Noveck discussed local, state, and federal governments’ current transparency efforts in a digital age. Noveck, author of Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful, cited the blog and Twitter feed for the Office of Science and Technology Policy as one example of the successful integration of technology and government issues. On the simplicity and ease with which governments can utilize technology, Noveck had the following to say:

“Many of these tools are cheap. They're free. They're easy to maintain. It's just a matter of being ready and willing to put a toe in the water and say, ‘We're going to try this, and we're going to see what works for us and really try to adapt new innovations.’”

- Learn more about Wiki Government

- Read and watch the full interview with Beth Noveck

Innovation in Government

Video and audio now available

You can now watch video clips and listen to the entire audio transcript from Wednesday's "Innovation in Government" event at Brookings.

Event: Innovation in Government

How to make the public sector faster, smarter and more connected

The Obama administration recently launched a long-awaited Open Government Initiative, which invites citizens to submit ideas via the Internet for creating a more transparent, collaborative and participatory government. Few developments have had broader consequences for the public sector than the introduction of the Internet and digital technology. When used in the public sector, technology has the potential to make democracy stronger and enable governments to meet citizens’ needs more simply, quickly and efficiently.

On June 17, Brookings will host an event on how new technology can make the public sector perform faster and smarter. Brookings Vice President and Director of Governance Studies Darrell West will release a new study, “Comparing Technology Innovation in the Private and Public Sectors.” West, coauthor of Digital Medicine: Health Care in the Internet Era with Edward Alan Miller, will be joined by Beth Simone Noveck, New York University Law Professor, deputy chief technology officer of the White House Office of Open Government and author of Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful, and Carmen Sirianni, author of Investing in Democracy: Engaging Citizens in Collaborative Governance. After the program, panelists will take audience questions.

- Learn more about the event and register to attend

- Learn more about Digital Medicine, Wiki Government, and Investing in Democracy

Author in the News: Beth Noveck

Open Government

Wiki Government author Beth Noveck was recently quoted in the Washington Post about the creation of new online tools that allow citizens to participate in crafting policies and accessing traditionally hard-to-find government data:

“This whole process is premised on the notion that people are smart and they have things to share," said Noveck, a law professor who was a technology advisor to Obama's transition team before joining the White House staff. "It's an important step in creating opportunities for citizens to engage with the government and co-create policy."

Noveck helped to develop the tools in her new role as deputy Chief Technology Officer in the White House Office of Science and Technology. She will lead President Obama’s Open Government Initiative.

- Read more about the Open Government Initiative at Government Technology and at Nextgov

- View Noveck’s interview on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal

- Learn more about Wiki Government

Darrell West on Huffington Post

Digital Medicine

Today’s Huffington Post featured “Expanding Health Information Technology" by Darrell West:

"Armed with $19 billion in new money from America's Recovery and Reinvestment Act, [President Obama's] administration hopes to employ health information technology to improve medical treatment, cut costs by reducing errors and redundancies, and empower patients by giving them control over their own medical records."

West is VP and Director of Governance Studies at Brookings and co-author with Edward A. Miller of the newly released Digital Medicine: Health Care in the Internet Era.

- Read "Expanding Health Information Technology" on HuffPo

- Learn more about Digital Medicine, the book