effective decision-making or problem-solving; Does not work because lack of time, education, and motivation; Is a sham because decisions are ultimately made by government officials; Will never work because government officials are not willing to admit they need help; Could even increase corruption, bias and regulatory capture; Is limited by a policymaking process where public engagement simply ratifies decisions after the fact rather than shaping key inputs; Reflects a naïve belief in the potential of technology to solve intractable problems; and Only helps to solve minor problems in lieu of the really hard to solve wicked problems.
a city? Properly acquired, integrated, and analyzed, data can: Take government beyond imperfect understanding Better (and more efficient) operations, better planning, better policy Improve governance and citizen engagement Enable the private sector to develop new services for citizens, governments, firms Enable a revolution in the social sciences Infrastructure Condition, operations Environment Meteorology, pollution, noise, flora, fauna People Relationships, location, activities, health, nutrition, opinions, economic /communications NYU CUSP, “The Promise of Urban Informatics.”
Administrative records (census, permits, …) Transactions (sales, communications, …) Operational (traffic, transit, utilities, health system, …) New and social media (Twitter feeds, blog posts, Facebook, …) Sensors Personal (location, activity, physiological) Fixed in situ sensors Crowd sourcing (mobile phones, …) Choke points (people, vehicles) Opportunities for “novel” sensor technologies Visible, infrared and spectral imagery RADAR, LIDAR Gravity and magnetic Seismic, acoustic Ionizing radiation, biological, chemical NYU CUSP, “The Promise of Urban Informatics.”
red-light cameras 761 speed trap cameras 300 million mobile phones 494,151 cell towers 1/3 of large police forces equip patrol cars with automatic license plate readers that can check 1,000 plates per minute ~ 400,000 ATMs record video of all transactions NYU CUSP, “The Promise of Urban Informatics.”
Implementation Focus on implementation not just publication Connect data to problems Identify relevant data from other sources to mash up Remember data isn’t just numbers Develop an ecosystem of solvers Let people surprise you
with Talent Going Beyond the Usual Suspects Building New Constituencies of Supporters Sustaining Your Mandate Post-Election Spotting Problems Faster Finding More Creative Solutions Developing New Ways to Implement Real Changes Why Do It: Advantages of Crowdsourcing
by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly towards it.” President Kennedy
will not suffice.” Kurt Lewin, 1945 Our Mission The Governance Lab (The GovLab) strives to strengthen the ability of people and institutions to work together to solve problems, make decisions, resolve conflict and govern themselves more effectively and legitimately. We design technology, policy and strategies for fostering more open and collaborative approaches to governance and we test what works. Our Hypothesis We believe that when institutions open themselves to diverse participation and collaborative problem solving, those institutions are more effective and the Improving people’s lives by changing how we govern http://livinglabs.thegovlab.org/
objective Scan the environment Establish the metrics Formulate the evaluation criteria Design Scope the solution Prototypes, Wireframes and Mockups Use Cases and Scenarios Experimentation and Monitoring Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Test in user environment Iterate as necessary Design and and deploy targeted monitoring system Assessment Review impact and effectiveness Explore data Identify areas for improvement Iterate solutions Report Opening to the Public and Community Building Open source code Documentation Engage open source innovation Identify incubators or development communities
to fit the problem Compare precedents Compress the timeframe Create incentives (make it fun/prize) Identify and reach the audience Give people the data Be committed to act Give feedback how to do it
Try Crowdsourcing Data Try Crowdsourcing Tasks Try Crowdsourcing for Economic Growth and Development Try Crowdsourcing Opinions Try Crowdfunding Remember Employees are People, Too Where Possible, Make Smart Citizens Smarter With Data Invest in Citizen Driven Innovation Make the Community Your Partner in these Experiments Hold Community Idea-a-Thons Not Hackathons Legislate Open Be Collaborative, Not Adversarial: Embrace It When It Comes to You Invite People to Decide Not Just Inform Create Incentives – Use Prizes and Challenges Crowdsource Wisely, Not Widely