Real-Time Government Initiative (RTGI)

We live in the 21st century and while the Internet is exploding with user-centric Web sites, governments seem to be stuck in the past. More citizens than ever before are on the Internet and now coffee shops and libraries provide new gateways to the Internet. This increased access along with a population that is accustomed to Internet use, demand more service by technology from government. New technologies as well as low cost entry points enable governments to reach out to its citizens located throughout the world any time of the day, any day of the week. The real-time government initiative is an effort to encourage governments to operate in real-time on the Internet. Governments that operate in an open and transparent fashion save money, foster goodwill toward citizens, and encourage more citizens to become stakeholders. You could also call this initiative as the blueprint for Government 2.0.

This includes:

Posting of all public information on the Internet
We live in the 21st Century of self-service using technology. Why do citizens need to submit in writing or call someone to request public information? Governmental entities should post all public information online so it can be indexed and searched. Governments will save money by sending all citizens to the Web to find their information and citizens will be happy because they can find what they are looking for. Search engines provide free searches of a site and now they visit sites on a frequent basis, so the public information can easily be indexed and found without much effort and cost. A government saves time because they can direct citizens to the Web site to find the public information. They no longer need to dedicate a lot of staff time for locating and preparing public information requests.

Allow citizens to participate in meetings, without being there
Digital recording technology (audio and video) enables easy recording of public meetings. Web hosting and Web space is quite cheap so recording any public meeting is quite convienent and easy. This should be done, so any citizen at any time of the day and at any place in the world can keep up-to-date with what is going on in their government. Meetings should also be archived so anyone can reference previous meetings. Streaming of meetings (live and archive) should be encouraged. Streaming technologies are very affordable and reliable and go a long way in encouraging participation.

Example: http://www.toledopoliticians.com

Keep citizens informed of events
Make meeting calendars quite visible and keep them up-to-date. Provide notice of meetings and new resources by e-mail, rss, or instant message.

Two way communication
Create different e-mail lists or listservs that citizens can sign up for and be alerted to events and important information. Listserv software can automate this and save staff maintenence time.

Governments should also provide easy ways for citizens to communicate with government administrators and elected officials. Every department should be able to be contacted by e-mail and be found through a virtual switchboard. All contact information should be listed as well as e-mail information. Government representatives should be encouraged officially respond to issues in blogs, discussion forums, or other Internet destinations out there.

Encourage Participation
Internet users are becoming more and more accustomed to participating. This includes commenting and submitting information. Governments should develop ways to solicit ideas from citizens and allow them to engage in problem solving. We don't live in an era of where we need to rely on the knowledge of a few, but can encourage the experts to help participate in and help their government.

Examples: http://www.ideasfortps.com & http://www.ideasfortoledo.com, and http://www.talkingtps.com

Self-Service
The Internet is a great medium for self-service. While many governments have already created their Web sites with some aspects of self service, things should be improved. All laws, forms, policies and procedures should be posted as well as correct documentation. Downloads should be based on cross platform solutions so no matter what users are using, they will have access.

Allow citizens to pay fees and taxes online.

Create a ticket system similar to tech support systems, where citizens can file a request/question/problem online and then check the status of the request using a ticket number. When their request is settled, the citizen will be alerted to the resolution.

Create Knowledgebases or FAQ systems where citizens can get the answers to most commonly asked questions.

Allow citizens to sign up for alerts and news and manage their subscriptions. Listserv software can automate most user management.

Operate in real-time
E-mail systems can be set up to be archived on any time based basis. Public e-mail accounts should be publicly archived and on as instant of a basis as possible. Allow citizens to watch their government operate live.

Keep up-to-date
Create solutions for citizens to keep up-to-date. You can use RSS feeds, e-mail alerts, or even sites dedicated to informing citizens on a particular issue. Create ways for citizens to keep in touch with what is going on. Technology can make this affordable and easy.
Example: http://www.tpssearch.com

Technologies such as streaming, real simple syndication (RSS), web hosting, digital audio and video, blogs and open source content management systems are all cheap and easily available. Everything that you do to engage citizens brings citizens closer and makes them participants to the process.