1. New Media & Policy – enhancing service delivery
Presentation to Government 2.0
“Policy and Practice”
Canberra June 22nd 2009
Dr. Owen K Cameron
Program Manager, CCRSPI
Coordinator, Primary Industry Adaptation Research Network
Email: owen.cameron@lwa.gov.au
ocameron@hotmail.com
Tel: 0428 – 400 - 928
1 Dr. Owen K Cameron

2. A Changing Political Ecology of New Media
IMPACTS
– Faster to identify and
UNCED Rio 1992 communicate failures
Global
audience over service deliver
Realise shared experiences
Shared –Easier to increase
awareness “share of voice” for
Internet Fox CNN accountability from
Content on Government
Communicate and share data Demand
–Media looking for new
stories, distributing
through new channels
Quick example – protests over dam construction
– Rio = Same concerns, common causes & policy issues over dams
–BBC Radio program : China, Brazil, Australia (Queensland), Japan
–More effective protest, more participation, more „reach‟
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3. Has led to a new state of accountability
Quick example – climate protests in City of London & Flickr
– Global supply of content (from US) changed media reporting
–Official reporting clearly refuted, agents made to be accountable
CONTENT STATE
CCTV --- mobile phone video CCTV
CHANNEL
Accountability
Distribution via internet & Flickr
MEDIA
CITIZENS
Content shifts analysis and Mobiles
forces disclosure
This enabled accountability is particularly important for NRM, where issues
operate across political cycles, jurisdictional and geophysical boundaries
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4. New ICT media further supports alignment
Focus on alignment can greatly enhance effective service delivery
Policy Design Channel that best
meets consultation &
Design communication needs
& deliver
ICT
strategy
Policy Implementation Architecture to optimise cost
effective service delivery
New ICT media delivers many opportunities to innovate
CORE Business Functional
CONCEPT requirements specifications Technical
NOT architecture design
NEW Service / Preferred
Asset need Policy Option
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5. Need change thinking – ICT as enabling
Focus on how to use ICT to shape outcomes and outputs that
best deliver desired policy outcomes.
ICT Enabling Service Delivery for Government – three examples:
1. Monitoring & Planning - categories of land in Metropolitan areas
2. Commercial Innovation - micro-financing and mobile telephony
3. Organizational Design - corporate structure of Stat Authority
Where it can go wrong:
Outsourcing & Regulatory Frameworks – ICT path dependency
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6. Examples – Planning & Innovation
Monitoring and Planning Entrepreneurial Innovation
State Government Service Need African Community Service Need
1. Urban land use supply via surveys 1. Communities with little access to credit
of residential and commercial land. & finance, limited ICT infrastructure.
2. Data up to five years out of date. 2. Trying to start and operate businesses
3. Urgent need for more housing. over large distances.
Enabling solution Enabling solution
1. GIS & custom algorithms to asses 1.Wireless mobile telephony give “step
shape of blocks. change” to ICT infrastructure (no longer
2. Computer programs cross reference need for expensive fixed network).
with postcode and title data. 2. E-commerce services over mobiles.
3. Estimate type of housing on blocks 3. Micro-financing initiatives align with
with turn around overnight. this new delivery channel.
4. Up to date information on housing 4. Enabled rapid growth in commercial
availability supplied. activity, diversity in service, products.
No internal desire to develop, so staff Initiatives supported by multilateral
set up their own company organisations and corporate donors
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7. Examples – Organizational Design
Establishment of a new Statutory Authority in State Government
Service Need
1. Election year. Senior Government Ministers have publicly committed that a
new statutory authority will commence operations in five months.
2. Authority is to facilitate and expedite development in designated „Growth
Areas‟ through working closely with developers, councils and stakeholders.
Issues
1. State Government operates off Lotus Notes, Shared Services arrangement
(but no costing available for use of ICT architecture and support services).
2. New authority has limited budget, FMA requires proper budgeting.
3. Stakeholders have noted they are time and cash poor, and sceptical.
4. Planning applications are processor intensive, data outputs are large.
Enabling Solution
1. ICT design enables staff efficiency – high end computers, multiple printers
2. ICT design enables operational efficiency – high speed cabling, fast network
3. ICT design enables stakeholder buy-in – Outlook, bear interfacing costs
4. Authority opened on time with stakeholder buy in.
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8. Conclusions
1. Effective alignment to deliver services needs appropriate
consultation and communication as inputs to design:
• Pushing content = communication (Broadband in the Bush)
• Not everyone has time for access (Water Trading)
2. Must ensure design maintains relationship with stakeholders
Serious service delivery risks impact when lose control over
content and channel (ICT path dependency compromises delivery)
Quick example
Outsourcing Risk & Regulatory Frameworks – international
regulatory frameworks and shareholder communication in the Oil
& Gas sector
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