Making local government better, a little bit

So that was a localgovcamp.

“Where are you from?”
“Shrewsbury”
“ Where’s that?”

We’re not in Kansas any more.

So the general idea is that a bunch of people interested in local government and online stuff rock up to a venue. When they get there they decide what to talk about. They eat cupcakes. Then they go home again.

There was a much talked about localgovcamp in London a little while ago. I didn’t make it because, well, it’s London isn’t it? I hummed and harred about this one because, well it’s York isn’t it? And then, suddenly there I was, on the 0544 heading north.

In no particular order: the National Railway Museum is a good venue, networking next to a model of Stevenson’s Rocket certainly appeals to a resident of Shropshire (we kicked the whole thing off you know (Cornish folk look away)). The vibe was relaxed and collaborative, there was an interesting bunch from within and without local government even (whisper it) elected councillors thanks to a morning workshop just for them.

I’d agreed to offer a workshop with @kevupnorth and @alncl on social media and emergency planning. I think it’s fair to say that we were a bijou and select group. Discussion ranged far and wide from successful use of twitter, taking in (my obsession) the back channel, and ending up with a discussion on mobile and remote working (of which more later). It is clear that emergency planners and those who will manage emergencies need to be thinking pretty deeply about the how social media can help and hinder their work.

Then a discourse on open data from . Which was picked up after lunch when the workshop I was expecting didn’t start so a bunch of us did our own thing. Which seemed in the right spirit.

Now open data seemed to me to be quite a good idea before these workshops. Following these workshops it seems to me to be absolutely imperative. It really is powerful stuff though, the sort of stuff Prometheus might hand us if he weren’t rather indisposed. Opening the data is just the first step (though a step that generated much pointy-headed argument about database and mark-up). Next people like me who want to do cool things with the data need lovely easy to use tools. We need an Ubuntu for open data.

We didn’t really touch on other bodies but it seems to me we can’t leave them out. If central and local government frees its data then presumably quangos will too (if there are any left). Next there’s the issue of closely allied bodies: housing associations, PFI providers, contractors and suppliers. And then there’s all the rest of you. Open data leads only in one direction and it leads that way for all.

And finally the energetic and impressively bearded Ken Eastwood talked us through the changes Barnsley has introduced to encourage (mandate even) home and remote working. It’s great stuff with very sensible (to my mind) changes to the ways teams work, to the trust that is placed in individuals and to the physical environment. Also some actual cost savings and some efficiency gains.

Which is delightful of course but there were a few of us there who already work in a radically different way, home-based, freelance, portfolio workers. Can local authorities go far enough to accommodate us? Could I get a job in Barnsley but stay in Shropshire? Could I stay freelance but join the team. Ken says they’re not there yet but that’s where they’re heading.

It’s local government Jim but not as we know it.

I really can’t remember the last conference that gave me such a buzz. Holding it on Saturday really changed the atmosphere, the unconference approach was very effective and engaging, and making it free to attend was a major benefit for poor impoverished freelancers like myself. All conferences are self-selecting and so in that sense preach to the choir but there was enough diversity to make it worth the choir’s time. That said, the world is changing quickly and radically, it is no longer acceptable to leave all of this in the hands of the converted. Senior decision makers, politicians local and national and busines leaders need to get a handle on how the environment in which they operate is changing.

Three cheers to Ken Eastwood, Kevin Campell-Wright and everyone else. Great day, really great day.

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