Thread by @markgannon

Interesting call to action from @markthompson1 and colleagues for #legogovernment Who doesn't want better public services with more resources going directly to serving those in need powered by a digital commons (the what)? What we really need though is more on the how! - #thread

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1) I'm a big fan of @markthompson1 and his beligerent poking of government to be and do better in the #internet age. His thinking on #platform government #paas #gaap is right on the money. However, some things to consider as part of the debate...hopefully helpful...

2) I'm not sure comparisons between government and the big #tech #innovators of the past 10 years do the #legogovernment argument justice. There are too many differences for the comparison to be helpful. Think lack of democratic accountablity for starters (more now than ever!)...

3) Think funding - #bigtech have and continue to spend considerable amounts on developing their business models (often actually at the expense of public good) - governments can't. See last couple of chapters of Platform Revolution audible.co.uk/pd/Business/Pl…

4) Think lack of legacy constraints - nearly all of the new #digital innovators came into existing 'old' markets but were essentially operating in a greenfield environment not tied to #legacysystems or processes - government doesn't have the same luxury.

5) Think legislation - recent events have shown more than ever that those who take advantage of the tools of the internet age also care little for laws and norms of behaviour. Unlikely that they would have been able to grow if they'd followed the same rules government has to...

6) ...actually, some would argue that the big innovators have succeeded by monopolising their industry (buying up other innovators - i.e. competition) and actually stifling innovation through their sheer size, ecomic importance and lack of accountability - cityam.com/281085/big-tec…

7) Think purpose and focus - all the innovators cited originally grew by focusing on doing one main thing really well (@netflix - streaming videos @instagram - sharing photos) - government is much more complex with many more services to provide - many, many hundreds in fact.

8) Think about people - this gets us to the crux of the matter which is HOW do you move from the current mode of operation to the #legogovernment envisioned in here without being able to bring all of the people (including politicans) in the 300+ local authorities on the journey?

9) Case in point is the current move of some responsibilites of @gdsteam to another department - it should be easier in central government to set and stay to an agreed course but this has proved hard. Understanding the WHY on this might help with the HOW for #legogovernment

10) I don't care for the 'back office' and 'front office' paradigm and I think it detracts from the argument (and creates 'sides') when we should focus on value chains. More social workers who are not productive because of poor systems/data/training/etc is not a better outcome.

11) I think there could be better examples of what #legogovernment would look like. For most citizens, none of the listed ones would be compelling. How about crowd sourcing examples from #localgov ? What about adult social care, SEN, homelessness, obesity, city growth, etc?

12) The Public Value Index is an interesting idea but would need to reflect that local authorities are also leaders of places. Not sure how this would be reflected in a value index - difficult to compare apples with apples as all place stratgies are context sensitive.

13) This idea needs to be aired outside of the #digital elite bubble. This is REALLY important. The sad reality is that the people who really have the power to do something about this will probably never read this. HOW do we air to those people and move the conversation on?

14) Final point - Yes to a Digital Commons! 👍 Yes to a new model of public service delivery 👍 Yes to #legogovernment - but let's talk honestly about the HOW and let's engage those outside the #digital bubble who have the power to make it happen.

15) ps: avoiding terms like 'rotting corpse' to describe government might encourage others to join in with this debate too 😀