New report: The government must use the culture of sharing on the Internet

Web users wish to spread information from public sources through internet communities. However, there is a risk that the government is slowing down this process, according to the report eCitizen 2.0, received by Minister of Government administration and reform, Ms. Heidi Grande Røys, recently.

- There are enormous possibilities for dialogue and distribution of information, if the government and the users of web communities are cooperating. This report will provide us with better knowledge of how the government can meet the citizens where they are, Ms Grande Røys says.

The second title of the report, which has been commissioned by the Ministry from the research institution SINTEF, is “The ordinary citizen as provider of public information?” SINTEF recommends that the public sector to a larger extent must regard the citizens as collaborating partners rather than as passive recipients of information.
 
- Today’s web users expect to be able to share and edit texts, pictures and videos they find on the internet. The challenge will be to create a culture of sharing, in which public information is distributed by the citizens themselves, without losing important content or trust in the process, Grande Røys says.

The recommendations from the researchers imply that public information should be made freely available and reusable, and that public institutions to a larger extent must be willing to experiment and take risks. The report mentions examples of innovative services from other countries, like the US and Great Britain.

- There is a lot of useful government reform in an active ICT policy providing possibilities for inclusion, sharing, openness and dialogue. This is all about the ability of the government administration to be innovative in developing public services, and how we can improve our services by utilizing the users’ competence, the minister says.

eCitizen2.0 - The ordinary citizen as a supplier of public-sector information (PDF)
The report is made by Petter Bae Brandtzæg and Marika Lüders in SINTEF.