Civil Service Live Network: Sarah Baskerville's blog: Social Networking in Central Government

I've just come back from attending the Government 2010 conference ( http://quadrigaconsulting.co.uk/gov2010/ ), where there were a lot of throughly interesting debates and idea's being discussed about;

- Social Networking

- Digital Britain

- True engagement & Consultation - not just posting a PDF to a website and asking for comment - Informal engagement - i.e. letting civil servants 'hear' the talk/chatter on issues that could help inform a policy decision

I'd also been sitting on the panel for Civil Service Round Table discussion on falling Budgets and IT in Government just the day before, and it got me thinking....

- Are we utalising the full potential of social networking within Central Government? I think that perhaps we aren't

- Can we make use of social networking tools and get civil servants interacting with one another across teams, divisions, directorates, departmental boundaries in real-time?

- If we could change how we behave internally, perhaps that could help shape how we interact and engage with our external stakeholders?

We constantly hear of needing to change the culture of the Civil Service, needing to move away from silo working/thinking - but have we given civil servants the tools to do so? . One solution could be the introduction of social networks across Central Government.

I don't have the answers but I'd be very interested to hear peoples ideas on this.

-S

Sarah Baskerville

I share your concerns Michael, I share them completely.

We, as in Civil Servants have a nasty habit of taking anything creative and dulling it down, swamping it in regulation, do’s and don’ts. It’s what we do. Of course we do it. It’s tax payer’s money. It’s what we have to do because everything has to demonstrate Value for Money. Our staff and the tax payer also have be protected.

But how do we encourage communication? How do we nurture the ideas and creativity that is just bubbling underneath the surface of many a Department, of many a Civil Servant?

We say all the time that we need to stop working in silo’s, that we need to embrace cross departmental working and talk to one another, but how do we do that? It’s not e-mail. Just look at how we use e-mail now. We’d rather send mail after mail after mail to someone sitting only a few desks away… we don’t *talk* to one another.

How do we get the debates going not only in our own Departments but across Government? First of all we need a platform for doing so (within a secure environment i.e. GSI) . This blog for example is such a platform, this is how you and I are communicating having never met before, but are sharing ideas, comments and opinions.

Of course, meeting up in person, having group debates and panels is another great way of generating idea’s and opening up communication – but it’s not something we can do all the time given time constraints, resource constraints and geographical constraints.

· So how do we continue the discussions and debates when we walk out of that meeting room?

· How do we reach out to people of whom we’ve never met before, yet but could have extremely valuable input into our discussions?

There are many platforms out there that are already being used that do this

· Twitter - http://twitter.com

· Facebook – http://www.facebook.com

· LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com

· Bebo – http://www.bebo.com

· Brightkite – http://brightkite.com

· Blogger - http://www.blogger.com

^^ Just some examples of platforms/technologies that are already out there that have helped open up communications, connect people and encourage debates.

Twitter is an excellent example where even Central Government is getting in on the act. There are many Departments who ‘Tweet’ policy decisions and announcements (thanks to Neil Williams from BIS for compiling this list, http://neilojwilliams.net/missioncreep/2009/how-to-write-a-corporate-twitter-strategy-and-heres-one-i-made-earlier/ )

Central government

· BIS - www.twitter.com/bisgovuk

· DFID - www.twitter.com/dfid_uk

· CLG - www.twitter.com/communitiesUK

· No 10 - www.twitter.com/downingstreet

· FCO - www.twitter.com/foreignoffice

· DCSF - http://twitter.com/dcsfgovuk

· HMT - http://twitter.com/hmtreasury

· MoJ - http://twitter.com/justiceuk

· DFT - http://twitter.com/transportgovuk

· UKTI - http://twitter.com/UKTI

· Directgov - http://twitter.com/directgov

· Businesslink - http://twitter.com/BusinessLinkGov

· NHS Choices - http://twitter.com/nhschoices

· COI - http://twitter.com/coigovuk

· EHRC - http://twitter.com/ehrc

· CRC - http://twitter.com/crc_uk

· Ofcom - http://twitter.com/ofcom

· Cabinet Office - http://twitter.com/cabinetoffice

· Cabinet Office – Director of Digital Engagement http://twitter.com/DirDigEng

Unfortunately, many Civil Servants will never see this because most of these ‘social’ networking sites are blocked by Departmental Firewalls. Thus cannot ‘see’ or ‘hear’ what their Central Government Department is ‘tweeting’ about on Twitter to the general public because they don’t have access to the sites, thus they aren’t part of the ‘debate’ and they don’t know what is being said. Debates or discussions that could very well lead to a change in direction on policy thinking.

So, can we learn from these sites? I think we can.

I am not for one instance suggesting that we re-invent the wheel here, these technologies exist already and are being used. The world around us is changing, the method of communication is changing. We should be learning from what is out there and adapting or risk being left behind. Taking the best of what’s been proven to work and see how that can help us in our jobs.

There are two questions that spring to my mind;

1. Can we use these technologies/functionality to help us do our jobs better?

2. Can we use these technologies/functionalities to help change our behaviour and drive through culture change?

I think the answer to both questions is yes…. But that’s just my opinion, and I’d be interested to see who else out there is thinking the same thing?!

Discuss J

(And BTW, I’m 34 and a self confessed geek and do use Social Networking all the time outside of the office on my iPhone and laptop, and can see it’s potential in the workplace)

Sarah Baskerville 942 days ago

Michael ONeill

Thank you Sarah. Phew! I'm never sure if I'm in a minority of 1 in expressing the views I do. Apart from my earlier warning about blogs and forums being conscripted as a propaganda weapon and losing their value as centres for animated and creative debate (I can't comment on social networking sites like Facebook as I don't really have the understanding of them that can only come after proper 'immersion' through using them regularly), your post highlights another danger:

The sheer number of these sites, all competing for our attention, and all - it seems - having a brief period of huge popularity ( MSN -> Skype -> Facebook -> Twitter - or so it seems to the ignorant outsider like me) before the mass audience moves on to the next 'bar' in search of a new thrill, threatens to dilute and fragment the debate. As I hinted in my earlier post, I'm not a natural candidate for online chatting and only got started because, in my private life, I wanted to own an unusual and specialist vehicle, and the support, knowledge base and almost 24/7 virtual community made the vehicle owners club online forum an indispensable tool. Having discovered the effectiveness of blogging/forums, and because my experiences as a latecomer to the civil service had left me animated in my views, I happily took to using our Home Office blog.

But (and it is a major ‘but’) I’ve resisted invitations to join the likes of Facebook as I only have so much time and energy and prefer to focus my efforts into only those forums in which I have a strong and specific interest. I’m not particularly interested in career networking either except or unless it happens to fall naturally out of who I am and what I’d like to see us doing. So I’d love to see us establishing one single forum that stands out from all others in that it – to develop Lord Reith’s famously coined vision strapline for the Beeb in its role as a public service broadcaster – informs, educates, entertains, includes and enables (or summat like that - I’ll let the copy writers tweak it to suit ha ha!).

Michael ONeill 940 days ago

Geoff Bantock

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I see the issue as talking to people rather than talking at people. Perhaps taken to its fullest extent we will have consensual politics between the citizen and the state rather than the different political parties engaged in adversarial warfare which is the perception of so many of our citizens at the moment. Our trust in politicians is very low at the moment following the MPs expenses revelations and so if these blogs make both us and the politicians we serve more accountable to our citizens’ needs, then we should promote them, even if we end up hearing we have come up with totally the wrong policies.

Revolutions always start at the bottom and start growing from one tiny seed, the staggering thought: Things don't have to be like this. The question we need to keep asking of ourselves and others is What should they be like? And why? When we have found that out, then how do we get there?

Geoff Bantock 938 days ago

Sarah Baskerville

I've been discussing a similar thread on the Government IT profession website, and instead of re-inventing the wheel... here's output from that.

----------------------
Opening up Communication across Gov?

Yes, perhaps the original title of the post was misleading.

It's more about how we use the 'functionality' that these tools offer!

Of course we have e-mails, but how does that encourage more open or informal communication? Try tracking down someone's e-mail address on the GSI directory. It's "fun" at the best of times. And we *all* know about e-mail circulation lists... lets not go there shall we?

Just look at how Twitter is being used - how it brings attention to issues, or gets people talking about them from all over the field. It's 'live' it's for all to see, it's organic, it grows... it's viral? It provides a much more open platform for people to connect and discuss.

How can we start encouraging such behaviours within Central Government and what tools would we need to do this? - of course all within the secure GSI. It's about providing the 'platform' to enable the open communication that I think merits the real discussion here.

------------------------------
Thanks for that link, I checked out Civil Talk. Oh gawd, yes it's a tad bit embarressing and not what I had hoped to see in terms of sharing ideas and best practice across Government.

Does everyone use Blogs, Wiki, Social Media? Probably not.

Are we using what's already out there to it's full potential? I don't know but suspect that no is probably the answer.

I have a growing sense of frustration at the lack of true open discussion and debate across Central Government. Surely there must be a better way? We should be talking more, not less often with colleagues across Government, and using these 'tool's seems like an ideal way to start given our different geographical locations.

------------------------------
I *want* to be speaking with my counterparts within Central Government. Finding out how they are tackling common problems and perhaps finding out ways to do things better and more efficiently, but I find there's no 'platform' to enable or facilitate that. I have the odd meeting in Treasury with counter parts at a User Group 3-4 times a year.

Whilst it's good to meet up it's hardly the place to sort out the day to day issues or push forward with new ideas. I'm not sanctioning yet ANOTHER group being set up, holding meetings, minutes, action points. For god sake, I sit on enough User Groups, Committees, Project Boards etc and don't want yet another one.

What I'd like is to perhaps just connect up with fellow colleagues informally and chat over things, toss idea's around, get feedback on programs I'd like to start etc, discuss the latest papers coming out of HM Treasury or Cabinet Office and see how other Departments are implementing them..... not another friggin meeting or Usergroup.

I don't think I'm asking for the impossible here. I use these Social Networking tools all the time in my private life, Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, Google Talk, Google Wave and have found the 'functionality' extremely useful in getting even silly little debates going, but the communication between myself and those 'out-there' of whom some I've never met but have engaged in some fascinating dialogue which has been immensely enriching.

Now why can't I do the same within the xGov Space?

Why can’t I hook up with my counterparts and have the same sort of dialogue?

• I want to

• I'd like to

• I'd like to transfer that same enthusiasm for communication that I see out there all the time outside of work and use it in the workplace.

• I’d like to be communicating more, and delivering more through that communication. Working ‘smarter’ together than apart.

Failing that, I suppose there is always the old, tried and tested method of meeting up with colleagues down the pub which of course I don’t mind doing at all, but I can’t be doing that all the time can I?

---------------------------------
I’m armed with an iPhone, Blackberry, Laptop… one could say armed and dangerous, but in all seriousness, I have an iPhone and I can access these sites when I’m in work on my phone instead of using a workdesktop/laptop I won’t pretend that Facebook/Bebo add a lot to work, but the same can’t be said about Twitter.

I already follow quite a few Central Government Departments, civil servants, MP’s and activists on Twitter and have found the conversation that’s been generated around their various tweets immensely informative, and have gained a far greater insight into issues that effect Central Government than I would have had if I’d just relied on the Departmental news bulletin. Quite often I hear about it on Twitter 1st before I hear about the change/issue on our internal systems….. Which surely can’t be right?

Like I’ve said throughout my posts. I’m not advocating that we open up access to all these social networking sites, but surely we can learn from them? We can change, adapt, adopt the principles that these sites work to and have our own xGov version?

I know we’ve got a huge mountain to climb in terms of the culture of the Civil Service and how we break out of our silo mentality, but to do that you need something to go to, something to try.. something that might spark that initial interest and opportunity and get people talking across those perceived boundaries.

If we clamp it down with guidance, after guidance, after desk instructions and rule books then I doubt we’d get people using it. These social networking sites didn’t come with a War & Peace version of the Rule book, the community self regulated.

If it’s within the secure Government Network, then we shouldn’t need a comprehensive book of instructions on how to talk to one another. We are adults after all aren’t we?

Sarah Baskerville 882 days ago

Sarah Baskerville

Social Networking in Central Government

Sarah Baskerville

Sarah Baskerville

Michael ONeill

Geoff Bantock

Sarah Baskerville

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