Governing by Spin, Blag, & Blog
3) Encourage the Electorate
Rohan Silva, the economic advisor to George Osborne (the Shadow Chancellor), works as a Treasury Official at the cutting edge of new technology uses. He has seen how new media and research work both from the point of view of the Civil Service and from inside party politics. He sees three shifts as a result of technology: democratisation of information – more for people to share and use; the power of social networking – being available where voters are available; and, the concept of “open source.” The last point was discussed in-depth later by the panel. Silva’s view is that this is a means of “harnessing the power of open collaboration and taking advantage of the wisdom of crowds, of disbursed knowledge scattered around society.”
Later during the discussion with the audience and the panel, he cites a case whereby a large manufacturer in the US hosted an R&D challenge / prize competition to solve a problem with one of their products. This prompted further discussion of a more collaborative spirit in creating laws and developing government policies and services. However, what are the parameters or limits?
Silva said: “I think that we’re on the cusp of some very profound changes and we are trying to keep pace. That is the beauty of this technology we are more open than ever before to the input of the general public as to the direction we should take in the age of societal change and technological change.”
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