I can imagine some small simple changes coming involving things like simple information retrieval, forms registration, licensing and certifications, will change some of the immediate impact.
But the bigger more intense impact will be the new local impact on the actual nature and structure of government.
This might take the longest to play out compared to the impact on business. But if you want to start seeing what's happening, I think the "non-profit" sector is the place to look. More and more are being created to pursue all kinds of causes. It's easier than ever to volunteer for a non-profit, and more demand for people than ever.
The problem with things like government schools and governmental bodies, the structure will be the hardest to change. I imagine many new local institutions growing within the old systems, and eventually replacing many of the functions of those institutions, if not the entire institutions themselves.
I see the primary impact of the new local in government as one where new ideas abound. No longer constrained by traditional "local" thinking - people will now have the ability to check with other communities around the globe to see how they faced a similar problem or issue.
Local schools, often constrained in terms of resources in the past, no longer have to worry that their library is inadequate. Through the internet, each child can concievably have access to the same types of information sources at even the most well endowed private school.
On a grander scale. The impact of the new local can be seen in the form of a populace being exposed to new ideas and non-censored news.
Of course, all of this begs the question of whether or not the "new local" will cause every place to become homogenized. Is there a danger of losing the 'local flavor' as local starts to approach a national and international scale?
One additional aspect of the new local on government is that is now possible to communicate rapidly over the entire populace. Political movements can be created in the blink of an eye and at very little cost. Historically, these types of grass roots campaigns have taken longer as they had to build funding and constituencies first.
Sorry Guys - been too busy to comment yet! - Stick with me for a few more days - I will comment on this one - I have some things to say having worked for the government for 35 years from age 16 to 52 until I left the NHS to set up simplicity last year
Some examples of the impact of the New Local are the activist organizations like moveon.org, but even more examples can be found through the network of online dialogs that can quickly reach thousands if not millions. And not just the way a television ad would reach folks. A SuperBowl TV ad spot might generate 1 person in a thousand to do something, and that would justify the cost to create such an ad. But an effective email or blog entry, at zero cost, can reach, through the effect of "The New Local", nearly every person that would act on a message. This is true for purchases, but as this is about governments, imagine the impact on governments when this changes how people vote.
How much easier is it to be informed these days when you can look up the relevant facts within a few minutes? When most people live in several non-local non-spatial neighborhoods where people actively converse, how much easier is it to launch a campaign?
Another interesting item is how this is impacting the war on terror. There are some interesting quotes from Donald Rumsfeld in his conversation with the Council of Foreign Relations in this speech a short while ago. The impact of an increasing number of people having effectively moved to virtual new local neighborhoods means that government operations also have to move to those neighborhoods. How can the government address the issue of global terrorism when they don't have a presence in the relevant "new local" neighborhoods.
“We are in the internet age and the average patient can’t e mail their doctor” Don Berwick
Sadly government departments are way behind in the race for discovering the ‘new local.’ My experience in healthcare (and it saddens me) is that patients and their family carer cannot yet have an electronic discussion with their doctor or indeed any health professional. In fact I believe there are many front line healthcare staff who do not use computers and are frightened by the thought!
When patients get the information to compare doctors, hospital and other health services they will be able to make far more informed choices. While healthcare providers keep hold of that information the true market potential of health is beyond the influence of the average patient (customer).
How come the tiny business can have an up to date, topical current, web site that keeps customers right up to date and yet the average web site in government departments contain things that are at best not topical and at worse ancient and out of date?
Some government departments are improving actually and it is great that Income Tax returns can be done online. It still surprises me in 2006 that people stand in long queues in post offices to tax their cars in this country. Why can’t they be done easily online?
It amazes me that business is able to engage with customers now in an almost exclusively electronic form and we never see the people – e.g. Amazon … and yet the government departments tend to still be paper driven.
5 comments:
I can imagine some small simple changes coming involving things like simple information retrieval, forms registration, licensing and certifications, will change some of the immediate impact.
But the bigger more intense impact will be the new local impact on the actual nature and structure of government.
This might take the longest to play out compared to the impact on business. But if you want to start seeing what's happening, I think the "non-profit" sector is the place to look. More and more are being created to pursue all kinds of causes. It's easier than ever to volunteer for a non-profit, and more demand for people than ever.
The problem with things like government schools and governmental bodies, the structure will be the hardest to change. I imagine many new local institutions growing within the old systems, and eventually replacing many of the functions of those institutions, if not the entire institutions themselves.
I see the primary impact of the new local in government as one where new ideas abound. No longer constrained by traditional "local" thinking - people will now have the ability to check with other communities around the globe to see how they faced a similar problem or issue.
Local schools, often constrained in terms of resources in the past, no longer have to worry that their library is inadequate. Through the internet, each child can concievably have access to the same types of information sources at even the most well endowed private school.
On a grander scale. The impact of the new local can be seen in the form of a populace being exposed to new ideas and non-censored news.
Of course, all of this begs the question of whether or not the "new local" will cause every place to become homogenized. Is there a danger of losing the 'local flavor' as local starts to approach a national and international scale?
One additional aspect of the new local on government is that is now possible to communicate rapidly over the entire populace. Political movements can be created in the blink of an eye and at very little cost. Historically, these types of grass roots campaigns have taken longer as they had to build funding and constituencies first.
Sorry Guys - been too busy to comment yet! - Stick with me for a few more days - I will comment on this one - I have some things to say having worked for the government for 35 years from age 16 to 52 until I left the NHS to set up simplicity last year
Some examples of the impact of the New Local are the activist organizations like moveon.org, but even more examples can be found through the network of online dialogs that can quickly reach thousands if not millions. And not just the way a television ad would reach folks. A SuperBowl TV ad spot might generate 1 person in a thousand to do something, and that would justify the cost to create such an ad. But an effective email or blog entry, at zero cost, can reach, through the effect of "The New Local", nearly every person that would act on a message. This is true for purchases, but as this is about governments, imagine the impact on governments when this changes how people vote.
How much easier is it to be informed these days when you can look up the relevant facts within a few minutes? When most people live in several non-local non-spatial neighborhoods where people actively converse, how much easier is it to launch a campaign?
Another interesting item is how this is impacting the war on terror. There are some interesting quotes from Donald Rumsfeld in his conversation with the Council of Foreign Relations in this speech a short while ago. The impact of an increasing number of people having effectively moved to virtual new local neighborhoods means that government operations also have to move to those neighborhoods. How can the government address the issue of global terrorism when they don't have a presence in the relevant "new local" neighborhoods.
There is a lovely quote I use all the time
“We are in the internet age and the average patient can’t e mail their doctor” Don Berwick
Sadly government departments are way behind in the race for discovering the ‘new local.’ My experience in healthcare (and it saddens me) is that patients and their family carer cannot yet have an electronic discussion with their doctor or indeed any health professional. In fact I believe there are many front line healthcare staff who do not use computers and are frightened by the thought!
When patients get the information to compare doctors, hospital and other health services they will be able to make far more informed choices. While healthcare providers keep hold of that information the true market potential of health is beyond the influence of the average patient (customer).
How come the tiny business can have an up to date, topical current, web site that keeps customers right up to date and yet the average web site in government departments contain things that are at best not topical and at worse ancient and out of date?
Some government departments are improving actually and it is great that Income Tax returns can be done online. It still surprises me in 2006 that people stand in long queues in post offices to tax their cars in this country. Why can’t they be done easily online?
It amazes me that business is able to engage with customers now in an almost exclusively electronic form and we never see the people – e.g. Amazon … and yet the government departments tend to still be paper driven.
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