On Saturday morning on my way to ukgc12 part 2, I tweeted: Hmm...#ukgc12... got still got mental indigestion from yesterday. How to retain all those ideas until they can be used?

Dan Slee, bless him, tweeted back: @vickysargent Think the trick for post #ukgc12 is to write down a list of 20 things that really struck you and why.

And thus the ‘Slee list’ was born.

Since then, my initial list has been squatting on Dan’s blog (danslee.wordpress.com) Here is my full 20, with some of the earlier ones edited and a bunch of new ones at the top.

1. Please no one mess with the formula by making sessions more planned or fewer of them. Yes you miss stuff on the day(s), but you can catch up with it afterwards through the blogs. And by contacting people you don’t know afterwards and so the networking and knowledge sharing goes on. I don’t think this would happen if things were ‘more organised’.

2. People who’ve never been cannot believe that you can get 200+ people to introduce themselves and create a programme in an hour. It gets me every time that it works. And with people who, lets face it, are mostly not shrinking violets.

3. We need more of this around the country and if we achieve it we can get local politicians and council chiefs/top managers to come. Hats off to some of the leaders from the West Midlands who have attended events where I’m from.

4. Thank you whoever it was that mentioned Google refine.

5. ‘Glasto for Geeks’ – I love it, but….. I’ve never been to Glastonbury and am completely not a geek and I think it’d be a real shame if people who just want to help move things along (like me) were put off GovCamp by thinking its only for people with stickers on their laptop.

6. I didn’t get to any open data sessions. But reading stuff afterwards I’m convinced we need to talk about data quality, data literacy, and data management separately from open data (although they are obviously linked). One of the reasons local government managers have been reluctant to release data is because they are concerned about its quality and the ‘publish and it will improve’ approach hold too many risks for them. Socitm bangs on endlessly about the importance of information management, but the fact is very few senior managers get this.

7. Making data more widely accessible to public sector managers in user friendly interactive formats (ie not GIS) and in ways that do not require mediation or interpretation by others is really important. These managers need data presented in ways that are as easy to use as the sort of tools organisations like RightMove and others are delivering to the public.

8. Sophisticated data visualization often obscures rather than illuminates: a ‘top ten’ list is often more useful than a gorgeous 3D rendering . Saturday’s better for an unconference because colleagues and clients are less likely to interrupt with the day-to-day stuff that stops us thinking free and thinking big

9. There’s a fantastic initiative going on in Cumbria to bring broadband to one of the UK’s foremost ‘not-spots’ – see http://broadbandcumbria.com/

10. Hull City Council are running ads on their website via Google and making some cash with few complaints – other councils are not sure its worth it and worry that even ads from family-friendly brands like M&S may offend (eg their more risqué lingerie ads)

11. Mike Bracken talked about the need to ‘get digital skills back into government’ – local government has never outsourced IT/digital in the way central gov did in the last 10-15 years, and is all the better for it IMHO.

12. Some of the best (and most useful) conversations I had took place in the pub

13. There not many clues yet about how the advent of the GDS, beta.gov and the single gov domain are going to affect local gov – I guess things will need to have moved closer to the ‘go wholesale’ phase of the GDS programme before we really know. Socitm is in dialogue with GDS around this and will be pushing information out as it gets it in the coming months.

14. The average government department lasts just 5.5 years.

15. Nobody’s really got a satisfactory answer to the cookie thing

16. Smaller sessions on smaller topics work better for me. I found a well-attended session on ‘radical websites’ and another poplar one on hyperlocal/community consultation frustrating because the topic seemed too big and the range of experience too broad for really useful discussion.

17. Carl Haggerty @carlhaggerty and Sarah Lay @sarahlay are doing some great thinking on content strategy for local gov web/digital channels. This is going to be shared widely so keep your eye on their blogs.

18. Steph Gray @lesteph is leading developing a maturity model for digital in the public sector which local gov web managers will be interested in.

19. The people who organise this event are, in the parlance, awesome.

20. This isn’t getting the dog walked……

So 11, it's 11 things I can say.  There is a 12 but it's a big one and it's about the session I ran all day on Sunday, so it will get a post of its own.

Some deeper thoughts after some reflective practice - http://carlhaggerty.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/ukgc12-beyond-the-bullet-points/

As per the meme, here are my 20 points on Gov Camp UK.

Sign up early.

I dawdled and so was only able to get a ticket for Saturday. I feel like I missed out on a lot of interesting conversations.

BarCamps should be recorded for posterity.

It’s a point I’ve made before. Cameras and disk space are so cheap, we should record what we say and do at BarCamps by default. Now, that may inhibit some of the conversations and reduce the “Chatham House” aspect – but individuals can decide whether or not they’re happy for their sessions to be recorded.

Take business cards.

Take lots of business cards. So many serendipitous meetings that it’s hard to remember who’s who. Make sure that your business card carries your Twitter name.

Don’t take a laptop (or, at the very least, use it rarely).

As I sat down in one session, a woman said to me “Gosh! You can tell it’s a techie event; every one is using their laptops and no one is talking to each other.” She was absolutely right. The day is mostly about communication and – while Twitter is great for that – nothing beats turning to the person sitting next to you and having a natter.

Present.

I think it’s an immutable law of BarCamp that everyone has to present. Even if it’s just standing up and saying who you are.

Guaging interest is hard.

I ran two sessions, one only filled up about a fifth of the cavernous space I booked – which was pretty embarrassing. The other was so full it had people sitting on the floor. Don’t be afraid of moving rooms – but make sure you let everyone know where you are going.

WordPress is really popular.

I was surprised by how many attendees were WordPress aficionados. It’s good to see that Government isn’t entirely tied up in proprietary crap.

QR codes generate a lot of interest.

The session I ran on QR was well attended and produced lots of positive feedback. Some people are just starting out with QR and there were loads of great ideas on how they could be used.

The police have an odd sense of humour.

One was wearing a shirt which read “Keep Calm and Carry Baton Rounds” the other, in his introduction, said “I work for the police, previously I was at Rentokill. It’s basically the same job!” While I appreciate near the knuckle humour and value free expression, I found the two incidents made me really uncomfortable. Had I turned up wearing a “Burn down the Government” t-shirt, I doubt I would have received a positive welcome. Still, I’d rather people felt free to express themselves at a BarCamp than not.

HMRC will happily let you take the piss out of them.

They’re very good sports and lovely people in real life.

Government needs more freedom to innovate.

That was a moan that I heard from several people. They wanted to do amazing things with the knowledge they’d gleaned – but getting sign off in a risk adverse, budget conscious department is tricky.

Building should mean building.

The second day was meant to be about getting people to build, create, or make stuff. In my WordPress session, I asked for volunteers to upgrade their blog to WordPress Mobile Pack live on stage. Amazingly, three did! Now, none of them where major Government sites(!) but it showed people were willing to take a risk and build things.

Perhaps the grid needs curating?

There were too many sessions in the first timeslot, and empty rooms later in the afternoon. There’s no way of judging how popular a slot will be, so many sessions were in an room that didn’t suit the attendees.

There’s no such thing as a silly question.

As a presenter, it’s really important not to dismiss a question. If someone hasn’t understood something basic, it’s more likely to be the presenter at fault than the person asking the question.

Government needs to celebrate their successes more loudly.

I saw some amazing websites, prototypes, and service – none of which I’d heard about. I think it’s entirely appropriate for people to make some noise about things they’ve done well.

Gender Balance.

For a technology conference – there were more than 3 women! A lot more! It’s a common moan in IT that the industry has trouble attracting women. Perhaps they all work in local government?

Not Many Female Presenters.

Perhaps it was the sessions I went to, or perhaps they all presented on day one – but there didn’t seem to be many women presenting. I wonder if this is something which needs to be addressed?

Big Business Isn’t Much different

Everyone goes on about how inefficient Government is and how they’re usless at getting anything done. All the complaints I heard from Government people were the same as those that I’ve heard while working at big businesses. And start-ups. Every organisation has inefficiencies.

Take Photos

I was too busy chatting to snap anything. Luckily there’s a rather good set on flickr.

Overall

A great day, thought provoking, useful. I hope I convinced some people about why mobile is important and how awesome QR codes are.

originally posted at: http://shkspr.mobi/blog/index.php/2012/01/gov-camp-uk/

I needed time before I would be able to explore both what I took from the weekend and how it made me feel (I’m also a feeler).

So, here’s my Slee list…

1.      I’m not in Corporate Coms, IT dev or Web. I manage a Localgov front line service that isn’t digital by default. Our customers aren’t digital by default. I’m not digital by default. So, what was I doing at ukgovcamp? Was I gate-crashing? Yes, probably. Did that matter? Absolutely not.

2.      Front line services need to embrace govcamps just as govcamps need to embrace front line services. We can learn from a different perspective. It’s also good to think about how digital could apply to the needs of a specific group of customers, especially those that can’t self-serve.

3.      I LOVE Twitter, for many different reasons, but it’s not the be all and end all when it comes to monitoring and evaluation. Look at the overall business objectives, decide which the best channel is for your customers and then develop a plan for monitoring each channel, based on objectives. Simples.

4.      I came away without a t-shirt #fail

5.      If you follow someone on-line who you meet off-line, go say Hi, betcha they say Hi back, you’ll have a chat and network/friendships start to form.

6.      Some people like the sounds of their own voice and there was a bit of self-promotion going on. I didn’t like this and I let my feet do the walking.

7.      I felt like I was still ‘taking’ and wondered if or when I might be able to give a little back.

8.      I don’t mind asking simple (stupid to others) questions. Over the weekend I asked a couple of people ‘What is Open Data?’ Turns out I have some experience of this but didn’t realise that was its name badge.

9.      Terminology and language can be both powerful and dangerous. We need to be challenge when it isn’t appropriate, and explain why.

10.  I like visiting that fancy London town and it made me realise I LOVE living in Shropshire.

11.  Next time I have to choose a hotel room with a window or a TV, I’ll choose the window. Whilst it’s important to know what’s going on in the world, it’s vital to see your own view and perspective on the world.

12.  I like pretty wordles pictures

13. Sod's Law of Camp means there will be a clash in sessions you want to attend. This happened to me with Content Strategy and Multi-Agency Working/Safeguarding. I hope there will be blogs on both so I don't feel I missed out too much

14.  I love lists. My post camp to do list is massive. Ace.

15.  I travelled over 150 miles to have a chat with our amazing corporate digital lead. I’ve since requested a more local meeting, especially as it’s their turn to bring the #cake.

16.  I want to say a massive thank you to Dave, Steph and Lloyd for organising and facilitating. Big thanks to Microsoft for hosting and to the generosity of the sponsors for supporting. You’re all epic. Fact.

17.  Someone asked me what I wanted to get from the weekend and I said I wanted to come away with a hoarse voice from talking too much and a head spinning with ideas. That was easy. Job done.

A version of this appears on my blog.

I pitched a session on Ushahidi and Crisis Mapping at UK Gov Camp last week. I’ve been playing around with Ushahidi for a little while and paying attention to how these communities are developing. I really think we are at the beginning of a profound humanitarian movement.

It’s not a well-understood platform in the UK and there aren’t many crisis mappers in the public sector. So it was intended as a sort of Ushahidi 101.

Also I’m no developer so I was only able to talk about the application of the application.

I’ve got to say, talking a room full of clever and engaged people through a topic is a fantastic way of improving your own understanding of it. Thanks to everyone who came, this is hopefully a more coherent introduction to the topic thanks to your help, comments and questions.

Ushahidi
In early 2008 some Kenyan developers were concerned about the levels of violence following the disputed elections in their country. They wanted an independent source of reports of what was happening and where. They built a platform that allowed people to SMS reports which could then be placed on a map. They called it “Testimony” in Swahili (Ushahidi). The code was released as open-source and a developer community has been working on the platform ever since.

It can be downloaded and installed on your own server but, luckily for me, the community provides a simple cloud-based solution at crowdmap.com. Sign up and start your own Ushahidi instance.

I set up a simple instance for Gov Camp at ukgc12.crowdmap.com and asked people to submit simple reports: home base and favourite fruit. Thanks to everyone who did.

Reports can be submitted using a customisable form on the instance. This allows the user to plot their location on a map: Ushahidi uses external mapping services, I set mine up to use Google Maps but this is customisable.

The platform will also pull data from an IMAP or POP3 mailbox, through the twitter API and through RSS. It will also handle SMS from a gateway. I installed the SMSSync plugin which allows any android device to become a temporary SMS gateway.

Essentially what Ushahidi does is allow you to place “reports” onto a map. Reports contain text and links to other content. Human beings have to be involved and the platform provides some workflow.

Submissions made through the web form are already reports and so can be placed on the map by checking a box. They then become public (if it’s a public map) or available to restricted users. Reports will be placed into one or more categories and the map can quickly filter for reports matching only some categories.

There is a “verified” option. So you can place reports on the map but indicate that they are unverified. Admins can edit the reports at any time. The system maintains an audit trail of edits.

For other data (email, SMS etc), an admin must create a report to get the data onto the map. The platform is helpful and tracks what happens to individual items.

And you end up with something that looks like this (because Ushahidi uses are often transient you end up with a lot of screenshots rather than links).

Screenshot of the Christchurch Recovery Map

This is the recovery map for Christchurch, NZ post earthquake. Reports there included things like “working wifi” “working landerettes”.

So you can see that the platform has possibilities for a range of uses. It also requires a degree of skill and judgement to be applied in the processing of data into reports.

A practice of “Crisis Mapping” has evolved across the world.

Uses of Ushahidi (Crisis Mapping)
Not all uses of Ushahidi occur in a crisis. Not all crisis mapping occurs on Ushahidi but there is a close relationship between the platform and the practice.

There are a number of ways in which the platform is commonly used

Open crowdsourcing
The general public is invited to submit reports. One or more people process these reports and place them on a map. Usually public.
Nice example: Al-Jazeera English has been asking people in Somalia “How has the Somalia Conflict affected your life?” Responses come back by SMS. They are then translated by volunteers within the diaspora and placed on an Ushahidi map.
The real experience of humans in conflict while that conflict rages.

Bounded crowdsourcing
A closed group of trusted individuals monitor data feeds for particular types of information. They process reports and place them on an Ushahidi instance.
Nice example: The Standby Taskforce which is a global volunteer movement was asked to build aLibya Crisis Map for UN-OCHA during the Libyan conflict in 2011. In the end SBTF did this and then trained UN online volunteers who took over the map. There is a complex workflow required to assess the veracity of reports and create robust data. Much of this has to be handled off the Ushahidi platform.

The output was provided privately to UN-OCHA who then published a redacted version 24hrs later.
(disclosure: I’m a volunteer with SBTF though I was not active on the Libya deployment)

This blog post from a UN-OCHA employee is an interesting read.
Media monitoring
One person or a small group tracks RSS feeds for news and reports relating to a single issue.
This is a UK example with frustratingly little contextual information. Clearly it tracks reports of public sector cuts though

For more information try

• https://crowdmap.com
• http://ushahidi.com/
• crisismappers.net
• Or give me a shout @likeaword

Photo credit:
Photo is by the genius-like #ashroplad pulled from the #ukgc12 flickr stream and used under CC

Screenshot is from the Christchurch recovery map and used under CC

I had an exhausting time at GovCamp this weekend. We had lots of people. There were lots of discussions. There was much tweeting. Many photos were taken. Lots of blogging has happened.

Dan Slee had the fab idea of just posting 20 quick thoughts and take-aways. So let’s have a (somewhat delayed) go.

1. I don’t think the two day format worked, overall. I’m pleased we tried it, but it’s just too long and the second day didn’t feel sufficiently different to the first. Also, everyone who attended both days were totally exhausted by about lunchtime on the Saturday.
2. Steph Gray is not just brilliant at government webby stuff, I think he’s also one of the best human beings currently on the planet.
3. Some people have written of the need to further the range of people that attend. I’m a firm believer that the best people to attend are the people who want to, and don’t need to be convinced. It is, I assure you, entirely coincidental that this is also the path of least effort.
4. Another excellent post looked at the differences between the event this weekend and the original, in 2008. I agree: they’re very different. Some might prefer the way it was before, others prefer the way it is now. I think the event just reflects the environment in which we are all operating.
5. Maybe there’s space for a new event that’s more specifically geeky. I dunno.
6. The Government Digital Service has changed the nature of discussions and the whole government geek ecosystem, as others have mentioned. The responses to that from folks in central and local government are interesting, including in the way they differ.
7. Lloyd Davis is a legend, a master facilitator and the most calming influence ever.
8. Looking through all the photos from the event afterwards made me feel like there were about 6 different GovCamps happening, none of which I attended.
9. ‘Keynotes’ at Govcamps make me feel funny. I personally don’t see why Friday’s closing session couldn’t have happened as a normal pitched session during the day which would have felt more a part of the community spirit of the event. It could have been sorted pretty easily. But still, I hope people found it useful.
10. Hadley Beeman is excellent at organising drinking sessions, amongst other things
11. The fantastic reading material following the event is a sign of just how vibrant and useful a medium blogging is for telling stories, sharing knowledge and learning
12. Someone on Twitter derided the event as a ‘talking shop’. I don’t see why that’s a bad thing. Where talking reinforces learning and allows for reflection and the teasing out of effective ways of doing things, it’s got to be good. I’m pleased GovCamp provides a framework for that to happen.
13. Even better, let’s run an event that’s even more informal than an unconference. Ditch the agenda entirely. Just have rooms in which people go in and talk about stuff. Use things like Twitter to let people share what’s being discussed in the rooms, so people can move around to the conversations that interest them. Chatcamp?
14. Thinking about all this, my interest in organisational learning and knowledge management is piqued once again. Can’t help but feel that very few organisations in the public (or indeed any) sector have this right. Too little learning from previous experience, too much hoarding of knowledge. The answer is only kind of digital, of course.
15. I do look back at 2008, with the smaller community, sitting around showing each other how to use Twitter, with quite a bit of nostalgia. Knowing where one fits in these days is tougher.
16. A few people have said what a good thing it is that GovCamp isn’t organised by government itself, which is interesting and perhaps indicative of something or other
17. They may not see it this way, but many of those I saw and chatted with last weekend weren’t colleagues, or customers, or whatever, but friends.
18. I suspect that if actual organisations were run like GovCamps, nothing would get done. But all those who attend could bring some of the spirit of the weekend to their work, encourage others to be thoughtful, and open. The result would be that small changes would happen around the edges, which might then lead to bigger and better things in the future.
19. The challenges government faces these days are much bigger and more difficult than in previous years. Digital is part of the solution but only a small part. The innovations that matter will be in the realm of policy and service design. Technology will play a vital role in making that happen but perhaps more as an enabler than a driver in itself.
20. As always seems to happen after GovCamp, I’m faced with the realisation that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.

Remember – if you want to run a public service related ‘camp style event, you can. It’s dead easy. If you need money, Steph and I can help out with the fund contributed to by the lovely GovCamp sponsors. Just ask.

Cross posted from davepress.net.

Apple devoured at Microsoft HQ – by icerunner 

So I’m picking up on the third of @curiousc’s 20 things from #ukgc12, namely that “at some point soon GovCamp will need to reconcile its relationship with ‘the suits’ and accept that it is difficult to get stuff into the mainstream without it being diluted.”  I guess, reflecting back on my experience of the weekend, I did feel like one of those ‘suits’.  For all my enthusiasm for tech solutions and social media, not to mention a worryingly fast-growing interest in shiny things with bits of fruit engraved on them, I am much more the mainstream corporate Council bod than the agile digital disrupter.  So, my 20 things come a bit from that angle, and it is offered in the hope that it’s all grist to the mill…

1.     There was a fair amount of confusion between ‘structure’ and ‘culture’ in some of the sessions I joined, and mixing up the two leads to long (frustrating) conversations about the wrong starting point. Govcampers are not going to change structures in public services in any meaningful timescale. We just need to find ways to make stuff happen, chip away at cultures, and have faith that the structures will begin to flex at some point further down the line.

2.     Facebook is not Twitter is not Posterous is not Wordpress. Obviously.  And yet there were lots of conversations that implied my Council is the same as your Council, is the same as that govt department, is the same as that quango, etc…  Too much ‘the public sector is…’ and ‘Councils are…’ - losing sight of plurality and differing contexts also loses sight of how, when and where a bit of govcamp genius might gain some traction.

3.     On that note, the vast majority of people in positions of influence in public service are there because they are committed to the services they deliver. The implication to the contrary (see point 2) was dismissive and will not help us make a difference.  Yes it’s tough to convince some, but it’s one of the fundamental tasks for the innovator once the bright idea’s been had.  Let’s work with it more, rather than railing against it.

4.     I hope there’s a localgovcamp this year – consider that as me volunteering to help if help is wanted…  Note to self to get someone from our IT joint venture to come along and join the tumult.

5.     We need more (and more varied) gov people at these events.  If there is a localgovcamp, it would be good to try and target a couple of bigger suits than me to get their contribution – there are some that would bring some fantastic practical challenge to the discussions.  And I'd echo the call for more Elected Members.

6.     Crowdsourcing is dynamic, energetic and creative. Structured agendas have their strengths as well. By the second of the two days I was properly ‘underway’, and it does make me wonder whether there isn’t some value in thinking beforehand (crowdsourced naturally) about what goes into just those opening slots – so that we arrive at 9.30am with just a hint of a jumping-off point for those of us whose brains work that way. I hope that’s not heresy!

7.     On that note, if people have suggestions for sessions that they would want to run on the basis of a bit more advance preparation, then perhaps some prior encouragement to them to expect that they’ll get a slot would help (with debate taking place online in advance, naturally). Again, I’m not trying to overturn the fluid, crowdsourced, ‘on the day’ spontaneity, but @demsoc gave a great intro presentation to kick the session off, and some of the others might have been helped by that sort of prep.  Just a thought.

8.     I should stop burying myself in my smartphone to avoid having to open up conversations with people in the ‘downtime’…

9.     I want to know more about this ‘agile’ business: I’ve been going on for ages about getting over the obsession with classically ‘planned’ strategies, favouring more ‘emergent’ approaches, and this sounds like a project management equivalent. Anything that can get me away from someone saying ‘do you have a PID?” sounds worthy of exploration to me.

10. I don’t do enough facilitation and working with groups any more – watching Lloyd Davis and Dave Briggs in action was energising and inspiring.

11. I need to get out more. Professionally, that is. Well, now that I come to think of it…

12. I know more about social care than I think I do, and I now have more confidence in my ability to get under the skin of this new job – thanks to Shirley Ayres and @ermintrude2 especially! And I’m seeing the many little chances to bring some govcamp enthusiasm into the new job. Maybe I’ll make a digital disrupter yet…

13. Microsoft are jolly good sports. They even put apples in the lunch bags [see picture!]

14. Did the ‘building’/’doing’ day work? As a day of continued stimulation and ideas, sure it did. Not sure I could engage with the doing bit very easily though. I think the suggested split between ‘Day 1 – think’/’Day 2 – do’ is a bit more reliant on the serendipity of finding something to which you can contributethan that stark distinction suggests.

15. Next time I won’t try and fit a fairly intense opera into the evening in between the two days – I’ll go drinking. After all, it seemed to set everyone up so well for Saturday morning…

16. I’d have liked more user experience and voice in the discussions. Tech and gov people playing off each other is great, but we’re not creating stuff for us, we’re creating it for users and citizens. We can talk ourselves into a service user’s place, drawing on a vast range of experience – and we’re all, of course, citizens – but a bit more disruption of both of our respective thinking would have added yet another layer.

17. No-one likes Sharepoint, seemingly. My organisation is going headlong for Sharepoint. I think I need to understand that a bit better.

18. I need to put time aside to keep thinking this stuff through…

19. See 18.

20. Blimey, this 20-point thing is hard. Oo, finished. Yay. Major thanks to all who organised a fantastic two days.