A lawyer by training and a techie by inclination, Beth Noveck works to build data transparency into government.
How can our data strengthen our democracies? In her work, Beth Noveck explores what “opengov” really means–not just freeing data from databases, but creating meaningful ways for citizens to collaborate with their governments.
As the US's first Deputy CTO, Beth Noveck founded the White House Open Government Initiative, which developed administration policy on transparency, participation, and collaboration. Among other projects, she designed and built Peer-to-Patent, the U.S. government’s first expert network. She's now working on the design for ORGPedia, a platform for mashing up and visualizing public and crowdsourced data about corporations. Her book The Networked State will appear in 2013.
Must-read: Noveck's 2012 essay Open Data — The Democratic Imperative.
“I believe that Beth Noveck’s Wiki Government ranks among the most important books in public administration written in the past decade.”
Kevin R. Kosar in Public Administration Review
Phi Beta Iota: While naive (or deliberately obtuse) with respect to the corruption of the two-party tyranny, this brilliant speaker articulates two huge ideas: the purpose of government is to channel the good ideas and needs of the citizens; and anything that impedes that–such as bureaucracies–corrupts the feedback loop. The “flow of our institutions” and the redesign of our institutions are central to our future. Inspiring.
See Also:
Novack, Beth. Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful (Brookings, 2010)
Steele, Robert, THE OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING MANIFESTO: Transparency, Truth & Trust (North Atlantic Books, 2012)
