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Got a Little Sidetracked but Still Progressing Canada GovCamp 2011 by John Weigelt on January 5/2011

Hi Everyone!  Yes, it’s been rather quiet on the planning front for GovCamp 2011.  It seems that the 2011 date kept putting it on the to do list instead of the had to be done yesterday list over the.  With the New Year upon us and some fresh enthusiasm (hey, I’ll even throw in a resolution to get the planning ”well begun“) it’s time to refocus the work to get something officially started.  Clearly the end of January beginning of February won’t work so I think we are looking at the suggestion of Creativity and Innovation week (15-21 April 2011).

more to come soon…

 

HackFest and DraftFest @ Canada GovCamp 2011 by John Weigelt on August 21/2010

Great ideas have been flowing in for Canada GovCamp 2011.  A few people have proposed a HackFest to further build out some great apps.  These apps leave a lasting legacy from the unconference.  What if we could do the same for some of the policy work, foundations.  So after speaking with #TOwebRebrand, it became clear that we need to do something to helps resolve the Privacy challenges (and, em, FUD).  So how about including a DraftFest (the beers come after the writing :-) )  We could get a few people in a room with a whiteboard to flesh out the important parts of a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) that everyone could use when making the case to senior officials who need these documents to manage their risks.  I think a great start might be to use the TBS template as a starting point (Let me know if you have a better one).

A couple of things that we still need your help on include:

1.  Dates:  We heard that we need to keep away from the end of March, so the end of January is looking good.  The thinking is that we hold the GovCamp over a Friday and Saturday during Toronto WinterFest/Winterlicious. Winterfest 2011 runs from Jan 29 to Feb 10.   That way participants can enjoy an extra event or two.  The Friday/Sat is because we heard that some participants find it difficult to get away from their offices to participate (shame on their bosses!).  Again, let us know if that doesn’t work for you either.

2.  Streams - There are so many different subjects that people want to tackle that we are exploring the idea of creating a few different streams of conversations.  What if we had an opening panel at the beginning of day one for everyone.  After that session, we broke out to 4 or 5 streams (say Privacy, Culture, Hackfest, Business etc) where each stream would be launched by a panel of experts.  Each stream would have their own ideas matrix and then would have their own unconference discussions. (of course, anyone can attend any of the sessions)

3.  Advisory Community - GovCamp is a community driven event, so we are looking at how we can steer and direct the conference.  In a way, we are looking to create a “governance” council, but “governance” has an ominous ring to it.  We can think of a cool title to give this group of champions, but essentially we are looking for people that can help us, in a positive way, make GovCamp 2011 successful.

So give us your thoughts, suggestions and let us know if you can help us build out a great event.

 

GovCamp Canada 2011 – Toronto by John Weigelt on July 15/2010

I know 2011 seems far away, but planning has started for GovCamp Canada 2011.  We’re looking to hold the event in Toronto in either Jan/Feb/April/May and are seeking advice on what 2 days would work best.  Are weekdays or weekend dates better?  What other events do we need to watch out for, either in town or happening elsewhere? 

Share your thoughts by commenting here or via twitter #govcamp!

 

What to expect at GovCamp Toronto by Mark Kuznicki on June 16/2010

GovCamp Toronto is coming up this Thursday evening, and we’re excited to host another conversation on how government is being transformed by technology and new ways of doing things.

The event is soldout, but there is a waitlist, so sign up in case we get some last minute cancellations, we will send you an email. If you are already registered, reception opens at 5:00pm and we start promptly at 6:00pm, so come early and enjoy some food and a drink with us.

We have an amazing slate of conversation topics and demos scheduled! Here’s a sample of what to expect:

Conversations:

  1. “I opened my data, so where’s my community?”, hosted by Richard Weait
  2. “Documentation – better quality content vs. packaging”, hosted by David Downs
  3. “How Governments Communicate: Opening a digital channel to citizens”, hosted by Peter MacLeod
  4. “Value Proposition for Gov 2.0: Outsourcing Risk”, hosted by Michael Cayley
  5. “What to do with poll voting data?”, hosted by Morgen Peers
  6. “Government Can’t Do It All: What would you do first?”, hosted by Steven Green
  7. “Social Media In Law Enforcement”, hosted by Scott Mills
  8. “Analyzing MP Exit Interviews: Improving Our Politics”, hosted by Alison Loat
  9. “Open Government Q&A Session with David Eaves”, hosted by David Eaves
  10. “Blog Hogs: Entering the Blogosphere!”, hosted by Keith McDonald
  11. “Ontario Business Program Guide on OPSpedia”, hosted by Alex Sirota
  12. “Reconciling the Multiple Identities of the Public Servant”, hosted by Darren Chartier
  13. “Generals to Captains: Empowering Frontline Leadership for Web-time Responsiveness”, hosted by Denis Carr
  14. “Collaboration Across Communities and Cities”, hosted by Chris Moore
  15. “Open Government Business Models: How can the City help new businesses grow?”, hosted by Dave Wallace

Demos:

  1. “Data Literacy”, hosted by Pete Forde
  2. “Open Doors Toronto Mobile App”, hosted by Brian Gilham
  3. “Homezilla: Open Data & Real Estate”, hosted by Sandy Ward
  4. “MyTTC”, hosted by Kieran Huggins
  5. “VanGuide for Windows Mobile 7″, hosted by Mark Arteaga
  6. “Toronto Road Restrictions”, Andrew Lyskiewicz
  7. “SafeKidZone”, Michael Nus
  8. “Citizen Factory”, Bernard Rudny

As you can see, the biggest challenge participants are going to have is choosing where to “vote with their feet”. The one thing we can promise is that we are going to start a lot of important conversations. The other thing we can be sure of is that we won’t have enough time to finish them.

We’ll talk about how can continue the conversation in our closing of the evening, an opportunity for the community to start setting its own direction.

See you at the Appel Salon, or follow online. The twitter hashtag is, as always, #GovCamp.

 

Host a Conversation at GovCamp Toronto by Mark Kuznicki on June 10/2010

On June 17th, 2010, we are hosting a uniquely interactive and intimate evening of conversation at the Appel Salon at Toronto Reference Library. If you haven’t already, please join us by registering at this link: http://govcamp.eventbrite.com/

Propose a Topic for Conversation

The topics for conversation are created by you, the participant. The organizers are looking for volunteers to host a conversation with a small group (6-10) for a little over an hour, on a topic that is important to you. In order to facilitate this in an orderly fashion, we are looking for your proposals in advance using the form linked below.

A host does not need to be an expert, but merely agrees to help make sure that the conversation happens and kicks it off. Both experts and learners are welcome to propose a topic for discussion. These conversations are created by the people who come together to share knowledge in a casual and peer to peer setting, We provide a space and make sure you have an opportunity to promote your conversation so that the right people can join you.

Submit your conversation topic proposal here

Web and Mobile App Demos

We are also creating spaces for people to host demos of interesting web or mobile apps that utilize open civic data or that demonstrate the use of social media or collaboration tools by government. We provide you a space, a large LCD monitor and a wired Internet connection. You bring a laptop and the inspiration.

Submit your demo proposal here

 

GovCamp Photos and Post Event Pages by John Weigelt on June 8/2010

Here are a few photos from GovCamp Canada. The first two are from the reception, the rest are taken during the keynote and the agenda building session.

Be sure to visit our Post Event Material page for transcripts and video, and our Post Event Conversation page to continue the dialogue.

Jerry Mechling’s Keynote Slides by John Weigelt on June 4/2010

Jerry Mechling helped kick off GovCamp with a thought provoking presentation that linked the 8 major leadership moves that have been identified by leaders as ways to emerge from today’s tough times and connected those moves to the conversations in the Camp community.Emerging from Tough Times – 10.05.31

GovCamp Canada conversation starters by Mark Kuznicki on May 30/2010

Last week, I wrote a quick post to gather some ideas for GovCamp session topics and got a good response.

An unconference like GovCamp is powered by participation. The people that come create the content of a good part of the day, and those session topics are always driven by the needs, interests and gifts of the folks who attend the event.

Have a look at the list of people attending this event, and you will be rightly excited by the possibilities: http://govcamp.eventbrite.com/

We’re going to be talking about Government 2.0, Open Government, government transformation, public service renewal, social media in government, open data, government collaboration, citizen-centred service, public engagement and many other broad topics.

But what are the specific issues and questions that you have about these topics? The more specific, the better. We’re looking for you to bring your experience, ideas, questions and needs to this important national conversation. Please leave a comment on this blog post, or share your session idea on Twitter with the hashtag #GovCamp.

See you in Ottawa!

Things are coming together by John Weigelt on May 21/2010

Well, it has been a very busy week and I am pleased to note that we have secured our venue, panelists, keynote speakers, webcasting, host and worked out many of the finer details for GovCamp.

On the 31st of May we have our Welcome Reception from 4PM to 6 PM at University of Ottawa, 12102 Desmerais building, 55 Laurier East, Ottawa, Ontario.

Jerry Mechling of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government will be keynoting.

On the 1st of June, our day gets started in Colonel By Hall, Auditorium C03, with a fantastic panel of experts.

Following this exciting panel, participants will have the opportunity to propose and pursue conversations in an unconference format under the stewardship of Mark Kuznicki, Principle of Remarkk Consulting and the thought leader behind ChangeCamp.

After an afternoon of discussion, groups will report their ideas back to the plenary. The day will be wrapped by David Eaves, after which everyone will be able to relax with a beverage at the event.

We are pleased to be able to webcast the event and provide simultaneous translation and will get the details out soonest.

Remember to register @ http://govcamp.eventbrite.com/

More on the Canada Govcamp by John Weigelt on May 3/2010

Canada Gov Camp
It’s happening May 31 and June 1 2010 at Ottawa U and You’re Invited.

What is this?
It’s a gathering of local citizens, public sector employees, service delivery leaders and policy people with an interest in having a conversation on engaging citizens, empowering business and increasing internal efficiencies through transformational  government activities across all levels of government (municipal, regional, provincial and federal).  This gathering is not a trade show or product oriented discussion, rather a workshop style unconference where participants establish the agenda and  explore the themes that are of most interest to them.

Why?
We’ve seen a number of great communities spring up across Canada to think about, discuss and build a new relationship with their local governments, often through the use of technology.  These activities are accelerated by bringing the community together at workshop style unconferences, ChangeCamps, BarCamps and unconferences.  Having participated in these local activities and experienced the creative energy first hand we began to think about how the ideas and enthusiasm behind them from these local events could be shared in a broader context.  So we thought that it would be interesting to bring together communities across camps, a sort of Jamboree, to explore opportunities to work together on open government activities across multiple levels of government.

To Talk about What?

  • Wouldn’t it be great to call one number and be able to get an answer to government services regardless of which level provided it?
  • Reserve your campsite from one website without having to think about which department managed the site?
  • How about being able to give your input and be heard on government initiatives that start from the speech from the throne and are delivered through provincial programs by you municipality?

These are the types of conversations we are looking to have.

Who else will be there?
We are reaching out to a number communities including key departments like Industry Canada, Treasury Board Secretariat, Public Works and Government Services, Public Safety Canada, The Information Commissioner of Canada, Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, City of Ottawa and Open Government, ChangeCamp community leaders.

Who is this event for?
IT People –Technology is one way that governments are transforming how they deliver services externally and internally.  Technology people are needed to explore the art of the possible for these new services.  Mash-ups, Open Data, social media are but a few of the possible areas for discussion.

Policy People – We need you in the conversation so that you can share your expertise on the realm of the possible from a policy perspective.  Privacy, Security, Access to Information, Information Management are all key considerations for successful government transformation.  Come share your knowledge on how to make these policies enable new services.

Government Services leaders – Ultimately, government delivers value through the many services that are provided.  Gov Camp is about exploring the realm of the possible for service to individuals, services to businesses and services to other departments.  You voice is essential to inform the community and to guide those ideas that the community may have for you!

Community – We are fortunate that there’s a passionate and creative community with vibrant ideas about how they can help create a closer connection between governments, individuals, businesses and even among government itself.  Your participation at the Canada gov camp will provide you with a venue to share your great ideas and, if all goes well, interact with some of the people that can take your idea further.

Who’s behind this Event?
Canada Gov Camp is being hosted by the Canadian Association for Information Technology Professionals, sponsored by Microsoft Canada on behalf of the community.

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