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Government’s around the world seem to be fundamentally missing at least one of the key tenants of how Web 2.0 technologies can be used to enhance eGovernment programs, not for lack of trying, more likely because it is hard not to think like a government when you are a government.

I spent a chunk of this morning looking at some of the Gov2.0 experiments that are appearing on the web today.

In my view there are three core components that make up Web 2.0 – Communication & Collaboration, Transparency and Empowerment.

Participation. Gov2.0 properties generally do a good job with this part, an increasing number of ministers and senior civil servants are starting to use twitter, blogs and other technologies to talk directly with their constituents. In many cases these tools are being used for a conversation between government and citizens rather than government participating in community discussions – it is a nuance, but a significant one.

Transparency. With direct contact comes transparency, we are already starting to see some members of government who are better at this than others. It will take a while, and some courage, before we see government officials willing to share their inner thoughts in what is essentially a public space. Today we’re learning more about what our representatives and civil service are thinking, and we are gaining the ability to talk and share ideas directly with them.

Empowerment. In my view, by far the largest benefit of Web 2.0 comes from the empowerment of constituents to debate and solve their own issues. This is the piece that I have yet to see any government implement successfully. It will be a major shift, in the more significant examples it will involve handing over the process and business of government to citizens.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but it was a post by Gartner analyst Andrea DiMaio, titled “US Federal Government Blesses ‘Government 2.0’” that really crystallized it for me.

In his post Andrea talks about the core pillars of the US Government’s Gov 2.0 initiatives;

The first one is USAspending.gov, a web site that  will allow citizen to verify “when, with whom, and on what the Government is spending taxpayer funds, and whether or not that money is delivering results”. Data will be made available in such a way that users will be able to “combine them into different data sets, conduct analysis and research, or power new information-based products and businesses”.

The second one is Data.gov, the much discussed repository to access public data from across the whole federal government to help unlock the so-called “power of information” and to create value by mashing up public and non-government information. As I mention in earlier posts, this has already triggered initiatives by vendors who are (or want to be seen as) proactive.

The third one is Recovery.gov, which applies the same principles as USAspending.gov to the tracking of funds coming from the Stimulus Package.

As far as participation & collaboration, the document says that “the Federal IT agenda is focused on helping agencies use developing technologies to inform the work of Government” and “Agencies will be called upon to take creative action in developing new approaches to citizen involvement, including the utilization of social and visual technologies, such as Web 2.0 tools.

The US government appears to be on the right track, although there is still a strong leaning towards a government that is transmitting and receiving data between the institutions of Government and citizens.

The building blocks for more significant initiatives are evident in the US strategy, in particular the idea of opening up significant silos of government data for use by constituents. Citizens will find new and exciting uses for this data that will solve social, economic and other issues in ways that policy makers are not even considering.

Delivering Gov 2.0 will involve presenting citizens with a new type of tool that empowers them to make their own decisions around how projects are established or how changes are made to the workings of their own government. Often these new types of tool will not involve government officials directly, government will simply provide the platform and citizens will be the ones who are in control.

It will be a major shift for many of our government leaders and policy makers, it won’t be an easy shift, but Web 2.0 has shown us that it is a shift that has the potential to bring significant value.

Imagine how little success would have been enjoyed by sites like facebook or twitter if the principal use of these tools was to communicate with the employees of those companies.