Senior public sector managers must overcome their natural scepticism about Web 2.0 say Socitm :: PublicTechnology.net :: e-Government & public sector IT news + job vacancies:

Senior public sector managers must overcome their status as ‘digital immigrants’ and embrace Web 2.0 says new report from Socitm Insight - and should overcome their natural scepticism about Web 2.0.

This is the key message of Web 2.0: what it is and why it matters — a briefing for public sector managers, the latest report from the Society of IT Management, published on September 10.

The report describes the wide range of practices and technologies collectively known as Web 2.0, which it groups into the following eight categories: user-generated content; interactivity; re-use of information; use of rich content; business networking; search and retrieval of information; mobile access; and e-learning

The report goes on to discuss the contribution each of these could make to transforming services and enabling engagement with communities, and sets out the findings of a survey UK public sector organisations to explore their awareness of Web 2.0 facilities and usage and attitudes towards them. The survey results indicate that the UK public sector is currently adopting a cautious approach.

Report author Chris Head provides a possible explanation for this caution: ‘Web 2.0 challenges the very roots of the public sector ethos’, he says. ‘As if the retreat from paternalism and recognition of the citizen as a customer were not enough, Web 2.0 provides the facilities to put citizens in control. This turns public sector thinking upside-down. It means marketing services, not rationing them. It means being proactive, and not responding defensively to criticism.’

In a departure from Socitm Insight’s usual publishing practice, Web 2.0: what it is and why it matters will be made available exclusively through a microsite -www.socitmweb2.net – designed as a Web 2.0 resource that includes a blog, forum and other facilities to encourage discussion, feedback, information sharing and networking.

Web 2.0: what it is and why it matters is written for any public sector manager who has an interest in innovation and a desire to understand the potential of the next wave of web technology, including directors of customer service; transformation managers; web managers, communications professionals and those concerned with e-democracy and citizen engagement.

The report is available free of charge to Socitm Insight subscribers and costs £195 to others (£175 to Socitm members whose organisations do not subscribe to Socitm Insight).