Ten Shovel-Ready Online Civic Projects
(Add Yours!)
It's a fascinating time here in DC. Each day brings news about the stimulus package, and the administration has been taking new steps to use the internet to innovate and expand government transparency.
We see an opportunity here to simultaneously deliver economic stimulus and advance government transparency by directing funding to online civic infrastructure projects -- "shovel-ready" initiatives which will enable governments, nonprofits, citizens and businesses to work together to solve important social problems.
Such projects should catalyze important work by others, be "scalable" to meet the needs of many users, and provide incentives for addressing problems that are unlikely to be solved by a profit-seeking private sector.
We've put together a list of "shovel-ready" online projects -- ideas which have been under some discussion, which have some momentum, and which someone could begin work on quickly.
Here are our shovel-ready project ideas:
Project #1: The Global Development Commons.
Project #2: A News Portal for Global Health.
Project #3: Health Care Provider Data Feed.
Project #4: Transparency for Special Education Services.
Project #5: "Global Energy Observatory" Interactive Databases and Maps.
We're interested in your suggestions to help us round out a list of ten! Email your suggestions to shovelready@forumone.com, and we'll share the best ideas in a future post on our Influence blog.
Chris Wolz,
President and CEO
cwolz@forumone.com
Upcoming Events
Interesting events we're hosting and sponsoring in the next few months:
eDemocracyCamp2
April 19, 2009 - Washington, D.C.
Forum One is a coordinator and sponsor of this community-organized unconference about e-democracy and e-participation.
Learn more.
Nonprofit Technology Conference
April 26-28, 2009 - San Francisco
Four Forum One staff -- Sophie Campagne, Andrew Cohen, Michaela Hackner, and Kurt Voelker -- will be speaking at this annual gathering of over 1,200 people using internet technology to support fundraising, advocacy, communications, and programs. Learn about their sessions.
Beyond the Hype: Government 2.0 for Decision-Makers
June 4, 2009 - Washington, D.C.
In this Web Executive Seminar, Forum One will showcase stories from agencies and organizations who have used the internet to increase the transparency and availability of their content and data. Learn more.
Recent Events
Notes from events we've attended recently:
Government 2.0 Camp
Forum One sponsored and led sessions at this DC event that focused on "using social technologies to create a more effective, efficient and collaborative U.S. government on all levels." Notes from many of the sessions are on government20club.org.
Online Community Business Forum
Last month, we hosted our annual business and online community forum in beautiful Sonoma, Ca. The discussions, the networking, and the demos were excellent. See Highlights from Day 1 and Highlights from Day 2.
Transparency Camp 2009
We had a wonderful time attending and helping to sponsor the March 1 "Transparency Camp" here in DC. It was a great gathering of people from government, NGOs and even some businesses interested in new strategies for using online tools for government transparency. Read blog posts by Michaela Hackner, Joe Pringle and Chris Wolz.
Forum One News
'Legistalker' vies for Apps for America award
"Legistalker," Forum One's entry into Sunlight Lab's Apps for America contest, allows you to track U.S. Congress members' activities on Twitter, YouTube, their floor speeches, and mentions on hundreds of news sites. Legistalker was conceived and built in just a few weeks by Forum One's Chris von Spiegelfeld, Courtney Clark, and Norman Bucknor. The winner of the contest will be announced April 7. Track your legislator at Legislaker.org.
Follow ProjectSpaces Updates on Twitter
We are pleased to announce that clients may now follow ProjectSpaces updates and new releases on Twitter. Follow ProjectSpaces on Twitter.
Forum One Launches 'Field Notes' Blog
Forum One has launched a new blog to share the experiences of staff members while they travel and volunteer around the world. For the next several months, most posts will be from staffer Angie Milton, who is volunteering with the San Juan del Sur Sister City Project in Nicaragua and teaching English and health education classes. Read Angie's fascinating posts.
Recent Forum One Site Launches
Forum One staff have been busy building web solutions. The following new sites have launched since last December:
News From Our Clients
- The Abt Associates-led PSP-One project's Network for Africa hosted an online discussion on March 19 on lessons learned to date on implementing voucher programs to subsidize the cost of private health care in developing countries. The event included discussion of recent experience with the Uganda voucher program.
Learn more about PSP-One here. - The Center for Global Development and Foreign Policy magazine presented the 2008 Commitment to Development Award to the ONE Campaign in December for their "tireless effort to raise awareness of global poverty during the 2008 U.S. presidential elections."
See details at CGD. - The PEPFAR-I goal of treating at least 2 million people with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) in 15 focal countries was achieved ahead of schedule in September 2008. However, most countries "will face an uphill climb in reaching their goals of universal ART coverage."
Read a post on this perspective on the Health Systems 20/20 blog.
- The Center for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) hosted an alumni coaching workshop in February to help women leaders from developing countries coach other leaders who have recently completed one of CEDPA's various training programs, to help extend the training experience.
Read more at CEDPA.org. - The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) has officially launched Planet Connect, "an online social network where high school students can learn about current environmental issues, funding opportunities, green colleges and environmental careers. Students can also share and exchange ideas about how they are playing a critical role in solving today's environmental issues."
View
the new site at Planet-Connect.org.
New Clients
We're happy to say that we've recently begun working with the following new clients:
- DiabetesMine (CADCA)
- Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)
- Center to Champion Nursing (AARP and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy
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