David Fletcher is always good for picking up lots of interesting stuff. One item I found particularly interesting is Network Government for the Digital Age by Robert D. Atkinson of Progressive Policy Institute. This is about the politics of networked government. Atkinson argues that an information-rich economy and societal governance can be transformed in six key ways:
- from bureaucratic and rule-driven government to entrepreneurial and flexible government;
- from bureaucratic programs to empowered social entrepreneurs;
- from top-down control to bottom-up complex adaptive systems;
- from bureaucratic solutions to market-enabled solutions;
- from information controlled by the bureaucracy to information freely available to everyone; and
- from compliance with rules to accountability for results.
Progressive? Well, there’s some inflation in this concept these days … I note that “the national leaders of progressive centre-left governments across the world” will gather in London for the Progressive Governance Leader’s Summit, hosted by Tony Blair. Bill Clinton and Douglas Alexander are some of the progressives.
