PART 1 - Analysis of Toronto's Open Government Progress Report

(Above image: Wordle of Toronto's Open Government Progress Report)

“They know the words, but they don’t know the music.” - Jimmy Hoffa, 1992 Hoffa, Twentieth Century Fox

This is Part 1 of a series that examines the newly released Toronto City Clerk Open Government progress report. Please keep in mind that the premise for this analysis is that while the City of Toronto does know the principles of Open Government, they do not truly understand its spirit.

This post will provide the foundation for my premise.

OVERALL IMPRESSION
There is no denying that Toronto’s City Clerk office is a well-oiled information management machine that has achieved some tremendous work in Open Government. However, there seems to be something missing in their Open Government initiatives. They are lacking an intangible that is hard to describe. I am not saying they are lacking "passion" or "willingness," but they are definitely lacking something.

The only way I can describe it is by saying they know the principles of Open Government, but do not really know its spirit. In case you're wondering, I believe the spirit of Open Government is its ability to warm-up the cold relationship that exists between people and their government.

To demonstrate my point, I ask that you please take a look at Toronto's City Clerk Council website. For those not familiar, this site is where all council minutes/motions/agendas/votes are kept and it is the epitome of sound information management. It gives Torontonians unparalleled access to information that makes many other cities jealous.

Now, compare Toronto's Council page to Chicago's. Neither site will win any design awards, but you can't deny that Chicago's seems friendlier. It is easier to take it all in and navigate the different council items whereas the Toronto site has a steep learning curve; it is not overly intuitive; and can be quite intimidating for the uninitiated.

ROLE OF THE CITY CLERK
Another place to demonstrate my point is by looking at how Toronto's City Clerk office describes their role when it comes to Open Government. You will notice the following words are nowhere to be found:

• Agile
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Community
• Culture
• Decision making
• Engagement
• Innovation
• Mobile
• Sustainable

The words I have just listed are essential to make Open Government a reality. Additionally, you will notice the City Clerk references “print” and “mail” services, but they do not mention “digital.” For comparison please read the City of Guelph 2012 City Clerk Annual Report and notice how they describes their Open Government framework:

"The City Clerk’s Office developed an Open Government Framework that will make it easier for residents, businesses and visitors to access City information and participate in the decision making process. The vision of Open Government is to partner with and engage the community in order to support innovation and enhance the overall accountability and transparency of the City.

Here is another example. Three years ago Canada’s Clerk of the Privy Council launched Blueprint 2020, a program that is guiding the evolution of the federal public service. The introduction letter sent to federal public servants has this excerpt outlining the four principles for the initiative:

• An open and networked environment that engages citizens and partners for the public good;
• A whole-of-government approach that enhances service delivery and value for money;
• A modern workplace that makes smart use of new technologies to improve networking, access to data and customer service; and,
• A capable, confident and high-performing workforce that embraces new ways of working and mobilizing the diversity of talent to serve the country’s evolving needs.

Here is yet one more example to consider. As part of the plenary sessions at GTEC 2014, Corinne Charette (then CIO for Canada's Treasury Board) was asked "How do we measure the success of Open Government?" Corinne's answer? (and I'm paraphrasing here) "Although it is difficult, I believe the measurement is trust in government."

(Apologies. The site that originally hosted this GTEC video is now defunct and the video no longer exists. But trust me on this one! lol).

I might be comparing apples to oranges here, and I do apologize if that is the case. But, you can't deny the differences in how Toronto defines Open Government compared to other Canadian jurisdictions.

IN CONCLUSION
So I suppose my question is this: Does Toronto's City Clerk Open Government initiatives inspire trust in government? And unfortunately, I'm forced to say "not completely."

Open Government is more than just about publishing information. It's a transformation in the culture of the bureaucracy that drastically alters HOW government conducts its business. In other words, Open Government is the answer to the observation that government is a 19th Century institution that uses 20th Century tools to solve 21st Century problems.

Once again, and I cannot stress this enough, I am not suggesting Toronto's City Clerk is inept and has done nothing from an Open Government perspective. What I am suggesting is that in order for them to find success they may need to re-evaluate their approach so that their initiatives achieve the fundamental goals that Open Government promises.