Government 2.0 is the use of Web 2.0 tools, social media, and collaboration tools by the government to engage citizens, increase transparency, and coproduce public services.
Here are the core concepts of Government 2.0
Outside-In Strategy:
Government 2.0 focuses on harnessing external resources, crowdsourcing, and public participation. It is unlike e-government, which uses an inside-out approach focused on digitizing internal agency processes.
Governance Webs:
Public, private, and civil society actors collaborate on policy and delivery.
Collective Intelligence:
It focuses on the use of user-generated content, social tagging, and open data to make information shareable and actionable across different agencies.
Key Pillars
Transparency:
The public and private sectors can use government datasets to analyze and make the government accountable.
Participation:
People can participate in shaping government policies instead of just consuming the services.
Collaboration:
It fosters joint problem-solving between government workers, private industries, and community groups, promoting collaboration.
Examples:
Data.gov:
It aggregates data sets around different government sectors like agriculture, climate, and public health. Citizens can download this data and use it for different purposes.
Comparison of Government 2.0 Approach Styles
| Country | Primary Gov 2.0 Pillar | Core System / Platform Name | Main Citizen Interaction Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Transparency & Crowdsourcing | Data.gov & Challenge.gov | Citizens build independent applications and compete to solve federal problems. |
| United Kingdom | Accountability & Service Feedback | GOV.UK Performance Platform | Citizens use centralized public portals while monitoring real-time performance metrics. |
| Estonia | Interoperability & Civic Action | X-Road Ecosystem & eID | Citizens securely manage personal data and vote remotely via high-trust digital IDs. |
| South Korea | Co-Production & Ecosystem Tech | Digital Platform Government Policy | Public-private data integrations where startups construct specialized state services. |
References
The Government 2.0 utilization model and implementation scenarios
Government 2.0: Transforming Government and Governance for the Twenty-First Century
Government 2.0: Making connections between citizens, data and government