Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 8:30am – 4:30pm

As the use of computers permeates society, it is becoming increasingly apparent that social media represents the foundation for an entirely new set of relationships among citizens, government, the private sector and civil society. By social media we mean online discussion groups, online outreach from government to the public, electronic feedback from the public to government (either directly or mediated by an information broker), organized and ad hoc gatherings of interested parties devoted to social and governmental issues, etc. Modern technological developments based on the web and email, including blogs, social networks, twitter, and others, are enabling interesting new opportunities for connecting information in a collaborative manner online, enriching interactions. Government agencies at many levels are actively exploring the potential of these new tools and learning about the policy management and technology challenges found in their adoption and use. The digital government research community as well is engaging in studies in this area; exploring many questions related to these challenges.

The North American Digital Government Society (DGSNA) and the United States General Services Administration (GSA) are hosting a workshop designed to bring together federal government experts and research scientists in a discussion of social media; in particular sharing the knowledge gained through these practice and research efforts and to outline a set of common interests and concerns moving forward.

The workshop will be held at the Churchill Hotel, http://www.thechurchillhotel.com, on December 15, 2009 from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm.

Box lunches will be available for purchase.

Invited speakers at the workshop have been chosen carefully for their diversity, depth of knowledge, and speaking experience. (Click on the topics listed below for an abstract and information about the speaker.) They include:

• Sheila Campbell, GSA Office of Citizen Services
  Co-chair, Federal Web Managers Council; Manager, USA.gov Web Best Practices
  Topic: Social Media and Web Best Practices
• Laura Godfrey/Leilani Martinez, GSA Office of Citizen Services
  Co-managers, GobiernoUSA.gov
  Topic: Reaching the Spanish-speaking Community with Social Media
• Hans J (Jochen) Scholl
  Topic: Mobile Computing in the Public Sector: Practices, Opportunities, and Arduous Challenges
• Noshir Contractor
  Topic: Understanding & Enabling Networks in Digital Government
• Sameer Ahuja, Manuel A. Pérez-Quiñones, Andrea Kavanaugh (presenter)
  Topic: Local Conversations 2.0
• Alex Koudry, Deputy Director, Technology Strategy, GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy
• Kay Morrison, Social Media Analyst, Office of Web Communications, Environmental Protection Agency

Opening Keynote: Carolyn Lukensmeyer, AmericaSpeaks

Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer, Founder and President of AmericaSpeaks, has made her mark as an innovator in deliberative democracy, public administration, and organizational development. Under Carolyn’s leadership, AmericaSpeaks has earned a national reputation as a leader in the field of deliberative democracy and democratic renewal. Prior to founding AmericaSpeaks, Carolyn served as Consultant to the White House Chief of Staff from November 1993 through June 1994, and as Chief of Staff to Governor Richard F. Celeste of Ohio from 1986 to 1991. Dr. Lukensmeyer led her own successful organizational development and management consulting firm for 14 years. In this capacity, she worked with public and private sector organizations on four continents.

Luncheon Keynote: Clement (Clem) Bezold Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF)

Clement (Clem) Bezold is the Chairman of the Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF). With Alvin Toffler and Jim Dator, he co-founded IAF to encourage "Anticipatory Democracy." He has worked with governments, communities and corporations to better understand the threats and opportunities of the future and to better create their preferred future.

Bezold has applied futures approaches, particularly scenarios and vision development, in his work with public and private sector organizations on six continents. He has worked with non-profit organizations such as the American Cancer Society, AARP, the American Red Cross, the International Refugee Committee, and the Rockefeller Foundation. He has also worked with many corporations, including AT&T, BASF, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Ford, Mead, Scott, and Siemens. IAF’s work in this area led IAF to be named as one of the top dozen small organizations globally that can do effective change management for multinational corporations.

DGSNA (www.dgsna.org) is a nonprofit professional society composed of researchers in political and management sciences, information technology and computer science, and other relevant areas; of interested individuals from various branches of government at federal, state, and local levels, and of relevant businesses.

GSA (www.gsa.gov) provides a centralized delivery system of products and services to the federal government, leveraging its enormous buying power to get the best value for taxpayers. Founded in 1949, GSA manages more than 11 percent of the government’s total procurement dollars and $24 billion in federal assets, including 8,600 government-owned or leased buildings and 213,000 vehicles. GSA provides direct access to a wide range of government services, as well as consumer protection information through the official Web portals of the federal government, USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov. GSA's USA Services provides a one-stop source for information about federal government programs, services and consumer information. The GSA Center for Intergovernmental Solutions is the only U.S. Government organization whose primary mission is to bring public sector leaders together to share information, knowledge and experience in leveraging best practices to improve services to citizens.