Over the last several years, the emergence of social media/networking has offered a possibility of transforming the way government agencies communicate and cooperate not only amongst themselves, but also with the public. While the potential benefits of social media use by government agencies are considerable, the number of issues connected with such use and the number of potential pitfalls are substantial as well.

The overall aim of this project is to provide government professionals with practical advice on policy and regulatory issues associated with the use of social media by government agencies, offer guidance on resolving some of the most pressing concerns identified, and offer suggestions on tools that would help agencies achieve their organizational objectives in respect to social media effectively and efficiently.

Government agencies are increasingly looking to leverage social media to improve the quality of government services and elicit greater citizen engagement. Developing a social media policy can be an important first step for government agencies considering using social media and can ultimately serve as a key enabler for responsibly and effectively leveraging social media tools. Yet, many governments are struggling with what such a policy should encompass and convey. This report outlines the different reasons government employees engage in social media use and begins to answer the question, what are the core elements of a government social media policy? Our analysis identified eight essential elements for a social media policy: 1) employee access, 2) account management, 3) acceptable use, 4) employee conduct, 5) content, 6) security, 7) legal issues, and 8) citizen conduct. The report closes with brief guidance on strategies for getting started.

Designing Social Media Policy for Government
Brookings Institution
Friday May 13, 2011

 

• The New York State Forum

The social media project is scheduled to be completed in September 2010. The project is currently divided into two phases:

Phase 1: July – October 2009

The aim of the first project phase was to collect input from government professionals in New York state on the most pressing questions surrounding the use of social media in the public sector, and to determine on which of these issues should CTG concentrate its research efforts. The project consisted of the following three main activities:

• An internal CTG discussion intended to collect ideas from CTG staff on potential project ideas.
• An in-depth workshop with NYS government professionals concentrating on what are the benefits and the most pressing questions and issues in regards to social media use by New York state agencies.
• A workshop at the New York State Local Government IT Directors’ Association conference with local government representatives aimed at ranking the benefits and issues and concerns identified at the state government workshop.

The first phase resulted in a workshop summary report that was shared with all workshop participants as well as the NYS Forum community.

Phase 2: November 2009 – September 2010

The primary aim of the second project phase is to provide practical advice on designing policies for social media use in government, as well as guidance on developing a strategy for social media adoption and implementation. There are three main components of work: In addition to review and synthesis of available literature on the aforementioned topics, interviews with professionals from different levels of government will be conducted to provide practical examples of how government agencies manage social media use.

Final Products

Social media policy white paper and an issue brief series that will provide government professionals with a common basis for discussing strategies for social media implementation and practical advice on the different aspects of social media implementation that have to be taken into consideration when designing an agency social media strategy.

Social media training course – a training course aimed at government professionals who are charged with designing a strategy for social media implementation in their agency. For additional information about the course, please see the Training section.

Designing Social Media Policy for Government: Eight Essential Elements

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Government agencies are increasingly looking to leverage social media to improve the quality of government services and elicit greater citizen engagement. Developing a social media policy can be an important first step for government agencies considering using social media and can ultimately serve as a key enabler for responsibly and effectively leveraging social media tools. Yet, many government agencies are struggling with what such a policy should encompass and convey. This webinar will draw on a report from the Center for Technology in Government describing eight essential elements for a government social media policy; and how this report has been used by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to draft their newly released policy. During this webinar, DOT will share information about how they structured their policy-drafting process and how they incorporated various materials to create a comprehensive social media policy.

More > >

Center for Technology in Government
University at Albany, SUNY
187 Wolf Road, Suite 301
Albany, NY 12205
(518) 442-3892 (phone)
(518) 442-3886 (fax)

James Hrdinova

Project Manager

(518) 442-3983