The Social Web in the Government of Canada: Promises, Failures and Reforms

Social media, open data, big data and crowdsourcing—facets of the social web—are the buzzwords of contemporary public management reform, praised as promising drivers of transparency, democratic participation and improved policies and services. In this talk, Amanda Clarke will analyze the current status of the social web in the federal Government of Canada, providing an historical narrative that tracks the policy origins and, in some cases, policy failures that characterize the government’s attempts to exploit social media, open data, big data and crowdsourcing. The talk will discuss reforms required for the Government of Canada to effectively incorporate the social web into its operations, in particular, in light of the results of the recent Blueprint 2020 initiative. Finally, Clarke will explore the ways in which her findings complement and contradict the suggestion that the public sector has become increasingly politicized under the Harper government since 2006.