IDEA: Gov Process Roadmap and Wiki

Audience

Benefits

• Give users the ability to play on a more even field that many existing special interests enjoy.
• Give users a visual roadmap of local gov and agency relationships (i.e. referral from one agency to another for their approval) and processes.
• Would help users understand how issues make it through the step-by-step process of a local gov body introducing new actions or, changing existing code or policy.
• Help users understand the point of the process they are in so they can develop their arguments to fit their potential level of influence. For instance, making a public comment about a budget issue a week before the final vote is far too late to have any influence.
• By using existing online diagramming tools and wiki format for narrative many users across the country will be able to create their local roadmaps
• Help hold gov and agency officials accountable to all of their constituents.

Functions

• Wiki using geographical (state, county, city, community) and agency (city council, planning group, water board, school board) pre-populated breadcrumbs
• Diagramming interface to allow users to create flowcharts, add hyperlinks to integrated wiki
• Have moderators similar to DMOZ that are responsible for oversight of posted information, disputes, flags, editor recruitment and management etc.
• Ability for other users to add comments as to their experiences in seeing advocacy issues through
• Include graphical representations of calendars as well so users understand the dates committees and agencies work on particular processes.

Concerns

• Difficulty in identifying and describing political influencers that can disturb or negate stated processes.
• Although each municipality has common departments and agencies they will have unique processes to identify and describe.

Datasets

• Calendar date milestones for various processes i.e. budgets, ordinance changes etc.
• All municipality and agency departments, committees and identifiable processes
• Names, relationships, addresses, URLs and contact information for all entities.

Opportunities

• We could use this project to help municipalities identify best-practices to improve open-gov work
• Every stakeholder, including the government themselves, gets a better understanding of the myriad processes it follows
• Ideally this information is used to lean processes and streamline citizen engagement opportunities to fit their needs (i.e. mid-day meetings to give input on issues can severely limit participation however, knowing an official email link will add the item to the record would be beneficial).

Discussion

References

• City of San Diego Development Process – clickable process map and related links
• San Diego County Discretionary Permit Process
  San Diego County Barns and Agricultural Storage Buildings – Permitting and process guidelines
• San Diego County Process For Issuance of Coastal Sage Scrub Habitat Loss Permits (Ord. No. 8365)
• California Alcoholic Beverage Control licensing process including city-engagement elements