WTF! > Straight in at number 48 in The #LGC100

This evening saw the LGC100 list announced and I am very proud and also nicely surprised to be included and in particularly in making the top 50.

This is a huge nod to the achievements and recognition of the work of the people around me at the council as much as it is for me. This is also a huge nod to the group of volunteers who work in and around LocalGov Digital.

The LGC 100 list looks ahead to who the panel of judges believe will exercise most influence in 2015. According to the LGC website the judges were instructed to consider who will have the greatest influence, rather than who they would like to see holding power. Phew as I’m unlikely to be anywhere near the top 100,000 if it were about power 🙂

The bio about me was nice and I didn’t even have anything to do with it, it said:

In an environment where more and more councils aim to bring about “channel shift” in order to give the public better access to services and cut staffing costs, his work could be significant over the next few years.

One judge said: “Carl is a driving force behind the digital reinvention of local government. He is also an active online social media promoter of local government.”

To say I’m proud is an understatement, it is a great achievement and I only hope I can live up to the expectation and promise over the next 12 months. I certainly have clear aspirations to do exactly that. 🙂

Advertisement

On being nominated

A few weeks back I was notified that I was included on the Public Services Award: Leadership Excellence shortlist. Public voting closes on 21st October – #VoteCarl…

Initially when I first heard I was like “WTF?” but after a while and after some grounding conversations with colleagues and my family I became personally proud and honoured to be included in the list given the outstanding quality of the other candidates.

In the time since it was first announced I’ve had so much positive feedback and people have said such wonderful things. I’ve received praise and congratulations from so many people including The leader of the council, the chief executive, my line manager, my Heads of Service, other Heads of Service, lots of internal and external peers and colleagues and even some teachers at my children’s school.

What all of this has done for me personally is fantastic, it has cemented some confidence, it has nudged me forward, it has challenged me to think about my impact and influence on the people around me at all levels but most of all it has made me think about the type of leadership I’ve demonstrated to justify being nominated in the first place.

On the awards website it states:

In a part of the world not always renowned for its innovation, Haggerty is building on his fundamental belief that local government is, and should, be “open by default and digital by design” and that every citizen can and will “meaningfully integrate the internet into their daily lives” to provide active and capable participation in a ubiquitous digital climate.

Haggerty, who also chairs the LocalGov Digital steering group, has been shortlisted for his energy and openness in pursuit of pervasive digital awareness and education, which has included an innovation month at Devon county council. “He’s doing something remarkable in a place you might not necessarily expect,” according to the Public Leaders Network editorial advisory board.

The interesting thing about all of the things that have been mentioned is that – and as a close friend pointed out – none of the things I have achieved are original or even my ideas…so they were quick to state that I was a fraud, but a worthy one…I’ll take that in a good way 🙂

However that doesn’t mean I don’t believe those things and want to work to make them happen, because I do – in fact I’m very passionate about the the future of local government, the digital climate for local public services, I want to help my council and others understand this space and to move forward. I do believe that being open by default and digital by design is fundamentally critical to public service design and I am very proud of being able to sell the idea of a month of creativity to our Corporate Leadership Team and then rally others around me to help make it happen. I’m also very proud of being Chair of LocalGov Digital which is full of people I admire and respect hugely and we are all on a collective journey and no one is better than anyone else – we simply work well together.

But the point that my colleague pointed out is correct, in that none of these things are my ideas – to a degree – I’ve been reusing, reframing and adopting other peoples ideas and bringing them together and where possible (hopefully) adding value, ever since I started working in this area. I’ve not got the answers and I know other people don’t either but together we can find our way through, What I try and do is make sense of those things and then through my blog and other channels try and share some of that thinking or ask questions.

In relation to the blurb about me I’d thought i’d provide the background to the bits it highlights so you can all know where this stuff originated.

• Open by default, digital by design – was a phrase coined by Carrie Bishop at the Open Space South West Event in September 2012 – ever since she said that I adopted it like a personal mantra…So Thank you Carrie.
• The Digital climate – This was a phrase I read in the City of Chicago’s digital strategy which was promoted by John Tolva, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at City of Chicago – so Thank you John
• The innovation month (Create & Innovate) – I reused an idea that the Met Office in Exeter used which was an “Innovate and Create” week – I simply reversed the name and extended the time. Thank you Mike and Natalie (colleagues at the Met Office)
• Localgov Digital – I’m merely one a wider group of people who came together through frustration, determination and a passion for local government. Thank you to all the fellow steering group members

I think what has happened is that I’ve somehow managed to nudge some things forward, to help other people, to inspire other people and to be open about all those types of things in my blog – I seem to have demonstrated a type of leadership which some wish to recognise.

Everyone on the list deserves the award in my view – it is clear why they all deserve it – am I suggesting I deserve it more, no not in the slightest…in fact I’m only doing what I’m paid to do…this is what my job, my manager, my team, my service and my council expects and demands of me.

I’d like to believe that everyone working for the residents of Devon deserve an award – everyone knows the context and challenges people are dealing with in their everyday work life. I’m lucky I get to share my thinking, I’m in a role that exposes me more to a wider group of people. This is also replicated across every council area in the country – It isn’t easy working in the sector right now…it is full of uncertainty, full of fundamental change, but in amongst all of this people do the jobs that they are expected to do and more and I’m proud to be part of that team.

I think one of the contributing factors to be noticed, let alone nominated was my blog and my general level of activity of twitter – So i’d like to encourage more people to be brave and share their thinking, to take that first step and be open to challenge and constructive feedback. Not to win an award but to connect to a wider group of people who can and do help you.

I’ve been asked whether I want to win and yes of course I’d love to win (I would really love to win – #votecarl), but do I feel I deserve to win over the other candidates…no not really but that is something for anyone who votes to decide.

Whatever the outcome I’m going to enjoy this moment and enjoy the awards ceremony as it has already had a massive impact on my life by simply being recognised as a leader.

To the editorial group who put my name forward – THANK YOU.

#VoteCarl

 

DCC Social Media Forum 4 – #DCCSMF

At the moment, It feels like organising events are something I’m involved in quite a bit, which isn’t a problem when the events are Open Space South West and now the DCC Social Media Forum 4, although this time, I’m getting one of my team Russell to help out and take more of a lead.

I announced the tickets a couple of weeks ago and it has almost sold out which is reassuring to know but also demonstrates the increasing desire from colleagues across the council and our partners to learn and share learning around social and digital technologies. If you work in the public sector in Devon and want to come along get in touch via the comments and I’ll pass the details on. I’ve started to collect names of people who want to be on a distribution list for these kinds of things.

The development of the social media forum has been interesting and is something that has already become a critical way of maintaining an overview on the projects which are going on across the council.

It is through this event you start to get into the details of the projects you previously only heard about at a high level and thought “that sounds like a good idea, wonder how that will work”.

The pace of social projects means that you never really have to wait a long time to learn from the outcomes and experiences from the people who were involved, although some benefits and outcomes won’t be seen for some time.

The event is on Friday 13th July (lucky for us) and I’ll blog about the day and share any presentations and insights afterwards.

The previous events summary and presentations can be found here

Bringing content to people, not people to websites – Gov2Radio

As referenced in my last blog post, here is the podcast embedded below…I didn’t realise that I sounded so Devonian 🙂

A very open account and it comes from the heart as you’d expect..a good edit considering we spoke for just over an hour…for those who know me, getting me to shut up isn’t that easy…

Thank you to Allison for the opportunity to share some thinking and the conversation.

Enjoy….

http://gov20radio.com/2012/06/content-to-people/

Public Sector Meet-Up – The story of the Public Sector, Social Reporting + Gov2Radio

I was contacted by Allison Hornery from Gov20 radio recently which led to me giving a short overview of what Devon has been doing around thinking and doing digital – the result of which will be available shortly on the Gov20 radio website as a podcast.

However in conversation with Allison she mentioned that she is coming to the UK shortly and wondered whether anyone in Devon or the south west would be interested in an informal meet-up to chat about how we can tell the story of the Public Sector, social reporting and opportunities around Gov2Radio.

We also spoke about Open Space South West and how this will hopefully encourage greater conversation across the region, therefore it might be nice to see this meet-up as a small lead up event to the main Open Space Event in September…well maybe not 🙂

Allison is available week beginning 2nd July and we are suggesting a couple of hours say 3pm – 5pm in Exeter.

So – can you let me know whether you are interested in a meet-up to talk about the public sector narrative, social reporting and opportunities and lessons from gov2radio – which days are good for you by completing the poll below – I’ll be going with the most popular day.

Some more information about Gov 20 Radio as taken directly from the website…

For more than three years, Gov 2.0 Radio has been where thought leaders and decision-makers, practitioners and civic innovators have come to tune in to important trends.

Voices for proactive innovation and change

We’re emerging as not just a podcast but a place where people can learn to find their voice on “connected government” in all its forms… e-gov, gov 2.0, open gov and more… as well as on shaping positive change through innovation in the public sphere.

We aspire to challenge thinking that’s become too stale and – while we aren’t a solutions provider – to provide signposts to where sustainable solutions may lie.

Our vision is that by being an effective, useful and respected channel, we can play a small role in accelerating positive change where it’s most needed.

Tech enabling cultural shifts

It’s no news that connective tech is one of the most powerful enablers within every public jurisdiction – both within the community of government as well as between government and its publics.

But the technology is only an enabler and, for us, Gov 2.0 and open gov are important cultural shifts in the way we all – that’s all of us – do government.

The vision of sound

We aim to broaden the podcast distribution as widely and equitably as possible. Video is funky, but we like audio because it’s easier, cheaper and faster to capture and showcase candid, emerging practice. Audio is also low bandwidth and has a lower barrier to entry for many people. This is key to making more Gov 2.0 Radio content more accessible – not only in those agencies with limited net access but, importantly, to practitioners in emerging economies as well.

We’re about amplifying the voices of connected government & public innovation.

In 2012 and onwards, our goal for the rebooted
Gov 2.0 Radio is to help a much wider community inside and outside government to “find their voice” around their passions and concerns for connected government.