Science Library Pad

NRC jobs - Director, NRC Foresight

Knowledge Management
Ottawa - Ontario

Your Challenge

The Director, NRC Foresight, will be responsible for planning, developing and implementing a foresight program for NRC.  The program will explore the external global environment to identify priorities and potential future developments for new scientific research and technology. The Director will ensure NRC’s foresight initiatives enable robust and effective decision-making to occur so that NRC research programs make major contributions to Canadian innovation and competitiveness.

The position will also play a pivotal role in the development of NRC research and technology business goals, plans and priorities and in the success of the organization as it anticipates emerging science and technology issues and prioritizes those that have the greatest potential impact on the organization. This will be done by: engaging subject experts and key stakeholders to create a shared understanding of future directions; conducting assessments of industry and technology sectors to evaluate key technologies and future directions to support NRC decision-making; and, providing advice to NRC Executives on long-term strategic initiatives for NRC to ensure foresight initiatives and results are embedded into NRC’s program development.

Language Requirements

Bilingual imperative CBC/CBC

Closing Date

June 7, 2012

Apply through the NRC Careers site.

NRC jobs - Manager, Client Access Services - come be the boss of me

(I report to this position.)

Knowledge Management
Ottawa - Ontario

Your Challenge

The incumbent manages the development and delivery of efficient, client-focused, and innovative library and information products and services, and related support and access (eg, helpdesk, web services, discovery, etc), for NRC and for external shared services clients and partners. 

Language Requirements

Bilingual imperative CBC/CBC

Closing Date

June 11, 2012

Apply through the NRC Careers listing.

Ottawa Transit Data Day - June 2, 2012

Having liberated Ottawa's real-time bus location data, the city is now moving to the next step of bringing developers and OC Transpo together to make (even more) amazing things.

Ottawa Transit Data Day is June 2, 2012 at Ottawa City Hall

Register at http://transit-data-yow.eventbrite.com/

Find more information about the available data in the Open Data Ottawa blog

Follow @opendataottawa

Suggest datasets at DataOtt

Ask questions in the GPS API mailing list

Provide feedback directly about OC Transpo open data: [email protected]

Event hashtag will probably be #yowdata

So many communications channels.  Whew.

US Digital Government Strategy - launched with energetic video

US CIO Steven VanRoekel and US CTO Todd Park launched the US Digital Government Strategy at TechCrunch Disrupt NY on May 23, 2012.  They both stood in the centre of the stage and presented without notes, using only a few slides (a style many government presenters should learn).  Todd Park in particular is full of energy and uses enthusiastic, informal language - a good match for the TechCrunch audience.

Note this is much more a technology innovation strategy than an open government or transparency strategy.

There was also a "backstage" interview with Todd Park after the main presentation.
(Thanks to David Yun of SnappyTV for tweeting the direct links to these videos.)

VanRoekel and Park announced two major initiatives: a Digital Government Strategy and White House Innovation Fellows.

Addressing the latter first: Innovation Fellows is an initiative to partner entrepreneurs and experts directly with the government.  The language the site uses is "pair top innovators from the private sector, non-profits, or academia with federal government employees to collaborate on game-changing solutions".  At wh.gov/innovationfellows the five projects are listed

1. MyGov - radically simplify and reorganise the government web presence to serve the needs of citizens, not simply reflect bureaucratic structures - "a streamlined and intuitive system for presenting information and accepting feedback".  On Twitter: @ProjectMyGov
2. Open Data Initiatives - "scale the Health Data Initiative and roll out new open data initiatives in the energy, education, public safety, and nonprofit sectors" (see verticals: health.data.gov , energy.data.gov , education.data.gov , safety.data.gov ).  On Twitter: @ProjectOpenData
3. Blue Button for America - enable all citizens to download their own health records
4. RFP-EZ - make it easier for small businesses to submit to government RFPs
5. The 20% Campaign - for a second I thought this would be "Google Time" for the government, but it's about moving from cash to electronic payments particularly for things like foreign assistance payments

The second piece is the strategy - Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People.  The document is available in PDF but they are also "walking the walk" and providing it in HTML5 (using the Bootstrap framework).  The strategy was accompanied by a Presidential Memorandum - Building a 21st Century Digital Government.

There's a lot in the digital government strategy, but a few key elements are:

• Make Open Data, Content, and Web APIs the New Default
• Make Existing High-Value Data and Content Available through Web APIs
  - agencies will be required to: Identify at least two major customer-facing systems that contain high-value data and content; Expose this information through web APIs to the appropriate audiences; Apply metadata tags in compliance with the new federal guidelines; and Publish a plan to transition additional systems as practical.
• Establish a Digital Services Innovation Center and Advisory Group
  - develop government-wide BYOD [Bring Your Own Device] guidance leveraging their findings
• Deliver Better Digital Services Using Modern Tools and Technologies
  - Best practices for standards-compliant, next-generation web development, including use of content delivery networks; content management systems; common code libraries, frameworks, and tools; and responsive web design (e.g. using HTML5 and CSS3 to provide a mobile-tailored experience);
  - Standards for structuring and tagging content and data to be machine-readable;

On May 24, 2012 VanRoekel & Park spoke at an ACT-IAC event.  The stream was at http://onlinevideoservice.com/clients/ACT-IAC/ ; I don't know if will be available afterwards.

These are clear directions for an agile, intelligent government.  It is also interesting to hear CTO Todd Park say clearly that he finds the innovation within the government - there are lots of people who have great ideas.  The Innovation Fellows project is just to give them some outside support to help things happen even faster.  Both the CIO & CTO describe their initiative as giving people permission to act, to take risks, to collaborate and be innovative.

Related to data specifically Todd Park talked about mechanisms like hackathons, meetups and "datapaloozas".  The next datapalooza will be about health information: Health Data Initiative Forum III - Health Datapalooza, June 5-6, 2012.

Twitter:

• US CIO @StevevDC
• US CTO @Todd_Park
• Hashtags: #digitalgov and #tcdisrupt (the TechCrunch Disrupt conference)

Here's a Storify of some of my notes from these presentations

let's all sing a song of code

To develop is to be in the physical world, with all its rich social connections (and all its frustrating constraints) and yet to be able to tap into the invisible virtual world, to craft new things out of thin air.

This touches on the whole "should X be coders" debate. I'm inclined to agree with Rushcoff's Program or Be Programmed - we have to not just use the tools, we have to understand at least some of the underpinnings and be empowered to hack away to change things.

The trend today seems to be to teach JavaScript and I think that's fine.  HTML and JavaScript will get you a long way.  (If you protest that JavaScript is too far away from proper programming to give people a good start, remember that many of the people who are now professional programmers got their start writing in BASIC in the 1980s on various small computers.)  I do think for people who want to do more, there's a whole set of sysadmin skills that are very useful as well.  The important thing is there is a whole range of skills - just in the same way that everyone is expected to read and write but only a few people will have a PhD in English Literature, we should expect (and provide the opportunity for) some basic computer science skills, without everyone needing to do a full degree in CS.

In the UK there's quite a bit of discussion about moving the computer curriculum from teaching how to use Microsoft Office (I shudder to think this is actually considered "computer training") to covering more foundational concepts and teaching how to code.

A story arrived in my Twitter stream that illustrates just how fundamental this set of skills can be - with painful honesty Shawn Graham tells a tale of failure and lessons learned - a community that succeeded on the front end, but fell apart (no documentation, taken over by spammers, no backups) on the back end: How I Lost the Crowd: A Tale of Sorrow and Hope.

We need to get to a place where people can have great ideas and know how to implement them, either themselves or by knowing the right resources to draw upon.  To some extent the new outsiders are the people who don't know how to code.  In professions that once seemed perhaps distant from technology such as journalism and the humanities, coding is becoming a core competency.  Fortunately there are great initiatives like Girl Develop It, Young Rewired State and Mozilla Webmaker (the source of the video I embedded above).  No matter where you are it's almost certain there's a meetup or three for beginning coders.  Let's get coding.

Previously:
July 24, 2007  software development, staffing and new library technology
December 7, 2005   librarians 2.0 don't need to be coders 2.0

NRC job: Senior Project Manager

National Research Council (NRC) Canada.

Apply using the link on the job posting.

Your Challenge

Reporting to the Manager, Partnership Development, the Senior Project Manager Leads the Project Portfolio Management Group, and manages the portfolio of Knowledge Management  projects including inter-project coordination, resource allocation, preparation of project proposals, as well as scheduling, risk analysis, and project prioritization. Develops and improves, on a continuous basis, project management processes and practices at Knowledge Management in alignment with the NRC project management framework.

Directly manages high-value strategic projects.

Communicates project status and prepares and recommends new proposals for approval.

Responsible for project management web pages as a valued source of current information on resources, tools and processes.

Acts as a knowledgeable resource to Knowledge Management project managers and provides support, guidance, mentoring and training in initiating, planning, managing and executing projects.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in science, computer science, or a relevant field from a recognized university.

Professional qualifications in Project Management would be a definite asset.

Language Requirements

Bilingual imperative BBB/BBB

Closing Date

June 1, 2012

Apply using the link on the job posting.

Government of Quebec open data and open government - the Gautrin Report

The government of the province of Quebec today released the Gautrin Report, which covers Web 2.0 and government transformation related to technology.  It includes ideas such as a provincial open data site and improved internal collaboration for government employees.  In the press conference I also heard mention of a dashboard for government IT projects (with reference to the dashboard created by the US CIO).

The report (in French) is available: Gouverner ensemble : Comment le Web 2.0 améliorera-t-il les services aux citoyens? (PDF, 207 pages, 3,55 Mo)

You can also find two appendices and the complete text of responses to the government's online consultation about the topic at http://www.mce.gouv.qc.ca/publications/publications.htm

There was a brief press conference introducing the major elements of the report.

Also launched was a new Twitter account @GouvOuvertQc ("Open Government Quebec") and the open data site is live, albeit as a placeholder (I gather the real site will go live next month, June 2012): http://donnees.gouv.qc.ca/

There is a website for the entire initiative (also a placeholder at the moment): http://ouvert.gouv.qc.ca/

And a short press release: M. Henri-François Gautrin dévoile les principales recommandations de son rapport : Gouverner ensemble.

UPDATE 2012-05-03: The placeholder sites have been updated with more information, including a longer press release - Le gouvernement du Québec s'engage sur la voie du gouvernement ouvert.  It lists two actions for June: the open data portal and the IT projects dashboard

Le portail www.données.gouv.qc.ca sera mis en place dès juin et les données y seront publiées progressivement.

En juin, un tableau de bord sur l'état de santé des projets informatiques sera diffusé dans le portail des données ouvertes.

A mockup of what the IT projects dashbard will look like is available (PDF).  (And yes, both the accented and unaccented version of the open data portal URL will work.)

It also lists 14 actions that will be completed by December 2012.  (I am not going to translate them all.)  They include planning, governance, and website launches.

There will be a website specifically for public feedback.

La mise en ligne d'un site Web www.défis.gouv.qc.ca qui permettra de solliciter les réactions du public et de renforcer sa participation à l'élaboration, au suivi et à l'évaluation des services publics;

For the moment, you can provide your feedback to the report on the consultation site.

ENDUPDATE

The report's recommendations are (my translations):

1. Essentially this recommendation is a call for an open data site, with machine-readable datasets.
2. Encourage citizen participation in the evaluation of the government's actions and policies.
3. This is an interesting, internal and external facing recommendation
   "Que le gouvernement s’engage à utiliser le potentiel du Web 2.0 pour stimuler et faciliter la collaboration des employés au sein et entre les différents ministères et organismes gouvernementaux."
   The government should take advantage of the potential of Web 2.0 to enable employee collaboration within departments and between different departments and government organisations.
4. The Premier of Quebec should declare he will follow the path of Web 2.0 and have an open government.
5. Basically says the Government 2.0 project should put in place step-by-step and be well managed.
6. Basically just restates the need for an open data portal and says it should start with data that is already covered for release under existing laws.
7. Says that the l’Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) should be the depository for all government statistical data.
8. That all non-statistical data should be held by the National Library & Archives of Quebec (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec) and that the library should be responsible for verifying the quality of the data.
9. Basically says the data should be machine-readable and discoverable by search engines, and that a specific data search engine should be developed.
10. Says data put on the open data portal should be under an open license (specifically one like the Open Government License).
11. Along with the open data site there should be a site where citizens and companies can provide feedback.
12. Says that the use of the open data should be encouraged (there should be incentives to encourage its use).  "Que soient développés des incitatifs pour encourager une utilisation innovatrice et créatrice des données gouvernementales."
13. In all communication plans, social media should be included as a means to gather citizen feedback and stimulate dialogue.
14. The government should do social media monitoring in order to respond to feedback provided in those channels.
15. Departments should use social media to create discussion spaces for citizens to provide feedback about big projects.
16. Have a way to measure citizen feedback and demonstrate that it is being used.
17. Have a citizen forum (online) for discussions.
18. LA COLLABORATION
    Un réseau social interne
    "Que soit amélioré l’intranet gouvernemental pour y inclure un outil de collaboration du type réseau social, qui permet des fonctionnalités comme le partage de documents, la stimulation du brassage d’idées, la bonification de l’information et les interactions entre les employés de la fonction publique."
    The government intranet should be improved to include a social network for collaboration and document sharing.
19. Develop a vision of how to use Web 2.0 for improving service quality.
20. Change the government's organisational culture to encourage the sharing of information, co-creation of new knowledge, and greater responsibilities for employees.
21. The government should provide the support necessary to help its employees maximise their use of Web 2.0, while respecting their ethical responsibilities.
22. Trust government employees, give them the ability to be innovative in using Web 2.0.
23. The governance of this open government project should be under the direct authority of the Premier.
24. There should be a governance committee (with various specific members listed).
25. Basically the purpose of the governance committee is to monitor and guide the various phases of the project.
26. More details about the governance committee.
27. Take security measures, try to ensure only correct information is sent over social media.
28. Take particular care with the security around private information.
29. Broadband Internet for all Quebec.
30. Accessible websites.
31. Keep the cost of Internet access and technology tools reasonable.
32. Provide training to citizens to help them use new technologies.

NOTE: I am not a professional translator.  This is just my best quick effort at translating these.  Feel free to correct my interpretations.  Apologies for anything that's incorrect.

Twitter:

• The account for the consultation (which presumably will now go silent) is @GautrinWeb2 and the accompanying hashtag is #GautrinWeb2
• The @GouvOuvertQc account has been using the hashtag #gouvouvert as opposed to the Government of Canada consultation which used #gouvert (well more specifically #parlonsgouvert)

Previously

August 5, 2011  Québec - Consultation publique Web 2.0