Turning reports into actionable information “in god we trust, everyone else bring data” - W. Edwards Deming Interaction between governments and citizens through digital media and tools like mobiles and social networks create opportunities for transparency, accountability, participation and collaboration. People are understanding democracy beyond voting every once in a while and they are becoming citizens involved in their communities in a local and global way,. That, is the foundation of the weGovernment era and where I focus my work with CitiVox, the company I've founded. Just as Facebook and Twitter create ecosystems, each government, has the opportunity to become a platform that encourages citizens to connect and engage to its community, collaborate and find innovative solutions. The impact these kind of initiatives have is not yet understood by governments, nor by citizens. In a broad view, a government that embraces and encourages transparency and accountability will involve citizens in the governance process, building the foundation for innovation. New technologies provides a space where these interactions can happen and a real time dialogue is established. The data obtained, will be current and in correspondence with real needs. However, data by itself and without context does not tell a complete story and provides little actionable insight. The more data a city or a decision maker have, does not necessarily lead to more knowledge nor an accurate vision of real needs. In order to separate noise from signal, information must be meaningful. We should not focus in just aggregating data, but in curating it so it can be useful. Data when put into context becomes information, which, when acted upon, brings the identification of patterns that will tell us what, where and when problems occur. Once this happens, it will lead to predictions to better allocate resources in a more efficient way, execute effectively and bring as a result the satisfaction of real needs. For technology to be used by citizens, simplicity is key. Most citizens don’t feel the need or have incentives to participate with their government and engage with their community; but if the correct tools are available, and citizens feel there is someone at the other side of the line, it will encourage them to participate. To help decision makers find the meaning of all data and citizen reports, as well as reduce the cognitive overload, CitiVox was conceived. Report and information management, two-way communication, real-time visual and relative analysis, transparency and open data makes governments more effective and efficient. CitiVox groups individual stories and turns information into a landscape where patterns, trends and co-relations can be easily identified. That way, CitiVox effectively reflects what is and what is not a structural problem. CitiVox has been used in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Honduras, Benin, Tunisia and Egypt in different context and with different results. From tracking crime reports, alerting citizens against security threats, election monitoring and public services reports, CitiVox turns reports into actionable information. The true power of the weGovernment may be its effect on the public imagination. With solutions like CitiVox, combining the wisdom of the crowds, data visualization, and real-time information, every citizen becomes a sensor and governments are capable of evolving while making accurate and informed decisions, providing the citizens with what they really need. The internet has a democratization effect. New tools and media have made easier the expression of individuals, and their interaction with their governments, as well, as for governments to use that information to address real needs. It is no longer a technology problem, but an anthropology one.
