Director of Digital Engagement appointed
The
Government has announced the new Director of Digital Engagement, Andrew
Stott. It's highly likely that those outside of government have never come
across him. Despite the rhetoric that this was to be a radical new appointment,
that new blood was needed, that this job required a good knowledge of social
media, of Web2.0 and how the world outside Whitehall worked... we get a life-long
Whitehall insider.
The new
Director has a lot to prove. A lot to live up to. There was (and is) an
expectation amongst those passionate about better digital engagement that this
job would be a conduit between citizens and government that, like Web2.0 itself,
would transform government thinking.
Our work
with Digital Dialogues has shown
that a culture of risk aversion, of ‘government knows best' fails to engage
citizens. What we've also seen is reluctance on the part of government as a
whole to digitally (and effectively) engage. Despite small pockets of hope,
there seems to be a shift afoot that draws engagement back into the central
hold of government and tries to manage and control it. This is not a positive but
we hope that the new Director of Digital Engagement will lead a change from the
centre, promoting open, flexible and real engagement that listens, responds and
acts.
We have to
give Andrew Stott a chance, of course. We will, like many others, be watching
his appointment with great interest.
What do
others think? Andrew Lewin has a really good summary on his
blog, linking to a diverse range of opinions on the appointment.
Andy Williamson