Innovations make things better only when they are widely adopted and work. And a big problem -- the 'chasm' -- is getting adoption to move from first mover "pioneers" to fast follower "settlers."

A big problem for those settlers is assembling everything needed to take action: proposals, budgets, job descriptions, RFPs, contracts, speeches, agendas for review meetings, program evaluations, newsletters, etc.

Getting workable versions of such tools doesn't require rocket science, but it does take a reasonable amount of time and effort, or a reasonable amount of money if we leave it all to the consultants.

Why can't we -- in a Gov 2.0 networking world -- do better at sharing these things? Even back when I was in college, professors routinely posted copies of good exam answers and term papers from the previous year. This sharing was helpful.

My guess is we could make it easier for fast followers and thus speed and accuracy of the early phases of innovation dissemination. This would be somewhat analogous to supplying Cliff Notes for a course on innovation -- e.g., learning about the pros and cons and procedures for setting up data feeds to improve transparency.

What's going on now in terms of such sharing, and are there ways to share better across boundaries handled by the current associations such as NASCIO and NACO, etc.?

We'll be working these issues in our collaborative Tough Times research project described here. Let me know if this could float some boat of yours.

All the best,

Jerry

For most people the answer seems to be both.  In the sense of protecting your budget, staff, and mission, you've probably got to hunker down, or at least not do anything construed as frivolous.

At the same time, tough times historically have given birth to major moves that have reshaped the world.

Given the financial crisis, a new political environment, and our ability to use an increasingly mature information infrastructure to redesign how services are produced, delivered, and controlled, what are the "major moves" you are now thinking about, or see others thinking about?

Will Obama's focus on social networking and civic engagement make a real difference? Will cloud computing become the prime tool for harvesting serious economies of scope and scale? Will the unit of change become a multi-institutional community of practice - as with the entire health care industry - instead of individual programs or agencies? Will broadband wireless shift net access on a global basis from computers to increasingly powerful cell phones? Will governments open up their data feeds much as the D.C. government has done?

Let me know what the "major moves" look like from your perspective, and why they will work or not work. What are your "major move" priorities?

Even more important, if this subject is a good one for you or your jurisdiction, please join us as an observer or participant in a collaboration we are calling the Tough Times Project. As a participant you will be deeply engaged, as in a typical Harvard course; you will work with us to identify the benefits, costs, and risks of the moves being pursued by leading governments. You will also get support in analyzing how those moves might be adapted to their own situations. Observers will be less intensively involved, but will also have access to project blogs and other materials, and will take part in surveys that should be interesting as well as useful in providing perspective on how your views compare to those of others.

Here's the link to the Tough Times Project.

We look forward to hearing from you, and learning what you are up to.

All the best,

Jerry

Faculty Chair, Leadership for a Networked World Program
617.495.3036
jerry_mechling@harvard.edu

[Posted by LNW Executive Director Zach Tumin]

This week we released a report, Unmanned and Robotic Warfare: Issues, Options, and Futures. It reports out the findings and discoveries of the Executive Session we convened last year on this topic, in collaboration with Booz Allen Hamilton.

Among those participating included GEN John P. Abizaid (USA, Ret.),  ADM Vern Clarke (USN, Ret.), General John J. Jumper (USAF, Ret.),  Lt Gen David Deptula (USAF), Lt Gen Daniel Darnell (USAF), and many others. 

From the report:

"We stand today on the cusp of a revolution in warfare. Unmanned and robotic warfare has taken its first steps and will soon  assume a prominent, if not dominant, position in the doctrine, strategy and tactics of the United States military. 

"We are not alone. As the United States has gained extraordinary insight to these systems over the past ten years, other nations are now ably replicating the American experience. Where today we enjoy uncontested airspace, and unbridled conventional force advantage on the ground, in air and at sea, those situations are rapidly changing. 

"What does the future hold? Are we ready for it? What can we do to prepare? What are the imperatives for leadership today to assure that the technical and operating gains Coalition forces have achieved in the cauldrons of Iraq and Afghanistan are harvested as insights, and translated into strategic and tactical advantage for years to come?."

The full report is here, and the press announcement here.