Pioneering & 2 other necessary trends for government in 2016
Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2025 10:52 am
For five years now I have been conducting research (together with HowAboutYou) into the use of social media by municipalities in the Netherlands. And for four years now I have been compiling books around these studies on broad innovation in government, with contributions from approximately 150 people who are working on innovation. Based on the studies and books I see three necessary movements that the (local) government must make for 2016 (and beyond).
In this article I will elaborate on these three movements. Ultimately, the basis of this article is the word 'ambition'. Are municipalities happy with a 6 or do they strive for a 9? Do they already consider themselves a 9, while someone from outside might consider it a 7?
Municipalities do a lot, let that be clear. Municipalities are also changing. Five years ago, very few municipalities had a Twitter account. And those that did, very often stated in their profile: 'we do not answer questions here'. The fact that almost all municipalities are now actively involved in webcare does show that there are many oman telegram number list developments. The level of ambition to make municipalities into social business - being imbued at all levels with the possibilities that new media offer to be in contact with citizens and also making use of them - is a different story. But that is the final image that I have in mind in this article.
Movement 1: further socialisation
Governments feel the pressure to enter into dialogue with their environment. Ron van der Jagt, chairman of Logeion: “ Organizations must become increasingly communicative , because this time demands sensitivity and reciprocity. And also reaction speed: the environment expects instant response. People do not just want a reaction, they want it now. The speed that would previously have been qualified as crisis communication is today the norm”.
Digitalization with a human touch
It goes without saying that the world is digitizing. This could be a movement in itself. In 2017, all government services must be offered digitally. That is precisely why digitization is a movement within socialization. Society demands digital services in which self-control is central, local governments must ensure that this wish is met.
Society demands digital services that focus on self-control, and local authorities must ensure that this demand is met.
Humanity must continue to exist
Yet within the socialisation, the caveat that humanity must continue to exist also fits. As Steven van Belleghem rightly indicates in his book When digital becomes human (aff.): computers can solve a lot, but people add emotion, the human dimension. In the relationship between society and residents, this added emotion could help to come closer to society.
Breda2030
The Advisory Board for Programming & Trends (APT) of Logeion even mentions the human dimension as one of its trends in 2015 , in addition to the network society . People want to be addressed as individuals again. Empathy plays an essential role in this. It is about municipalities recognizing the input of citizens and understanding their emotions. The inability to enter into a good dialogue has led to many people no longer participating.
Conversational responsibility
According to Noelle Aarts (Professor of Strategic Communication, University of Amsterdam and Wageningen University), the key to changing this lies in the insight that it is not '(conflicting) opinions' that are the problem, but the way we communicate about them. Or rather, remain silent about them. And that requires taking responsibility because conversations are never without obligation. She calls this conversational responsability .
Be real
Important here is the authenticity that we must strive for. This trend has also been identified by the APT of Logeion: municipalities should not pretend to be better than they are, but be in touch with their motives and be open about it. Then you can honestly say what you do and do what you say. Be real also means that you understand what the organization stands for and that you shape this yourself in your behavior. Then you are consistent, because authentic .
Movement 2: Dare to experiment and pioneer more
'Pioneers are not held back and see the zeitgeist as a fertile breeding ground for experiments. Often encouraged by the accessible possibilities that technology offers them. Where gaps appear in the old system, they dive into the space in between and explore the possibilities and opportunities.' ( Trendrede 2015, pdf, p. 5 )It is precisely this space in between that remains an interesting area within civil service organisations. Pilots and experiments offer opportunities to quickly tackle matters, without having to find structural space for them in the budget. Due to continuing cutbacks, this space in between will remain essential in the coming years to be able to pioneer.
to experiment
The future is now
'The field of (strategic) communication in today's practice is like “building on moving ground”. It requires consistency from a long-term vision and continuous flexible and agile anticipation of a changing context', according to Ron van der Jagt.
Betteke van Ruler (professor emeritus at the University of Amsterdam) wrote the following about this in the book De sociale gemeenten in 2013 : 'Due to trends, the traditional communication plan no longer works, if it ever did. It determines in advance what result you are going to achieve and what actions you need to take to achieve it. If circumstances change along the way, or the effects of your actions turn out to be different than expected, you usually have to admit afterwards that your objectives were not realistic after all, your target groups were not right after all and whether you had not chosen the right strategy, the right actions, or the right message'. The socialisation movement means that we must continuously look at what society needs and learn to deal with that flexibly: building on shifting ground.
In this article I will elaborate on these three movements. Ultimately, the basis of this article is the word 'ambition'. Are municipalities happy with a 6 or do they strive for a 9? Do they already consider themselves a 9, while someone from outside might consider it a 7?
Municipalities do a lot, let that be clear. Municipalities are also changing. Five years ago, very few municipalities had a Twitter account. And those that did, very often stated in their profile: 'we do not answer questions here'. The fact that almost all municipalities are now actively involved in webcare does show that there are many oman telegram number list developments. The level of ambition to make municipalities into social business - being imbued at all levels with the possibilities that new media offer to be in contact with citizens and also making use of them - is a different story. But that is the final image that I have in mind in this article.
Movement 1: further socialisation
Governments feel the pressure to enter into dialogue with their environment. Ron van der Jagt, chairman of Logeion: “ Organizations must become increasingly communicative , because this time demands sensitivity and reciprocity. And also reaction speed: the environment expects instant response. People do not just want a reaction, they want it now. The speed that would previously have been qualified as crisis communication is today the norm”.
Digitalization with a human touch
It goes without saying that the world is digitizing. This could be a movement in itself. In 2017, all government services must be offered digitally. That is precisely why digitization is a movement within socialization. Society demands digital services in which self-control is central, local governments must ensure that this wish is met.
Society demands digital services that focus on self-control, and local authorities must ensure that this demand is met.
Humanity must continue to exist
Yet within the socialisation, the caveat that humanity must continue to exist also fits. As Steven van Belleghem rightly indicates in his book When digital becomes human (aff.): computers can solve a lot, but people add emotion, the human dimension. In the relationship between society and residents, this added emotion could help to come closer to society.
Breda2030
The Advisory Board for Programming & Trends (APT) of Logeion even mentions the human dimension as one of its trends in 2015 , in addition to the network society . People want to be addressed as individuals again. Empathy plays an essential role in this. It is about municipalities recognizing the input of citizens and understanding their emotions. The inability to enter into a good dialogue has led to many people no longer participating.
Conversational responsibility
According to Noelle Aarts (Professor of Strategic Communication, University of Amsterdam and Wageningen University), the key to changing this lies in the insight that it is not '(conflicting) opinions' that are the problem, but the way we communicate about them. Or rather, remain silent about them. And that requires taking responsibility because conversations are never without obligation. She calls this conversational responsability .
Be real
Important here is the authenticity that we must strive for. This trend has also been identified by the APT of Logeion: municipalities should not pretend to be better than they are, but be in touch with their motives and be open about it. Then you can honestly say what you do and do what you say. Be real also means that you understand what the organization stands for and that you shape this yourself in your behavior. Then you are consistent, because authentic .
Movement 2: Dare to experiment and pioneer more
'Pioneers are not held back and see the zeitgeist as a fertile breeding ground for experiments. Often encouraged by the accessible possibilities that technology offers them. Where gaps appear in the old system, they dive into the space in between and explore the possibilities and opportunities.' ( Trendrede 2015, pdf, p. 5 )It is precisely this space in between that remains an interesting area within civil service organisations. Pilots and experiments offer opportunities to quickly tackle matters, without having to find structural space for them in the budget. Due to continuing cutbacks, this space in between will remain essential in the coming years to be able to pioneer.
to experiment
The future is now
'The field of (strategic) communication in today's practice is like “building on moving ground”. It requires consistency from a long-term vision and continuous flexible and agile anticipation of a changing context', according to Ron van der Jagt.
Betteke van Ruler (professor emeritus at the University of Amsterdam) wrote the following about this in the book De sociale gemeenten in 2013 : 'Due to trends, the traditional communication plan no longer works, if it ever did. It determines in advance what result you are going to achieve and what actions you need to take to achieve it. If circumstances change along the way, or the effects of your actions turn out to be different than expected, you usually have to admit afterwards that your objectives were not realistic after all, your target groups were not right after all and whether you had not chosen the right strategy, the right actions, or the right message'. The socialisation movement means that we must continuously look at what society needs and learn to deal with that flexibly: building on shifting ground.