DPSX got off to a rocking start on the 14th of March, though the first hour was more of a rocky start given the chaos on the Central and Victoria lines that evening!
To keep things short and simples! all DPSX posts will get straight to the point, none of my usual verbosity! for that you’ll have to go to shirazee.com!

Speakers at the first DPSX event on Open Councils:

Richard Pope - Government Digital ServiceSteve Purkiss – Drop.coopRobert Miller – Lambeth CouncilMichael Lenahan – Lambeth CouncilPaul Mackay  – NESTA

Key points shared and discussed:

“..Open Source, Open data and Open by default is the ethos at Lambeth…” @RobMiller31

+ Current govt. is sorting its act out and the mentality is changing.+ The govt. recognises that its a big undertaking and top down will to deliver value for our taxes and set the guidelines and a path for the local bodies to follow.

“Key to current successes has been lowering boundaries” @richardjpope

+ The govt. Digital service its not just about Drupal of course but the bigger picture, its about setting guidelines for central and local govt. bodies on harnessing Open Source, delivering services for the end users as well as digital services for the govt. and saving billions on the tech budgets!

“for any council to be undertaking this transformation in isolation is crazy” @mcaleaa+ There is a shift in policy: internalising development

+ Making sure selection of OS suppliers is screened for OS too is open to abuse so watch out for the OS cage!

+ Procurement is opening up to smaller suppliers in a flexible accessible manner….and yes G-cloud is making a difference but not every one is sourcing form the g-cloud either! and there is much room for improvement

“..use your data to unlock yourself from proprietary contracts…” @kubair

+ Workflows at the local govt. level need improvement

 + Lambeth is looking to strengthen its team by working with other councils

+ Open data (via APIs) is the key to building a modular evolutionary/re-usable infrastructure – this also opens up the ability for developers to create ‘Apps’ for consumption by councils and potentially central govt.+ NESTA is soon to launch Code for Europe modelled on Code for America that would improve collaboration across Europe for solutions built upon OS platforms.

 “..Lambeth has gone from the dark ages to star wars in 2 years..” ‏ @socialtechno

“most applications are still tied up in contracts, OS occupies a very small space within local government at his point..” @stevepurkiss

A few useful links:Lambeth CouncilMade in LambethGovernment Digital ServiceGDS design PrinciplesGDS Digital Strategy blogCode For Europe Project

The next event for Drupal Public Sector Exchange will be held at the end of May 2013 and we will be going for a venue location a tad bit more centralish!
If you are interested in speaking at the next event, attending or have suggestions on speakers or topics you would like to see covered please drop us a tweet or an email…

DPSX is @Alanpeart @Calert @Greenman @Kubair @MarcDe_ath @shaunwilde

#Drupal #PublicSector #Innovation #G_Cloud_UK #NESTA #GovUK