Government 2.0

Unhyped and therefore unnoticed, technology is altering the behavior and mission of city halls, statehouses, schools, and federal agencies across America. From transportation to education to elections to law enforcement (or, as we're now referring to it, 'homeland security'), the digital revolution is transforming government and politics, slashing bureaucracies; improving services; producing innovative solutions to some of our nation's thorniest problems; changing the terms of the Left/Right political debate; and offering ordinary people access to a degree of information and individual influence until recently accessible only to the most powerful citizens, finally redeeming the Founding Fathers' original vision for our democracy, and enriching American life and society in the process. Based on interviews with over 500 leading politicians, researchers, technology industry CE's and leaders, futurists and front-line public employees, Government 2.0 journeys across America and overseas to demonstrate the promise and perils of this emerging world and offer a likely road map to its implementation. You'll hear from technology executives preparing for an onrushing future when, for many citizens, most government interactions could take place on private-sector websites; from bureaucrats like OSHA's Ed Stern fighting to get their agencies to adopt expert systems technology; from William Bennett, whose virtual education company offers a glimpse into one possible future of American education; and from Governor Jeb Bush and former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as they endeavor to overcome bureaucratic inertia to provide more open, efficient, and effective governments. Rich with anecdotes and case studies, Government 2.0 is a must read for every entrepreneur frustrated by paperwork, every parent who's sick of being surprised by bad report cards, every commuter stuck in traffic, every activist trying to fight City Hall, and every taxpayer who cares about the future of government.

Published in cooperation with the Manhattan Institute, Government 2.0 starts with the premise that the government would benefit from digital transformation. Governments will also become more transparent, more democratic, and less wasteful.

William D. Eggers is senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and global director for Deloitte Research, Public Sector in Washington, D.C. He is the coauthor of Revolution at the Roots: Making Our Government Smaller, Better, and Closer to Home (1995), which won the Sir Anthony Fisher International Memorial Award, and Governing by Network The New Shape of the Public Sector (2004), winner of the 2005 Louis Brownlow Book Award. He splits his time between Austin, Texas and the Washington, D.C. area.