Blogs as Public Management Tools

Some thoughts on public management blogs from a research project at the Graduate School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado-Denver:

Web logs, or “blogs,” represent a mushrooming use of the Internet as a political phenomenon, e.g., in terms of information dissemination, participation, and fund raising. Blogs also hold great promise as a public management mechanism that could aid public managers to enhance citizen engagement and accountability. For instance, government regulations could be posted and, simultaneously, be grounds for an extended comment period. However, very little is known about public managers who use blogs – how many do so, for what purposes, with what effects

To date there has been little attention paid to the emerging capabilities of blogs. While many problems exist, (e.g., the so-called “digital divide” that limits citizen access), blogs have the capacity to both enhance citizen engagement and make the process more transparent or accountable. For example, as is currently the case, administrative regulations could be posted to the agency’s web site and then discussed as a component of an agency blog, resembling an electronic “town hall meeting.” Public access to information concerning why regulations have been created or concerning alternatives that were considered and rejected would likely increase the relevance and sophistication of discursive exchange among public managers and stakeholders (who are, as we noted above, likely to be interested in politics and consumers of news and information from a variety of sources). In addition, the ability to comment on blog postings or offer questions or comments directly to the blogger also make possible “real-time” clarification of policies and greater citizen/government transparency and accountability.

Blogs offer citizens the opportunity to access information about the political environment that can augment the resources of mainstream media. They provide a window into the thinking and activity of public managers. For the managers, they offer a direct incoming channel for their clients’ and constituents’ beliefs and opinions, and they permit communication with these groups that is unmediated, unfiltered – in short, not controlled by others. Proactive public administrators may embrace this new technology that permits them to engage directly with citizens.