“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” (Niccolo Machiavelli)
GOVERNMENTS HAVE every incentive in the world to improve citizens’ lives. Otherwise, sooner rather than later voters get their payback day at elections. And yet, status quo and inaction are often the rule.
Despite spending the past six decades doing research on this puzzle, we political scientists still know very little about what explains governments’ willingness to take risks to improve the quality of…
…Or why it seems like a good time to start tracking Open Government innovations in the Americas
When people think on the place for innovations, they typically think on innovation being spurred by large firms and small startups based in the US. And particularly in that narrow stretch of land and water called Silicon Valley.
However, the flux of innovation taking place in the intersection between technology and government is phenomenal and emerging everywhere. From the marble hallways of parliaments everywhere —including Latin America’s legislative houses— to office hubs of tech-savvy non-profits full of enthusiastic social changers —also including Latin American startups— a driving force is starting to challenge our conception of how government and citizens can…
Alejandro Guerrero
Barcelona, 1979. Evaluator. Open Government Advocate. Latin Americanist. Current Role in Life — Independent Evaluation at IDB —www.alejandroguerrero.org
