Digital Chocolate: Exploring digital tools that stimulate transformation, starting with civic innovation as crowdsourcing / bridge building.

While government adoption of digital transformation is slow, many conversations point to important foundation; digital citizenship, eGovernment, digital first, digital service units and even digital place. Accessing and understanding the range of new digital tools available to government and public is daunting. It remains difficult for cities to implement systems and create policy around new digital realities. We will explore how cities can use digital tools (ITC, IoT, social media, online platforms, mobile apps) to create and test government innovation. These tools can help cities with improved trust, participation, inclusion and give better ideas/outcomes. We will explore the real resource requirements and impact benefit. Are there barriers in current policy or need a new generation of policy / policy-making? Does digital require new competencies or collaborations? Digital Chocolate will start with a focus on civic innovation; local people working on local problems. We will explore digital tools that involve citizens in innovative actions; WeMakeGov and other geo-platforms, open governance (policy, budget, services), open data (sentiment, environmental, spacial), collaboration (funding, resource, share learning). Opening innovation allows more ideas to be considered and better aligned with needs of citizens. Digital tools builds bridges of digital literacy and allows new models to be explored for economy, place and community.