Open collaboration among practitioners and public management researchers in the social media era. The case of NovaGob

The possibilities to connect public management researchers and practitioners for improved outcomes have been fostered in a context of social media technologies. The diffusion of social media among public administrations as... [ view full abstract ]

The possibilities to connect public management researchers and practitioners for improved outcomes have been fostered in a context of social media technologies. The diffusion of social media among public administrations as tools to promote their relationship with society has grown in an unstoppable way over the last decade and a half (Criado et al., 2013; Meijer & Thaens, 2013; Mergel, 2012). This phenomenon has created a field of research that seeks to understand the adoption processes and analyze their impact on public management. At the same time, specialized social media platforms for public employees focus on specific problem solving, debate of policy issues, sharing experiences and cases, and so on. These social media contexts are growing in its importance to understand the potential for connecting public employees to public management researchers. This is the case of NovaGob, the social media knowledge platform for the public ecosystem in Spanish-speaking countries. Folowing the case of GovLoop in the USA and Canada, NovaGob is a spin-off of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, created by a group of scholars/academics, public employees, and public sector consultants. At this moment, this social media knowledge platform includes about 5,000 registered members from all Spanish-speaking countries (Spain and Latin America), and it facilitates sharing experiences to understand the challenges and future problems of public sector management. In this paper, the authors, academics and promoters of NovaGob, will show the potential of this platform, the opportunities for open collaboration among practitioners and public management researchers, and the main outputs derived of its deployment since October 2013.

References
Criado, J. I.; Sandoval-Almazán, R.; Gil-García, R. (2013). «Government Innovation through Social Media». Government Information Quarterly. Vol. 30, núm. 4, págs. 320-328.
Meijer, A.; Thaens, M. (2013). «Social media strategies: Understanding the differences between North American police departments». Government Information Quarterly. Vol. 30, núm. 4, págs. 343–350.
Mergel, I. (2013). «A framework for interpreting social media interactions in the public sector». Government Information Quarterly. Vol. 30, págs. 327–334.