Back in July, I wrote about Show Us a Better Way, a contest set up by the United Kingdom's Power of Information Task Force, that asks citizens to identify what they would like to see done with public information. If they like the idea they will help fund it, to the tune of £20,000 to develop the idea to the next level. Here are some examples of ideas they are looking for. The deadline for the submission of ideas ended on September 30^th, and they will announce the winners imminently. By the way, Sunlight friend, U.K. Cabinet Office Minister and Member of Parliament Tom Watson was a leading visionary behind the Power of Information Task Force.

David Stephenson, in a post on the Open House Project's Google group, compared favorably Show Us a Better Way to the Citywide Data Warehouse (CityDW) here in the District of Columbia. CityDW provides a centralized access point for online data about the District's government operations. It focuses on providing real-time data from multiple agencies and sources, all in an effort at greater transparency. David wrote, "The DC project is, to my knowledge, the first US one to copy the incredibly creative UK "Show Us a Better Way" contest (the humility of the title alone speaks volumes!)." David also gave CityDW some love in his speech at this summer's Netroots Nation.

As a longtime DC resident, it's shocking to see any aspect of the District's government receive any praise. That alone shows the transformative powers of online tools.

Micah Sifry (our strategic consultant and editor of techPresident) highlights another government transparency experiment coming out of the UK. The Power of Information Task Force is a British government agency working to improve the way government shares information with its citizens.  Yesterday, the Task Force launched "Show Us a Better Way," a contest that asks citizens to identify what they would like to see done with public information. If they like the idea they will help fund it, to the tune of £20,000 to develop the idea to the next level. Here are some examples of ideas they are looking for.

The Task Force itself just launched in March, largely because of the vision and efforts of Sunlight friend, U.K. Cabinet Office Minister and Member of Parliament Tom Watson. As Micah wrote back in April, "Watson is part of a new vanguard of political leaders who understand that the real gains are to be had in enabling people to connect to each other to identify common concerns, come up with solutions, and organize on their own behalf."

Can you imagine a similar task force in operation in our federal government?  This is such a terrific idea. The whole sentiment is so different from that of the US Government where the burden of getting information from government rests with citizens. I really  like what the contest site says, "Public data is your data." Congress and the Executive Branch could learn quite a bit from the likes of Minister Watson.