FWD50: A 5-year vision

This article is written by Derek Alton, Apolitical’s Head of Community in Partnerships and ‘in-house public servant’.

When I first started having conversations with Alistair Croll about what would become FWD50, the core kernel was this idea that there needed to be a place for people to come and have meaningful conversations about the future of government. A place where we could dream the future into existence while having one foot firmly planted in the here and now.

Seeing where it has grown is incredible and a credit to Alistair’s vision and leadership. As I was thinking about the future of FWD50, I rediscovered the manifesto first penned in 2018. It seems as relevant today as it was then. So using this as our north star, here are some thoughts and musings on where I think FWD50 should strive to go next.

Build an ecosystem

When it comes to government transformation, I like to think in terms of ecosystems. In an ecosystem, different entities (organisations, events, projects, campaigns) bounce into each other, competing for resources (people, money), collaborating, influencing and co-existing. Each has its own characteristics, strengths, weaknesses and roles to play. No one can dominate the whole ecosystem. Thinking like this allows one to see the forest through the trees and provides insight into increasing and sustaining impact by helping the entire ecosystem flourish.

The health of an ecosystem is tied to two key things: diversity and resource flows.

Diversity – You want to have many different species for a healthy ecosystem. What does this mean for FWD50?

First, you want to constantly diversify who attends, participates and sponsors FWD50. The big one for me is having more users, that is (usually) citizens. We spend days discussing all these inspiring ideas for the future of government, but what do everyday people want? How do we centre that in the design of the event? Maybe do site visits with some of the most vulnerable and marginalised communities and then co-create and prototype solutions with them.

Second, how can FWD50 be an incubator for new species (projects, initiatives, groups) to grow? In five years. FWD50 is a success if it can point to all sorts of projects, initiatives and groups that got their start there. An example is how the Canadian Open Data Society emerged from GovMaker.

Resource flows – Healthy ecosystems have resources actively flowing through them that unlock and energise the ecosystem's actors. The thicker the interconnectivity with the ecosystem, the more effective energy flows.

As mentioned, FWD50 is not the only actor in this government innovation ecosystem. There are lots of other events. Beyond that, there are also different types of entities (organisations, projects, campaigns, etc.). How do we thicken the interconnectivity to improve energy flow?

Let's start with events. I like to think of people and ideas like water; they bring energy and movement. Events serve as crucial collection points that bring people and ideas together. Through this, ideas are shared and developed; relationships are woven together, providing energy and growth. How do we design events so they align and sync with each other? What would it look like for FWD50 to partner with sister events worldwide (e.g. the Creative Bureaucracy Festival or Code for America Summit)? How can each event elevate and build off the next to energise and mobilise people and ideas?

People naturally build movements around issues they care about; the more they see FWD50 as an enabler, the more they will engage FWD50 in this process and invite others in.

Beyond events, how can FWD50 better interact with other entities in the ecosystem? One I have been thinking a lot about is Apolitical since it is where I work. FWD50 and Apolitical are aligned on mission but have different roles to play. FWD50 does large-scale synchronous events well, whereas Apolitical specialises in creating asynchronous spaces. You need both. Maybe Apolitical promotes and encourages its community to go to FWD50 for 3 days of transformational experience. Then FWD50 encourages its community to go to Apolitical to keep the energy and conversation growing between events. Collectively they form a powerful symbiotic relationship that drives growth and transformation in the whole ecosystem.

Think like a movement

A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog about how to think like a movement. I talked about movements having 4 key elements:

Event — a short time-stamped activity that brings together a group around a subject.

Project — a prolonged time-stamped activity that brings together a group around a subject.

Network — a loose connection of people (‘weak ties’ in social capital speak), usually big with infrequent communication.

Community — a strong connection of people (‘strong ties’ in social capital speak), usually smaller with more regular communication.

Movements exist within a dynamic context: an ecosystem.

When I think about FWD50 in five years, I see a crucial enabler of a thriving government innovation ecosystem nurturing a movement for transformation. More than just a place for meeting people and ideas, FWD50 is actively fostering diversity through connecting and platforming more diverse voices and incubating new things (projects, organisations, more events).

It is helping resources flow and grow by embodying an ecosystem mindset, actively thickening interconnectivity with many different organisations and events and viewing each not as a competitor but as a fellow ecosystem builder towards a common mission.

I think FWD50 can do this by empowering its community. People naturally build movements around issues they care about; the more they see FWD50 as an enabler, the more they will engage FWD50 in this process and invite others in.

I am excited to continue to see and be part of FWD50’s growth. Cheers to the next five years!

Illustration of animals and tree for article Illustration credit: Elizabeth Pratt