The Progress of Online Collaboration Tools, Sort of

In 1999, while reflecting on work we'd done for the US Environmental Protection Agency, some colleagues and I had an idea for a “project coordination web page” where project documents, a schedule, and staff contacts could easily be listed. Having worked with teams involving government workers plus private sector contractors, I thought this idea offered huge opportunity for efficiency increases, simply by creating a shared space which different members of the same team could all access easily.

We developed the new tool quickly, and it worked well for those we introduced it to. In fact, refinements and enhancements led in part to Forum One's development of the popular ProjectSpaces online project coordination tool, which anyone can start using today with the click of a button. 

But in this summer of 2008, nine years later, I am reminded that much of the huge potential for efficiency gains in public sector work remains untapped. I've participated recently in three unrelated meetings that hit me over the head with this point – one in New York with program planners from agencies like UNICEF and the World Health Organization; one in Peru with a group of water management entrepreneurs; and one in California's Sierra Nevada mountains where small town residents make local land-use planning decisions. About half-way through each meeting, someone suggested that the group use internet tools to coordinate the information flow and planning. And, after a quick round of affirmations and nodding of heads, each group then went back to the business at hand, and the idea was never mentioned again.

At least there is general awareness of the potential for these efficiencies now. But there are also many perceptions (and even some realities!) which often defeat the idea. Every new tool requires time to learn. People are busy, and overwhelmed with glitzy web ideas. And frankly, in the eyes of many novice users, these web systems appear too complicated. Which is a conundrum, because as new people do start using such systems, they tend to want more complex additional features and functions added quickly, yet those same complexities scared them away initially.