Suggestions for Public Servants

Public servants who work for Federal, State, Provincial or Local governments handle an extraordinary quantity and quality of public information, and have an unparalleled understanding of the public Funding and Regulatory systems that drive ecosystem work. They are familiar with the relationships among the ecosystem-oriented Workgroups of our bioregion. Being able to integrate this information easily across institutional boundaries could create enormous public value. Because of institutional and ethical requirements and constraints, Public Servants may be nervous about participating in an open-knowledge network. Ironically, no single science agency is responsible for collective knowledge! Unauthorized by their public agencies, and nervous of exposure, the potential of shared public knowledge stewardship is unrealized.

This page provides some suggestions for how public servants can think about the opportunity provided by the Salish Sea Restoration Platform:

Use the Platform to Organize Public Knowledge - we are asking your through our Social Contract to be very careful about what resources you share. This is a tool for organizing, archiving, and synthesizing existing public domain knowledge. Consider our advice about Products and whether it is better to archive here or link to an existing archive.
Connect Partners to Opportunities - this platform currently provides a unique service. As public servants, you are required to not project an agency preference any private partner. If there are any open knowledge management platforms serving a place-based restoration community, those should also be shared as alternatives to this platform. This platform is not monitized and generates no revenue for SER. It is a public service. You are free to help your partners understand that this service is available and how it may create value.
This Platform Does Not Present Agency Opinion or Policy - as stated in our sidebar and footer. The text on this site reflects the personal and professional opinions of a community of practice, primarly sharing facts, observations, and opinions and citing evidence in products. By contibuting observations to a public professional account you are not speaking on behalf of your agency. That is your right as a private citizen and a professional. in a a time of clinate, ecosystem and biodiversity crisis, in might even be an obligation.
Use Your Personal Email - Some entities may be uncomfortable with you using your agency email to establish an account. However there is no prohibition on your private contribution to your professional community of practice. This site is managed by the Society for Ecological Restoration as a resource for its members and their associates. We are all stronger through knowledge management. In addition if you change jobs, you can maintain your account.

Suggestions for Public Servants

Introduction Pages[edit]