With the advent and popularity of social media in recent years, should PFM systems now incorporate it into their offerings as an extension of the PFM ecosystem?
Social media (twitter, blogs, etc) is used for 'everything' nowadays. Citizens, especially from the 'younger' generation, are using it to participate and engage more - with friends, within their community, with common interest groups, and with businesses. They now have a voice. Like in voice and accountability.
Should this interaction revolution be reflected somehow into PFM systems? Some possible examples:
1) Procurement. Opportunities are broadcast not only to formal channels like dgMarkets or a country's official portal but also to twitter/facebook/etc.
2) Budgets. Make the budget process more interactive; departments with large external and impacted stakeholder groups can 'comment' with the department's social media tool; departments can discuss informally program components or illicit feedback from constituent communities
3) Internal communication. Large or dispersed government MDAs can communicate more informally or more effectively en masse on frequently updated topics
One major advantage of social media is the immediacy. Discussion threads (such as the PFM board!) allow individuals to contribute directly as well as get information more quickly. It allows others to "crowd in" and help others (for example, if a user has a problem or question, asking a question on social media allow others to respond back to the person rather than the user going through a formal help desk/ticket/response process).
