Amazing thought: public might help solve public problems

Speaking of culture change in the public sector, as we have been, Nicholas Gruen in a post on public goods on Club Troppo, reflects on issues arising from how the internet provides a new means of producing and utilising information and knowledge for everyone's benefit including:

Can governments become more open in their deliberations, to maximise the extent to which those outside government can provide assistance in solving problems. Can they use ‘web 2.0’ style collaboration to improve the quality of their deliberations and/or reduce its cost?

Now I'd like to see that sort of culture change in those who tell us that we can't know what is going on in government because it would lead to confusion or unnecessary debate, cause public servants not to write things down on paper, or inhibit their capacity to provide frank advice in future.

A start would be a requirement that government agencies publish policy research reports promptly, unless because of the special nature of the content, an identifiable harm to the public interest would result