The health of any society is a function of the strength of the invisible bond that connects its individual citizens to each other. We call this invisible bond society's "connective tissue". Government is society's best vehicle by which to continuously nourish and restore connective tissue.

Before we launched the Govtech Fund in 2014, we crafted a first-principles based business plan that would perpetually guide us as we embarked on our journey to modernize the operations of government.

One of the core principles we posited was that the health of any society was a function of the strength of the invisible bond that connected its individual citizens to each other. The bond is a social contract between citizens that they will work individually for a common purpose. When that bond is strong, societies thrive. When that bond is weak societies crumble. We call this invisible bond society’s “connective tissue”.

One of the core principles we posited was that the health of any society was a function of the strength of the invisible bond that connected its individual citizens to each other…we call this invisible bond society’s “connective tissue”.

We posited that government, as the entity manifestation of this connective tissue, was ingenious in that is the best vehicle that societies have available to achieve their common purpose. To wit: governments prioritize, allocate, coordinate and deliver a society’s common purpose at scale. We weren’t the first to think of this, indeed the durability of such an innovative entity — government — was so unique that it inspired Abraham Lincoln to coin the famous phrase ” A government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.”

Government is the best vehicle that societies have available to them to prioritize, allocate, coordinate and deliver the collective will of citizens at scale.

The most effective governments thus continuously nourish and restore society’s connective tissue.

And yet we have this:

Why?

Partisan politics for sure. But while partisanship in politics is most often associated with the perception of a dysfunctional government, it is the less often noticed legacy software and IT systems at the core of day-to-day government operations, that impede government’s success in implementing society’s common purpose.

The most effective governments thus continuously nourish and restore society’s connective tissue.

The Govtech Fund, as a portfolio of mission-driven entrepreneurs, believes that if we can help modernize the operations of government, we can help restore confidence in the concept of government itself. We’ll do it by reducing police officer administrative time, saving valuable resources so they can be directed to community priorities, increasing the number of foster care families, and so much more.

When government works the way citizens intended it to, the core function of government — to do the work of the collective on behalf of the individual — is empowered, as is citizens’ confidence in their government and in turn, their society.

We’re still rolling out the early phases of that business plan, and there will be many obstacles along the journey. But if we stay the course, our hope is that we’ll have helped repair the connective tissue that binds us all.

 

photo credit: EHS Daily Advisor