The government's director of digital engagement has said that social media can help to address inequalities in information about public services.
Speaking at the Civil Service Live event, Andrew Stott also made the case for Whitehall to be engaged in the changing technological landscape.
Effective communications can help to restore and maintain trust, he said, noting that governments around the world are grappling with the issue of how to address demand for more personalised services.
Stott's recently created pan-government role will include work to drive interactions with the public from 'broadcast' to 'conversation' and to 'collaboration'.
He urged the civil service to be part of what is often referred to as an information 'revolution', saying that if Whitehall doesn't do it then other organisations will force the pace.
Stott said that social media could make it easier to listen to the views of citizens, but noted that in response the public services would have to "show that we've listened".
And following up on feedback from the public would also be important, he added.
Making the case for freeing up government data, he said the government is "custodian" of the information on behalf of the taxpayers who funded the collection of it.
He said it could help to address issues around inequality of information which mean that well-informed members of the public can opt to use the best services.
"It is all about reaching those people we can't conventionally reach," he said.
But Stott accepted that problems, more around content and abusive feedback than security of information, would have to be managed.
"There are risks in this," he said. "Some of this is pretty unexplored territory."
But pointing to the potential benefits, he said that technology could help to "unlock" ideas for improving services.
