policing pledge conference (02.12.09)

An insight into innovations in Public Engagement

7th December 2009

How do you map participation?

Citizen Power Elected Representation

Participatory Budgeting

Petitions

Tokenism Citizen Panels

Consultations

Council hosting discussions

Non-Participation Hyperlocal websites

Social / informal interactionsArnstein 1969

The new social web is an environment superbly suited to Participatory Design: Co-

creation

Social Web: The Wild West Local Government: The Law

How can you map this relationship?

FormalConsultation

Alchemy

News and social networking sites

Managed services like webcasting or online

consultations

We need to use tools like petitions which can

transition people from informal to formal

Social Web: The Wild WestSocial Web: The Wild West

InformalSocial

Participation

Social Web: The Wild West

InformalCivic

Participation

Social Web: The Wild West Government: The Law

FormalDemocracy

Social Web: The Wild West

Old web v. New web

Collaboration / XML

Presentation / HTML

Engagement

Content

Communities

Websites

WidgetsPortals

Old eGov Gov 2.0

From a presentation by http://dontapscott.com/

Old web v. New web

ListenInform

DiscussConsult

EmpowerInvolve

Old eGov Gov 2.0

The civic question…..

Social websites are profoundly different to most government spaces…….

….and so is democracy….

…..we can’t make a decision on the basis of how many people join a

facebook group

You’ll have seen this before…..

But it makes an important point

Why?

Because the social web is not a trend that can be ignored…..

…..some facts….

This confusing collection….

…can be organised….

And is used democratically….

….by councils

And also other parts of the civic sphere…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84qMBR4UaVc

http://twitter.com/hotelalpha9

And the public use it…..

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/31/top-social-media-sites-of-2008-facebook-still-rising/

Some more facts…..

Oxford Internet Surveys:

http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/microsites/oxis/

Social networking sites are not only growing in terms of people – they also have an increased share of online time

And other excellent facts….

Ofcom:http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/uk_adults_ml/http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/uk_childrens_ml/

Neilson:http://server-uk.imrworldwide.com/pdcimages/Global_Faces_and_Networked_Places-A_Nielsen_Report_on_Social_Networkings_New_Global_Footprint.pdf

Web Strategist blog:http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2009/01/11/a-collection-of-soical-network-stats-for-2009/

The democratic question…..

People are talking……..they are just not talking to us…….

………what can we do about this?

One response is to say we need:

A permanent civic space which will provide an online space for democratic activity

A Place where we are able to manage identity within this space to make accountable decisions

Somewhere where citizens can take an equal part in shaping the outcomes of their engagement: a

co-created space

Not a website – a web space which brings in content from the existing social web and

connects it with democratic activities and outcomes

Widgets can be located out on the wider web as

well as within the container

For example:

A map widget could be used to overlay your data with contributions from the public:

Do you need to respond?

We believe the answer is yes:

Democracy and civic participation needs to happen where the people are – it can’t happen in isolationYou have to start somewhere – and at least these people are already participating in somethingOnline is a growing trend and if we take a medium to long term view it is essential that Local Government has a clear role on the webOnline is the most cost effective way to engage – move everything you can there and spend money on the face to face that can’t be replacedInnovation in public services is essential and will involve more participatory design

Do Council’s need to respond?

And if this isn’t enough:

The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 Act brings new duties:

To Promote DemocracyTo Inform, Consult and InvolveTo have an ePetitions scheme

This describes a new kind of relationship between Citizen’s and government which the Public Sector is starting to seriously explore

How do we respond?

We concentrate on what we are good at – you are not social spaces so don’t try to be – no-one wants to be your friend (but don’t take it personally….)

Listen – the conversation is already happening – you just need to find it

Provide the right support – and leave the content to the citizens

Organise geographically – not institutionally

Virtual Town Hall Pilot

Working with 5 Local Authorities to try and build permanent civic spaces for a 12 month Pilot:

ChorleyEssex County CouncilKirkleesNorth LincolnshireRedbridge

Involving citizens at every level – including to manage and moderate content

Looking specifically at how to involve elected representatives in this process

Our objective is measurable increases in democratic activity

Where to start?

Petitions

Citizens’ Perspective

People get petitioning – it has a big impact

Openness, trust, ease of use

Supporting a cause is very easy: no registration, just provide a few details about yourself

Access to information is easy

10 Downing Street :http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to..”

Launched in November 2006 the No 10 Petitions website has become one of the the largest non-partisan democracy sites by volume of users ever, with over 8m signatures from over 5m unique email addresses, representing around 10% of the entire UK population.

200 signatures on an epetition will trigger an email response from the UK Government.

Introduction to Petitioning

Public-i worked with Bristol, with help from Napier University, to rewrite the system as a piece of open source technology

The views and opinions of citizens living in the Bristol region can now be collected and discussed through their ePetitions and AskBristol site.

The discussion results are forwarded to government officials and media representatives. The goal is to thereby achieve the citizen-oriented design of future plans for the Bristol region.

Bristol ePetition websitehttp://epetitions.bristol.gov.uk/

Introduction to Petitioning

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames offers the option of submitting petitions online as well as supporting or commenting on the requests of other petitioners.

Each e-petition also has its own discussion forum, where citizens can discuss the petition and surrounding issues online.

Kingston ePetition websitehttp://www.kingston.gov.uk/epetitions

Introduction to Petitioning

Why the excitement?

What democratic purpose can petitions serve?

Petitions can serve the whole LSP – they are a great ‘front door’They can provide a mechanism by which citizens can ensure that their concerns and ideas are formally addressed by an authority. It is a chance for the public to contribute to the agenda and not just the debate

Local Petitions

This petition gained rapid online support and resulted in a policy re-think by members

Where to start?

Meetings

Public meetings are probably one of your most effect tools for public engagement

They are also one of the most costly

You need to widen their reach and ensure that you are increasing the value for money

You need to think about a wider audience

http://www.tunbridgewells.public-i.tv/site/player/pl_compact.php?a=12926&t=0&m=wm&l=en_GB#the_data_area

Other Examples:

DCPA - http://www.dcpa.public-i.tv/site/ SYJS - http://www.southyorks.public-i.tv/site/West Yorkshire & South Yorkshire Authorities have both webcast

PB meetings ADSO:

http://www.adso.public-i.tv/site/         http://www.adso.public-i.tv/site/player/pl_compact.php?

a=32104&t=0&m=wm&l=en_GB

Examples: Lancashire County Council

Issue• Need to establish trust in the process•Desire to increase the transparency of the democratic process•Requirement to raise the profile of Members

•Solution• Public-i Webcasting – fixed installation in the Council Chamber plus D500 installations in 3 committee rooms

http://www.lancashire.ukcouncil.net

Examples: West Sussex - Event

Issue A need to make a meeting accessible to more people than could attendInvolving a specific local community in the decision making process

Solution• Public-i events service

http://www.westsussex.public-i.tv

http://cimarkpayne.wordpress.com/

Thank you

Email: Catherine.howe@public-i.infoBlog: Curiouscatherine.wordpress.comTwitter: @curiousc