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3. Case Studies: International <- Back to categories
California Education Dialogue
From June 3-14, 2002, an organisation called Information Renaissance produced an online public dialogue on the California Master Plan for Education (CAMP). Nearly 1,000 people took part in this event, which allowed them to learn about the draft Plan and talk directly with the education planners and legislators involved in its construction and implementation. The dialogue was part of a process initiated by the State Legislature through its Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan.
Over this two-week period, the CAMP dialogue facilitated discussion of a complex policy document in a political environment. Evaluation findings of special interest include the high satisfaction rate of participants (76% positive; 91% would like additional online dialogues) and the low percentage (49% of non-education personnel) who knew about the Master Plan before hearing of the dialogue. Even more surprisingly, only 55% of non-administrative education personnel had known of the plan. Further, after the dialogue more than one-third of respondents reported an increased interest in government and politics. Among those who said they had previously been less active in politics, 50% said their interest had increased.
This document describes and discusses the CAMP methodology, and draw general conclusions and recommendations.
Engaging Queenslanders: a guide to community engagment methods and techniques
A guide to community engagement methods and techniques brings together introductory information on a range of traditional and innovative techniques. It is intended to assist public offi cials at all levels and other practitioners to choose the most appropriate community engagement process. Strengths and weaknesses are summarised for each technique to support decision making.
Gulf Savannah e-Democracy Project
The Gulf Savannah Development Corporation is responsible for the www.the-gulf.info e-democracy project which has been running since 2002-03. The site aims to bring together Gulf residents and businesses across a remote area covering 190,000 square km with a population of only 10,000. The project has facilitated improved communication across the region and has enhanced people’s IT literacy skills and confidence.
Community Forums and News in Subang Jaya - Malaysia
In 1999, residents of Subang Jaya, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia created The Subang Jaya e-Community Portal. This self-funded portal has successfully fostered grassroots democracy, community-building and better local governance. The project arose out of the gulf between the high expectations of new Subang Jaya residents prior to moving to this award-winning ‘model township’ and the daily realities of traffic jams, clogged drains, unsafe playgrounds and frequent burglaries. Local politicians are hearing the message and adapting their communication strategies.
Involved Communities - Engaged Government
Set of slides from Dr Robert Bush concerning Social Capital in Queensland.
Democracy Portal and the Seattle Channel: Seattle's Online Civic Engagement Initiative
This document sets out the data structures that were agreed as desirable by those local authorities participating in pilots of consultation databases within the local e-Democracy National Project. It should be read in conjunction with other products of their work.
Global e-Democracy Best Practice Case Study Summaries
The Global E-democracy Best Practice Case Studies, commissioned by the UK Local E-democracy National Project, complement lessons generated by the UK local e-democracy pilots and other UK-based experiences. Most of the global lessons in e-democracy, particularly within government, have remained trapped with practitioners often unaware that their story is a leading example or may prove valuable to others. Those innovating with e-democracy rarely have the opportunity to make their lessons and insights known.
The purpose of the project-oriented case studies and the online feature-related "Briefs" is to help UK Local Authorities, and those interested in local e-democracy generally, access and adapt ideas and strategies from around the world. Our goal is to effectively enhance democracy within government and communities by sharing some of the top new lessons available today. Further, the 15 Briefs(*) linked from http://dowire.org/bp, provide tips and best case examples on such topics as e-mail newsletters, democratized navigation, and mobile democracy. Together these articles provide insights into the reality and possibility of e-democracy.
This article summarizes the case studies that may be accessed in their final form from http://www.e-democracy.gov.uk. They represent a new generation of interesting e-democracy examples - most of which are completely new to the wider e-democracy community. With limited resources, it is essential that any organisation investing in e-democracy do so in the most effective manner possible. While the governance and cultural context varies between countries, "public interest" lessons from governments, NGOs, and citizen initiatives have universal and adaptable value.
Democracy Portal and the Seattle Channel: Seattle's Online Civic Engagement Initiative
In 2001, the City of Seattle created a "democracy portal" through a multi-stakeholder group called the Seattle Commission on Electronic Communications. Building from 8 years of cable television experience, an expanded Seattle Channel was created based on the Community Groups and Technology Survey Results of March 2001. Currently, 87 percent of Seattle Channel viewers have Internet access, and there is an increasing demand for new technologies, such as video on demand, increased interactivity and web services.
The Seattle Channel enhanced its features to increase public awareness, understanding and participation in government, community and cultural affairs. Newly elected Mayor Greg Nickels sponsored an initial supplemental budget of $200,000 to enhance the TV channel's activities and to build its new website. In 2003, the city government completed construction of a new City Hall, which includes a studio and working space for the Seattle. This integrated multimedia service is for the City of Seattle, its citizens, officials and employees. The Seattle Channel is a unique combination of a 24 hour cable channel and an interactive website. Website: http://www.seattlechannel.org
Listening to the City Online
In July 2002, The Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in association with non-profits Web Lab and America Speaks created Listening to the City Online Dialogues with a budget of $60,000. The dialogues focused on two things; plans for redevelopment of the World Trade Center site and the surrounding business district and neighbourhoods of Lower Manhattan plus the creation of a permanent memorial for the victims and heroes of 9/11.
The goal of the online discussions was to complement the 5000 person-to-person consultation and provide a means for citizens to have their views heard and reflected in the decision-making process. During the two-week discussion, 808 participants working in 26 parallel discussion groups (half facilitated and half unfacilitated), posted more than 10,000 messages and responded to 32 polling questions. Listening to the City had an impact on guidelines for new designs, the invitations to world-class architects to participate in a design competition, and the final design. A final poll found that 84% of the participants said they were satisfied with the dialogue and they indicated the chance to "have their say" and the mix of "people and perspectives" were the top reasons. Website: http://dialogues.listeningtothecity.org
Madrid Participa - The e-Consultation Initiative of the City Council of Madrid
Madrid Participa was an initiative created by the City of Madrid in 2004 with the objective of involving citizens of the central district in evaluating the effectiveness of electronic mechanisms used for public participation. Citizens were introduced to local decision-making processes and the multi-faceted approach of the Internet, Java mobile phones, SMS messages and on site centres – 21 public access Internet centres deployed throughout the city in January 2004.
Approximately 50% of those surveyed decisively favour the use of electronic systems in any kind of electoral process such as a Citizen Consultation similar to Madrid Participa or binding elections. Only 15% of those surveyed indicated their reluctance to their use in binding elections. Three other e-consultations will take place during 2005 and will gather citizens’ opinion on key issues affecting three different districts in Madrid. Besides the e-consultations, a remodelled portal Madrid Participa will be launched shortly with new tools for the citizen associations and general participation tools such as online forums. Website: http://www.madridparticipa.es (update in progress).
Nordpol - Government Hosted Election and Political Information and Discussion in Northern Denmark
In October of 2001, the county council of Northern Jutland, Denmark initiated a government-hosted website with election and political information and an online discussion forum. Nordpol was part of an overall €700,000 county government information society project. The county government's explicit goal for the project was to enhance the citizens’ interest and knowledge of politics. Special attention was paid to first-time voters based on their traditionally low political participation and the belief that they might be the easiest voters to politically mobilize.
Citizens were able to bring issues such as alcohol treatment, health care and transportation of disabled people to the political agenda. Over 450 postings were made during the month. The number of postings exceeded the county government’s initial expectation and quantitative criterion of success with 200 postings. Data reveals 120 participants posted in the debate including 46 politicians or potential candidates and 74 citizens. Politicians posted 300 entries and citizens posted 150. The main part of the interactions consisted of direct dialogue from citizens to politicians. The process was more similar to a consultation, rather than a broad and general debate. In the subsequent evaluation, both citizens and politicians agreed that the project was a democratic success. Even politicians who were sceptical about the project found the debate useful for themselves as well as for the participants. Additionally, some politicians in older age groups took the opportunity to learn Internet skills. Website: http://www.nordpol.dk
Seoul's Cyber Policy Forum
In February 2003, the Seoul Metropolitan Government launched a new program to invite discussion on policy issues, opportunities to understand public policy, and to facilitate discussions. Seoul had already operated many online innovations such as Citizen Online Bulletin Board, Submitting Citizens Suggestion online, Citizen Cyber Monitors, and Online Opinion Polls. The new Cyber Policy Forum has a budget of approximately 30,100,000 Won in 2004 (about $30,000 US Dollars).
Since 2003, Seoul 24 Cyber Policy Forums and 29 Youth Cyber Forums were held. Over 2,624 citizens posted their opinions and 142,406 views were recorded in the primary Cyber Policy Forums. A special feature of Seoul’s Cyber Policy Forum allows users to cast votes for good discussions. Citizens can add their votes to certain opinions, and then the most popular opinions rise to the top. When comparing each discussion topic, the number of participants posting varied from 40 to 262, depending on the issue. Recorded hits ranged from 2,567 to 20,350. The most popular topic focused on reforming the bus system. Seoul's online forums have the potential to gather diverse opinions from citizens throughout the process of policy-making. New online channels for participation in the early drafting stage of policy-making could be explored. Website: http://forum.seoul.go.kr
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