1. The Democratic Society
Four rules
for councils’ democratic engagement

2. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
One.
Remember the
di erence between
consumers and citizens
http://www.demsoc.org

3. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY They need di erent sorts of engagement
Consumer Citizen
Recipient Participant
One-o Ongoing
Individualist Collective
Managerial Political
http://www.demsoc.org

4. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY Not everyone sees the council as neutral
My Local
Council
For example, local politicians always carry
their national party’s baggage
http://www.demsoc.org

5. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY Political issues = di cult issues
You can’t always get to an agreed position when there
are underlying philosophical di erences
http://www.demsoc.org

6. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
Two.
People understand local
government less than
you think they do.
http://www.demsoc.org

7. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY Don’t force people into your structures
http://www.demsoc.org

8. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY Focus on the citizen, not the process
http://www.demsoc.org

9. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY Don’t assume knowledge, with anyone
Who’s in charge of
planning policy around
here, anyway ?
http://www.demsoc.org

10. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
Three.
Work to expand the
democratic space
http://www.demsoc.org

11. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY Don’t use the council website
When you can use these
Don’t use this
(and many others)
http://www.demsoc.org

12. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY Make online and o ine support each other
http://www.demsoc.org

13. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY Remember that politics bores most people
Assume that people have
ten minutes a month for
politics, not an hour or two
every day
http://www.demsoc.org

14. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
Four.
Real engagement means
culture change and
service transformation
http://www.demsoc.org

15. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY Few politicians, many citizens
For every one politician, councillor, senior civil servant or political journalist...
...there are 44,470 ordinary citizens.
http://www.demsoc.org

16. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY O cers need to get out and engage
Even the best politicians have
• little time
• little understanding of detail
• little knowledge of background
http://www.demsoc.org

17. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY Public speaking ≠ political speaking
Explaining the background to the new parking scheme
on Nevskii Prospekt
http://www.demsoc.org

18. A cheering final word:
Local government does culture change well
THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
• Partnership working done
• Joint commissioning done
• Trusts & shared services done
• Real openness and engagement
http://www.demsoc.org