Government started by dangling carrots in the form of funding for pilots and evaluations Led by councils and many produced outputs in the form of software / standards / content management systems etc Led by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister – initiated in response to gershon review to introduce efficiencies 22 programmes of work
Went from dangling carrots to enforcement – fines for councils who did not achieve targets E-petitions seen as a good way of publishing responses to issues raised by the public – being more accountable
A reward for those who were leading the way and particularly those who had been involved with e-govt projects Funding came from various govt departments incl department of education, originally expected to receive large amount of business funding eg telecom Ended up with dc10 (finalists) network and funding for a range of projects
Once e-govt programme ended there was other funding from europe who were providing a similar stimulus to improving service and engagement
So, what did we do in bristol?
Ran alongside traditional citizens panel – looking for more interactive discussions rather than us to them – them to us
One of the first uk authorities to introduce e-petitions. Used software that had been used by scottish parliament. Very straightforward to take process online. Started off with councillors & community groups but ended up with more regular members of the public – particularly after number 10 epetitions went live
Initially wasn’t possible to get representative – over 60s were harder to reach online
“ Technologists too often assume that government is just another machine to be fixed” Prof. Stephen Coleman, Evaluation of Council-Led Approaches to e-Democracy, 2005 It is early days for this technology but some of the initial findings are encouraging “ It’s all about: it’s giving power to the people. That’s what this is all about: making sure that people give themselves help to find solutions to their own problems” Local Councillor, quoted in Evaluation of Community-Led Approaches to e-Democracy, 2005
Launched webcasting in Bristol in October 2007. First european funded project – had most councillors support
Councillors improved their communication skills – made meetings much more accessible and less confrontational
Other quote – like the fact that it’s warts and all. No editing – this is how it is.
Second european project. Focusing on climate change directive. Combined webcasting with online discussion forums. 300 viewers online. 2 might turn up to meetings Evaluation showed that councillors liked that I turned up with summary of comments received – rather than needing to spend half an hour listening to one or two people who had particular perspective. Helped them to feel they were on track / up to date with local views
Software provided by NZ company Online groups – US provided support and guidance for issues forums Set up a few neighbourhood forums – potential idea for new local boards
YouTube site – originally established to promote series of graffiti videos – over 50,000 views
I’m a councillor – two week competition. School pupils ask questions and then vote for the councillor they most like Councillors challenged but love the competition
People allowed to suggest how they would change proposed spending – prioritise areas they’re most interested in and see impact on rates Bang the Table have antipodean software – only just launched
Cheeky enough to contact ALGIM and say would you like me to speak. Luckily they said yes and so, survey and white paper an outcome
No one department leading the way – similar to picture found in the UK
Larger councils more likely to spend more
Over the next two years
Most software providers are very focused either on mailing software / surveys or CMS. Would like to see more developing fun democratic tools like I’m a councillor or budget simulator
And particularly around Auckland
Twitter most visible activity in Auckland – ACC, ARC, Manukau, Rodney Facebook – Manukau, Rodney youth, Rodney libraries Flickr Rodney have the biggest range of activities
Auckland has whole range: events, cbd, safe swimming etc Other councils also have email newsletters – not much evidence of SMS
Rodney’s e-panel Auckland City Listening Post
Manukau used googlegroups for LTCCP consultation. Have used for other activities Rodney – silverstripe. Not yet launched
Auckland City’s future planning online engagement. Quite sophisticated but aimed at the more informed
Expectation is that local boards will have a strong connection to their communities – I’d love to see webcasting and more online activities
Hopefully this will pave the way for more e-govt activities
US leading the way in terms of central government. Obama campaign used a comprehensive range of online tools and techniques – social media etc to engage the public and pull them towards a central website
UK have committed to released public data and information that’s not sensitive Push in NZ too Victoria, Aus recently had mash-up competition – data released on topics eg transport, climate data
Understand work going on behind the scenes on digital strategy. More economic focus at present tho. Hope will come back to e-govt Royal Commission also talked about technology enabling much better community engagement
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