Transcript Global E-Democracy Trends

Issues Forums
By Steven Clift, E-Democracy.Org
Agenda
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Perspective
British Expedition – What they discovered
How Issues Forums Work
Participant Interviews
Issues Forums Today
Issues Forums – e-democracy.org/if
Perspective
Defining e-democracy
• E-democracy is:
– the use information and
communication
Political
technologies and
Groups
strategies
– by “democratic
Government
sectors”
– within the political
Media and
processes of local
Commercial
communities, states,
Content
nations and on the
global stage.
– What’s missing?
Issues Forums – e-democracy.org/if
Private
Sector
Defining e-democracy
• E-democracy …
– is now, what kind is it?
– is accelerating “as is”
politics
– will promote active
citizen participation
only by taking the “ecitizen” perspective
– E-Democracy.Org
focuses on the that
perspective, reaching
across the political
spectrum, embracing
local geography
Political
Groups
GovernmentE-Citizens
Media and
Commercial
Content
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Private
Sector
Say What?
• “The most democratizing
aspect of the Internet is the
ability for people to organize
and communicate in groups.”
• Steven Clift from Democracy is Online article in,
OnTheInternet, April 1998
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The British Expedition
UK ODPM/E-democracy Project Visit
• July 2004 visit by Office of the
Deputy Prime Minister and UK
Local E-democracy National
Project Visit
• Met forum managers, and
citizen volunteers involved
with local forums in
Minneapolis, St. Paul, and
Winona
• “Gathered” samples to plant
back in the UK
• National Project overview:
–
http://www.dowire.org/notes/?p=223
Images from Northfield.org Visit
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E-Democracy.Org History
• Launched world’s first electionoriented web site in 1994
• Included citizen-to-citizen
MN-POLITICS e-mail discussion
forum, people kept talking after election
• Model localized with 1998 launch
of Minneapolis Issues Forum
• Volunteer-based, non-profit
community organization
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Why Issues Forums are Needed
• Effective citizen engagement – any time,
anywhere agenda-setting
• Share community knowledge of public
leaders and active citizens with all – civic
learning
• Openness and accountability –
accountability of citizens, the local
media, and government
Issues Forums – e-democracy.org/if
Why Issues Forum are Needed
• Globally, most non-partisan “e-democracy” efforts
are government-based, need cost-effective
complement to e-consultations
• Most citizen efforts have an activist view point
and advocate politically – often anti-something
• Many local forums are anonymous rough and
tumble exchanges – “privately owned” spaces,
few offer e-mail options
• Cost-effective starting point – provides e-citizen
foundation for additional activities, priming effort
Issues Forums – e-democracy.org/if
How Issues Forums Work
How Issues Forums Work
Starting with “private” citizens
moving toward public e-citizens
Personal
Networks
C
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Extensive personal
e-mail networks exist
– friends, family,
co-workers
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How Issues Forums Work
Local E-Democracy group creates the
public “space”, defines charter (scope)
Personal
Networks
C
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Issues Forum
GroupServer
e-mails posts
web view
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How Issues Forums Work
Recruit citizens, councillors,
media, etc. with “sticky” opt-in
Personal
Networks
C
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t
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z
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Issues Forum
Subscribe once
Commitment secured
GroupServer
e-mails posts
web view
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How Issues Forums Work
• Participants agree to rules
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Sign real name
Post no more than twice a day
Stay within scope of local charter
Understand that with two warnings they can be
suspended for two weeks, three warnings six
months, etc..
– Forum is facilitated, NOT pre-moderated, those
posting content are 100% responsible for what
they post
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Position forum
in center of
real power
Personal
Networks
C
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z
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Researcher
How Issues Forums Work
Issues Forum
Post via e-mail/web
GroupServer
e-mails posts
web view
e-publish,
many-to-many
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Candidate
Leader’s Office
Researcher
Issues Forums
Agenda-setting
discussions, “e-mail
leaks,” facilitation and
rule enforcement key
Personal
Networks
C
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t
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z
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Online
discussions
in the heart
of local
power
Subscribe once
Commitment secured
Post via e-mail/web
Local Media
Coverage
Issues Forum
GroupServer
e-mails posts
web view
“Secondary
Networks”
e-mail forwards
media agenda-setting
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Candidate
Council
Department
E-Democracy Experience
http://e-democracy.org/experience
Dori from St. Paul
• Active citizens and
“average” citizens raise
their voices
• Ten minute “GSE”
(Gopher State Ethanol)
video at
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http://e-democracy.org/experience
• Dori Ullman raises her
voice about the stench
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Jamal from Minneapolis
• Large Somali community
in Minneapolis
• Their “voice” was missing
despite past outreach
• Bus strike provided
motivation and real world
reason to join and post to
forum
• Contacted by Mayor,
media based on forum
posts
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Mayor Rybak from Minneapolis
• In 2001, RT Rybak
announced mayoral
candidacy on forum
before press conference
• Continues to post
~monthly
• Video clips
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The Seven O'clock Meeting
Budget Issues - Informing
Let’s Ski - Gathering Ideas
Two-way Won’t Kill You
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Squirrel Story
Steven Clift posted humorously about
the “public health risks of a large squirrel
population” in the Minneapolis forum’s
early days.
From Southwest Journal newspaper
by Martiga Lohn
> Rocky and his friends are out of
control. … If you want evidence, try
to eat a sandwich on a bench in
Loring Park.
Most days, mpls-issues is a
substantive discussion of important
public policy issues…
However … here are a few excerpts
from this burning issue …
> Quit telling people to move their
nasty attack squirrels to wooded
areas (i.e., Minneapolis parks) — we
already have our fair share.
> Go to hardware store…buy
trap…set track…kill squirrel. End of
public policy question.
> I ran on an anti-squirrel platform
for Student Legislature at Syracuse
University in my freshman year in
college. I promised to eradicate the
nuisance squirrel population. It was
my first election loss.
> Grab a trap and KILL the
squirrel????????? Why must we
destroy a living thing as a solution?
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Issues Forums Today
Local Issues Forums Today
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Minneapolis – 694 members
St. Paul – 423 members
Roseville – 134 members, opened July 06
Winona – 197 members
Brighton and Hove – 242 members
Newham – 155 members
KW Nhood, Bristol - 79 mbrs, opened Oct 11
• Other communities are expressing interest,
forming steering committees.
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UK Pilots Experience
• Call for interest – Brighton & Hove,
Newham emerge in early 2005
• Guidebook produced
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Steering committees
Charter and rules
Forum managers
Recruitment
Launch and facilitation
• GroupServer used, released open source
• Case study, evaluation, multimedia, etc.
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Brighton & Hove Today
Issues Forums – e-democracy.org/if
GroupServer – E-mail/web
• Easy to find
– By geography
• E-mail or web
- your choice
• Technology
enhancements
– Share through open source
– More: http://e-democracy.org/groupserver
Issues Forums – e-democracy.org/if
Sample Forum – Web View
Entering
reply here
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Sample Forum – E-mail View
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How to Start One
How to Start One
• Watch “Experience”
– http://e-democracy.org/experience
• Read 60 Page Guidebook
– http://e-democracy.org/if
• Join “Liftoff”
– http://forums.e-democracy.org
• Contact E-Democracy.Org – Join “Class of 2007”
• Volunteer-based model that requires at least 4
citizens on your local steering committee
Issues Forums – e-democracy.org/if
How to Start One
• Recruitment phase essential – if you can attract
funding for an accelerated start-up, this is the a
key area to dedicate resources for inclusivity
• Forum manager volunteer role crucial – avoid
professionalizing core Issues Forum efforts to
keep model extremely low cost
• Add-on special events and consultations may
require funding with stipends or compensation
• E-Democracy.Org hosts shared GroupServer
platform, building “Rotary Club” like chapter
model
Issues Forums – e-democracy.org/if
Conclusion
Conclusion
• This model is about your local democracy
– it must be authentically local.
• Together we can build a global model for
local democracy in the information age.
• Everything:
– http://e-democracy.org/if
Issues Forums – e-democracy.org/if