e-democracy lessons from bristol & the national project stephen hilton corporate consultation...
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E-Democracy Lessons from Bristol & the
National Project
Stephen HiltonCorporate Consultation Manager, Bristol City Council
Board Member, Local e-Democracy National Project
An application of e-technology that enables or enhances the interaction between government and its stakeholders with the goal of raising engagement and participation in democratic processes.
The challenge:
“People want something more than the occasional vote - the average citizen spends 72 minutes voting during their life. Democratic legitimacy and civic engagement is enhanced when democratic institutions spread and share power rather than hoard it.” David Miliband MP
Definition of e-Democracy
History of e-Democracy in Bristol
2006
2000
• Ground-up Participation -community campaign pack
• Building good practice – Local e-Democracy National Project
• Online consultations and ‘e-experiments’
• Information - Consultation Finder
Setting the Scene
BRISTOL
• 8th largest city in England
• Population of 400,000
• University city - 36,000 students
• Capital of South West England
Consultation Strategy
• Bristol began developing a Consultation Strategy in 2000
• More than twenty five offline consultations found to be running concurrently when this strategy was prepared
At the same time….
Growth in Bristol citizens's Web Use
0
10
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1999 2000 2002
%
Have web access
Regular web use
Have access butdo not use
Consultation Finder
• Makes it easier for…– Elected Representatives to find out about
consultation in their wards– Officers to check what consultation is planned
and what’s been done before– Citizens and stakeholders to register interest
and to participate
Visits to Consultation Finder
472554586
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Jun-0
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Visits
Electronic voting
• Began using electronic voting at public events 4 years ago
• Instant feedback builds trust
• Good feedback from users
• Additional appeal to come along to events
Height Matters Consultation
• Consultation on proposed tall buildings policy
• Bristol’s largest online survey to date – 85% online response
• Range of e-consultation / participation tools used – survey, forum and “e-Decide”
• Offline and Online working together
E-Decide
• A deliberative polling tool
• Interactive tool which presents both sides of the debate, challenging people’s beliefs
• Used as a pre-consultation tool to encourage more informed responses
I’m a Councillor… Get me out of here!
• Used to support Local Democracy Week
• Aimed at young people in schools
• Councillors, including Executive Members answered questions from young people
• Two councillors voted-off each week
• Winner became “Youth e-Champion”
Local e-Democracy National Project
• Government Funding - £4 million development programme
• Involving over 20 authorities - delivering 112 products from 20 pilots
• National Evaluation • 2005/06 - £500,000 dissemination and take-up• Suite of products • Benefits analysis• Inform policy development
Bristol’s Role in National Project
• Member of Project Board• Lead of research and evaluation work
stream• Lead of e-panel and e-panel training work
packages• Piloted and promoted e-petitioning• Involvement in partnership working and
Issues Forums
Councillor websites – researchBloggingNational Cllr index
How the projects support stakeholders
Communities
•Baseline Survey & •Evaluation •Funding Database•Case Studies•International case studies
CouncilsCouncillors
•Issues forum•E-petitioning•E-Democracy Games•Action network•E-dem icons
•Citizen Panels•E-moderation•Microdemocracy
•Online Surgeries•Webcasting
toolkit
Webcasting– Making information about Council business more easily
available
– Publishing the business of the council (minutes, agendas, forward plans, etc)
– Broadcasting committee/public meetings
• Benefits– Increased reach and accessibility
– Increased citizen trust
– High fixed costs can be lowered through leasing/sharing
E-DEM GAMES
– Citizenship work in schools
• Benefits– Young people with better understanding of
civic issues
ISSUES FORUMS
– Issues forums are moderated areas allowing discussion and engagement
– Far cheaper, quicker and more informal than offline methods
• Benefits– Citizens set the agenda– Councillors can explore new ideas
ONLINE CONSULTATION
– Online consultation– Representative samples– Good reach - appeals to young people
• Benefits – Fixed quantifiable costs and on-going savings
E-Panel (Ask Bristol)
• Over 1100 registered members
• E-enabled citizens panel using a variety of engagement mechanisms- consultation; forums; polling
• Moderation encourages deliberation and shared solutions
ONLINE SURGERIES
– Well known format – Moderated, chat room environment – Appeals to young people
• Benefits– Quantifiable increase in political awareness and
empowerment of target audience – Councillors able to engage with hard to reach
groups
MP / COUNCILLOR BLOGS
– Many councillors now run web pages and/or blogs. They offer low cost, direct communication
– Free blogging platforms available– Analysis of good practise and legal issues
• Benefits– Potential savings due to centralised hosting and
training– Potential mass reach of blogs
E-PETITIONING
– 33 e-petitions have been run– Over 12000 epetition signatures in total– Biggest response to a recycling plastics petition
posted by a Councillor (4867)– Provides background information, photos, links– Discussion forum can contain comments for and
against each petition
Research with Citizens
• Young People want the opportunity to speak up on issues which affect them (72%) but…
• Half (52%) say they are not interested in politics• Once familiar with the idea, the vast majority of
citizens (79%) feel e-Democracy is something that Governments should pursue
“There is potential to reach more than 8 out of 10 people in the UK through the combined use of
Internet, Digital TV and Mobile phones”
‘What Works’ eDemocracy Literature Review, MORI 2004
Growing potential to reach out through use of technologies
Campaign Creator
• ODPM e-Innovation Funded
• Community Focused Campaigning Project– Community Campaign Manager– Community Website– Guidance materials– Partnerships– Pilots
E-Democracy Conclusions
• Its not just about the technology• Its about engaging with citizens• It is about making Democracy easier and more
convenient• It’s about making sure democracy is inclusive• It is about outcomes & enabling Councillors to be
effective Community Leaders
Local eDemocracy National Project, 2005
It is about Outcomes & Enabling Councillors to be Effective
Community Leaders
“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
E-Democracy has the potential to bring real and important benefits
to elected representatives
council officers
and citizens
Representatives must take advantage of these tools for their statutory activities, and should be able to frame cost-neutral additions to business cases that include e-Democracy tools and techniques.
Key Message