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BEST PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED
FROM ON-LINE E-DEMOCRACY INTIATIVES
The scope
In 2001, The KTA Centre for Collaborative
Government was asked by the Department of Canadian Heritage to investigate
government-led online collaboration initiatives. The scope of this
investigation encompassed both international and domestic initiatives,
focussing on online discussion forums involving government, rather
than on online policy consultations.
The tactic
Websites hosted by organizations, which create
forums for debate as well as a place for government to interact
with citizens.
- Websites hosted1 by organizations, which
create forums for debate as well as a place for government to
interact with citizens.
- Websites hosted by governments, which
seek to consult citizens on proposed policy issues as well as
foster debate on general issues related to politics and culture.
We have pinpointed four websites that fit these
categories:
These websites have been chosen because they
each exemplify models that are currently engaging citizens in genuine
and active debate. Further, all of these sites are lively, well populated,
well-governed and have been in use for a significant period of time.
Minnesota, the EU and the UK were chosen because they involve government
in engaging with citizens. The CBC was chosen because it engages citizens
in specifically Canadian issues.
The examination of each site’s attributes
was done through the use of several categories. They include: Governance
and Rules, Moderation, Discussion Focus, Diversity of Voices, Copyright
and Privacy.
The Result
The government played an important role in
facilitating the process. Government has been found to take three
roles in these discussion forums:
- Participant—Top-level politicians in
Europe and public servants in Minnesota have been found to actively
participate in discussions with citizens.
- Listening—Governor Jesse Ventura is on
Minnesota E-Democracy’s mailing list, while the UK government
has committed to using its site to understand how citizens are
thinking about issues important to Britain.
- The subject of discussion—Government
is absent but people are debating the issues surrounding governance
and politics
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