New publication opens up international debate on e-democracy
Press release - embargoed December 20, 2001
A new report from the prestigious parliamentary think tank the Hansard Society - Bowling Together: Online Public Engagement in Policy Deliberation - aims to stimulate debate about how the internet might be used to open up the policy-making process in new and more democratic ways.
The report, by Dr Stephen Coleman and Dr John Gotze examines some of the issues that have been neglected so far in the debate about e-democracy. It concentrates on five key areas:
1) There is a need to think through the democratic rationale for online public engagement in policy deliberation
2) It is vital that institutions of governance, including both elected politicians and policy-forming bureaucrats, consider the impact of online public engagement upon their own practices and how they can adapt these practices to a more engaged and connected political environment.
3) There are implications in all of this for the nature of citizenship. The skills and strategies required by citizens with access to new channels of participation in policy-making are bound to become more sophisticated. This report explores these new skills and strategies
4) Although it is taken as read that technology is a potential tool of democracy, there is a real danger of the discussion of technology being neglected in the debate about e-democracy. This report seeks to analyse the existing ICTs and offer some recommendations about best use
5) In order to root this report in the real world, rather than a speculative universe, the report includes brief accounts of some recent international attempts to engage the public online in a deliberative fashion.
Dr Stephen Coleman, Director of the Hansard Society e-democracy programme commented: "The UK Government has just set up a Cabinet committee for e-democracy, chaired by Robin Cook MP. This is the most high-profile government initiative on e-democracy so far - I hope that some of the lessons from Bowling Together will be picked up by the committee."
For more information, see bowlingtogether.net or contact
Virginia Gibbons on 0207 491 0051 or 07932 485490
These are a selection of recent publications from the Hansard Society eDemocracy Programme.
Uspeak online consultation for the Social Security Select Committee (Jan-Feb 2001)
Building Digital Bridges: Creating Inclusive Online Parliamentary Consultations By Nicola Hall
August 2001, ISBN 0 900432 95 0
£10
Findings
Full report
Order this publication
Womenspeak - Online consultation with survivors of domestic violence for All Part Parliamentary Group for Domestic Violence (March 1999)
Consultation Findings report
Summary report - New Media and Socila Inclusion
Digital Jury project for 16-24 year olds.
For further info contact edemocracy@lse.ac.uk
Posted by gotze at 11:15 PM