Category Archives: international

International public engagement news & domestic learning opportunities

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This post was submitted by Rosa Zubizarreta of DiaPraxis via our Submit-to-Blog Form. Do you have field news you want to share with the rest of us? Just click here to submit your news post for the NCDD Blog!

Hi all! I’ve begun translating some articles from the news media in Austria about their growing public participation efforts. This first article is called “Developing Self-Efficacy” by Selbst Wirksam Werden and was published in Biorama, an Austrian online magazine on sustainability. The English version can be found here, and here is an excerpt:

2013 has been officially declared the “European Year of Citizen.” Twenty years after the introduction of EU citizenship, the focus of this year is the achievements of the people themselves and their own aspirations for their future. In the course of this European Year, events are being held to explain to citizens how they can use their EU rights directly and what measures and programs exist. There are also conversations with citizens throughout the European Union, on their views about what the European Union should look like in the future and what reforms are needed to obtain improvements in their daily lives.

The article goes on to describe the public participation efforts taking place in Vorarlberg, Austria, where there have been more than 20 successful “Bürger-Räte” (Citizen’s Councils) held since 2006, using the Wisdom Council model developed by Jim and Jean Rough. They describe the model as follows:

Twelve people from a county, a city or a region are selected at random to spend 1-2 days exploring an issue in a rather open manner. To this end, the facilitation method ‘Dynamic Facilitation’ is used, which allows an associative and creative approach to discovering new possibilities for action. A specially- trained facilitator helps participants uncover what it is they want and how they can creatively develop collaborative solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. At the same time, the process generates a dialogue marked by a high degree of listening.

For anyone interested in learning more about the practice of Dynamic Facilitation, also known as the Choice-Creating process, I will be offering two upcoming workshops this Fall. One in is Burlington, Vermont, from November 7 – 9, and another one will be in Voluntown, Connecticut, from November 14 – 16. For more info on the trainings, please visit www.diapraxis.com.

New Report on E-Petitions and Engagement

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We are happy to share a great summary of the new report on government-sponsored e-petitions from long-time NCDD member AmericaSpeaks.  The paper compares e-petition platforms from the US, UK, and Australia, and it’s a useful guide for thinking through the ins and outs of the many different e-petition platforms aimed at helping public engagement specialists make better use of this emerging technology.

You can read the full article below, or find the original post on the AmericaSpeaks blog here.

AmericaSpeaks_Logo

Exploring E-Petitions

By Elana Goldstein

AmericaSpeaks doesn’t often have the opportunity to be involved with projects like this, so it was exciting for the organization to take a step back and look at citizen participation from a new angle. We see e-petitions as a new means for governments to encourage increased citizen interaction and involvement in the policy making process. Over the past two years, AmericaSpeaks has been working with funds from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund to explore issues related to open government. The grant culminated at the beginning of the summer with the release of “Government Sponsored E-Petitions: A Guide for Implementation and Development,” a paper focused on electronic petitioning and local government.

The paper serves as a guide for public managers who are interested in e-petition design and implementation. The guide breaks down the key decision areas that a public manager may face throughout the implementation process. In addition, the guide includes three case studies, each of which examines a different governmental entity’s approach to e-petition implementation. The first case study looks at e-petitioning in the United States with the Obama Administration’s “We the People” e-petition platform. The second case discusses state level implementation in Queensland, Australia, with an emphasis on using e-petitioning as a way to overcome geographic barriers to citizen participation. The final case study examines implementation on the local level with the e-petition platform in Bristol, England.

While e-petition implementation is highly dependent on the local context, several issues emerged as best practices throughout the case studies. For example, the use of a trial period in the early stages of an e-petition process gives the government time to work out glitches in the platform, as well as work to get elected officials and the public bought in to the benefits of the system. Similarly, we recommend that all e-petition systems utilize a time response guarantee. So, if a petition gathers enough signatures it is guaranteed a response within a specific time frame. While the amount of time will vary across localities and platforms, the guarantee will provide a sense of accountability for citizen petitioners and create a petition response structure that treats all petitions equally.

As more communities implement and innovate around e-petitions, our notions of best practices will change. In the long history of petitions and governance, e-petitions, we must remember, are still in their infancy. However, it is safe to say that the spread of e-petitions is a positive development for the practice of democratic participation. For citizens, the continued use of e-petition systems can lead to a greater capacity for civic participation, a greater ability to get things on the government agenda, and greater expectations for political participation outside of the voting booth. Citizen participation and increased government accountability through e-petition processes has genuine potential to strengthen linkages between elected officials and the participatory public.

We hope that you take the time to read through the guide and share it with your elected officials. Enjoy!

Find the original article here: www.americaspeaks.org/blog/exploring-e-petitions. Find the full report here: www.americaspeaks.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/EPetitionPaperFinal.pdf.