Via FutureGov’s Dominic Campbell, here’s Apps for Democracy (complete with American mis-spellings) Last Sunday was “Social Citizen Sunday” where neighbors were encouraged to talk to one another about the problems and ideas they have that could be address through better technology. You can view some of the micro-proposals that it has thrown up here.
Posts from ‘May, 2009’
Political Innovation
I’ve just got back from the PICamp event in Belfast. For a first-time event in a relatively small polity, I think it went extremely well. Steve Lawson has posted a really good round-up of the day. It highlighted the importance of ‘gamechanging’ as opposed to campagning, consensus-building and caucusing. Mick Fealty, the MC for the [...]
As long as they're our scoundrels….
In recent weeks, I’ve been trying to tease out what kind of politicians that we want. So far, I’ve covered the posibility that we want them to behave in much the same way as jurors do, or that we want a paragon of virtue (in an expensive white suit). With Esther Rantzen and The Jury [...]
An offer to political parties
Both Labour and the Conservatives have moved to take away the whip – and effectively deselect – MPs that have offended public morality with their expense claims. But is this really enough? Are we simply to be satisfied that a few examples are made of the most egregious cases of an abuse of parliamentary expenses [...]
Politicians as jurors?
The BBC website has a nice post up about how the question of politicians being ‘in touch’ isn’t a straightforward one. It sort-of reprises a few points that I made in this post here a while ago – that no-body really agrees with anyone else about very much, and that – under such circumstances, politicians [...]
More visualisations
Providing an understanding of data by the creative use of graphics is a great way of improving the quality of public deliberation. Here’s a load of graphics that show the way that we consume media has changed. Look what is forcast for 2015. (hat tip: Kathryn on Facebook)
The need for 'gamechanging' ideas
There have been a few interesting developments in the last few days. Firstly, the post of Director of Digital Engagement has been filled by Andrew Stott. Harry has a positive anecdote about him along with an observation that I’d agree with: It [a £160k post] seemed like a strange move to make when creating two [...]
Empower failure
According to the Municipal Journal, the UK Government has abandoned plans to introduce a Community Empowerment Bill, which would have implemented some parts of the Communities in Control White Paper. According to the Commons authorities, the Bill would have enabled remote voting in Council meetings, reduced the barriers to introducing an elected mayor, change the [...]
The straight choice
Richard Pope, Francis Irving and Julian Todd have developed a site – The Straight Choice – that allows you to upload election leaflets as they come through your door – with the intention of promoting consistency and honesty. It’s an interesting idea. And – as you come here partly because you often get unpopular arguments, [...]
Eating the Elephant
Shorter version: Often, the minor technical obstacles mask a wider small-p political obstructionism to the promotion of a more interactive form of government. Having written this post about the small obstacles to open e-gov a few weeks ago, Tim Davies got such a comprehensive response in his comments thread that he’s rolled them out into [...]
