The Next Form of Democracy?

Civic Engagement and Democracy Lecture

Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement

University of Illinois-Chicago

April 4, 2012

Slides available at:www.slideshare.net/mattleighninger

Guides I’ll mention:Planning for Stronger Local Democracy - http://bit.ly/rWeHaUUsing Online Tools to Engage the Public - http://bit.ly/iwjgqn

• “Geraldton 2029,” Geraldton, Australia

• “Kendall-Whittier Growing Together,” Tulsa, OK

• “Lee County Pulling Together,” Fort Myers, FL

• “Horizons,” seven states, USA

• Participatory Budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil

• “Decatur Next,” Decatur, GA

• “Portsmouth Listens,” Portsmouth, NH

• “Multi-Channel PB,” La Plata, Argentina

• “Kuna ACT,” Kuna, ID

• “Citizen’s Assembly on Electoral Reform,” BC

• “Community Chat,” Southwest Delray Beach, FL

• Social control in Nagaland, India

• Participatory Budgeting in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

• “Balancing Justice in Oklahoma,” USA

• Ward council system in South Africa

• “What To Do About the Flu?,” USA

• “You Decide!,” Tower Hamlets, London, UK

• “Strong Neighborhoods Initiative,” San Jose, CA

• Federal policy conferences, Brazil

• “Voices and Choices,” Greater Cleveland, OH

• Wenling City Deliberative Poll, Wenling, China

• “Public Conversations,” Bridgeport, CT

Notable public participation projects

How have citizens* changed?

More educated More skeptical – different attitudes toward

authority Have less time to

spare Use the Internet

to learn and connect

* “citizens” = residents, people

Successful recent public engagement tactics

Proactive about recruitment – a “critical mass” Bringing together people with diverse views Sharing experiences Giving people chance to make up their own

minds (facilitated, deliberative) Different levels of action: volunteers, teams,

organizations, policy decisions Increasing use of online tools

Successful tactic: Online tools

Complement face-to-face communication, don’t replace it

Particularly good for:o Providing background informationo Data gathering by citizenso Generating and ranking ideaso Helping people visualize optionso Maintaining connections over time

Digital divides (plural)

Overall, Internet access growing “Access” – to Internet, to government – has

never been enough Different people use different hardware Different people go to different places on the

Internet Communities just as complex online as off –

recruitment must be proactive

Successes, limitations of engagement so far

Successes: Making policy decisions, planningCatalyzing citizen actionBuilding trustFostering new leadership

Challenges: Time-consuming(especially recruitment)Unsustainable (usually not intended to be)Meets goals of ‘engagers,’ not ‘engaged’Doesn’t change the institutionsTrust, relationships fade over time

1. Sustain the benefits2. Allow the ‘engaged’ to set the agenda3. Better address inequities 4. Increase community attachment and

economic growth5. Increase residents’ sense of legitimacy and

“public happiness”

Why plan for more sustainable kinds of participation?

“Democracy needs a place to sit down” Communities need places that are:

1. Permanent 2. Virtual and physical3. Not just “open,” but actively

welcoming4. Centered on citizen needs and

priorities5. Powerful 6. Political, social, and cultural

Social media is a critical tool for new forms of participation

Can sustain networks in ways that are convenient and interactive

Capitalizes on face-to-face relationships and makes people more likely to seek them

Adaptable to what people want

“Sometimes you need a meeting that is also a party. Sometimes you need a party

that is also a meeting.”

─ Gloria Rubio-Cortès, National Civic League

Local democracy planners should consider

some key building blocks::

Resources

• www.participedia.net• www.deliberative-democracy.net• www.soulofthecommunity.org • www.everydaydemocracy.org• www.publicagenda.org• www.kettering.org• On Facebook: “Deliberative Democracy

Consortium” group page• The Next Form of Democracy

Resources (continued)

• On YouTube: the DDC channel

• Using Online Tools to Engage – and Be Engaged by – the Public at http://bit.ly/iwjgqn

• Planning for Stronger Local Democracy at bit.ly/rWeHaU – and other resources at www.nlc.org