Online PB
Social media and new technologies can bring new ways for communities to interact. Yet the growth in online technologies is a fast moving picture with potentially good and bad outcomes.
There are numerous examples of how local public sector bodies are using new media to consult. Using budget simulation games to engage citizens on budgetary discussions. Using mobile phone apps to give and receive reports of public works, like pots holes that need filling or abandoned vehicles that need removing. There is now a requirement for all local authorities to publish expenditure over £500 online.
One of the most interesting areas is how online and offline democratic process can complement each other. With the current fiscal pressures there can be a temptation to move all engagement online as it's both a way to reach sectors of the community that don't necessarily get involved in meetings, and it can also save money.
There is a risk this could reduce the benefits of enabling community members to meet directly. The ability to click on a mouse doesn't necessarily make more active citizens. We have produced a report looking at e-PB and the pros and cons of different approaches, to support practitioners considering e-PB. The link is at the bottom of this page. The report's primary message is that careful planning is needed and organisations shouln't rely upon a single method of engagement in their engagement strategy.
PB initiatives already use voting handsets for PB events. But the next stage is remote or online voting through online platforms. The PB Unit is hoping to learn from international experiences and bring the best practice to the UK.
Cities in Latin America have been doing online democracy for a while. An interesting example is the e-participatory budget of Belo Horizonte, in Brazil. There the municipal administration organises an online vote open to all residents older than 16, in order to prioritise investments at the district level that require much more than the amounts available. In order to participate, citizens have to access the e-voting platform through the city’s official website, where information on the various public works is provided. In 2006, US$14 million were made available to the online PB and US$ 61million in 2009-2010.
Videos on three online PB programmes that were put forward for the prestigious "Vitalize democracy through participation" Reinhard Mohn Prize 2011 prize, voted for online by over 11,000 German citizens prize can be found at these following links:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BertelsmannStiftung#p/u/11/M5QG6cZKjMA
http://www.youtube.com/user/BertelsmannStiftung#p/u/12/2CffhCRl69Y
http://www.youtube.com/user/BertelsmannStiftung#p/search/1/UHxVj4IyWFo
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