Gov Camp 2012 – 15 take home pointers

Posted on January 23, 2012 by RowenaF

GovCamp 2012 was awesome. With two days of packed and uber interesting un-conference style talks, coupled with an opportunity to talk to and debate with a whole host of varied people, the event was truly worth working on a Saturday for ;) .

In a true round-up style I thought I would go for a nice take-home-pointers blog post.

5 things we learnt from meeting people:

  1. Best practice needs to be shared more. We need to build a greater network of conversation and trust.
  2. Consultation needs to be fluid. Statutory rules on consultation may be too rigid?
  3. Digital maturity is varied within organisations. Recognising this both internally and externally is key.
  4. We need to find and target key nodes within a network. Once we have recognised this we can start to connect people. Connecting people leads to better governance.
  5. Is digital by default over-rated? One camper mentioned heralding The WI as a key player.  Grounding consultation in a digital age is still important.

5 things we learnt from the awesome un-conference sessions:

  1. ‘Radical’ websites should become the norm and designed from the bottom up. We need to start looking at websites in terms of what people actually want. We like Utah and Calgary who both use clean and user friendly search portals as their home page sites.
  2. Agile working methods are awesome. We should move away from ‘black-boxing development’.  Agile methods should be heralded as the norm.
  3. Don’t forget the end user. We need to advocate a culture of starting with the end user when designing websites and consultation questions. 
  4. Manage expectations within consultations. People need to have context and a reasonable set of boundaries.
  5. Sites need to be streamlined and simplified. As one camper mentioned “portals can end up being a hungry mouth which needs feeding information”.

5 things we would like to see next time:

  1. More real life examples on how to apply things in practice. Examples help people go away from Govcamp and start putting their thoughts into practice.
  2. Further examination of bottom up thinking – where does the user journey start and how can we get back to this point?
  3. More focus on futurology - what will our digital environment look like in 5-10 years? What counts as digital literacy and how can we aid this?
  4. How can we connect the feedback loops? How does the nature of decisions change as a result of consultation.
  5. How can we promote buy-in and the awesomeness of digital. Practical tips for spreading the word need to be advocated.

The two day event certainly prompted some take home thoughts – if I am honest this blog post started off as a small essay; I have trimmed it for snappy readers. Thanks to Dave Briggs and Steph Gray for making such event possible and happen :)

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How to run your whole consultation process using Citizen Space

Posted on January 20, 2012 by ChrisQ

You may or may not know that Citizen Space is used to run some of the most high-profile consultations in the UK in the last few years. I won’t bore you with reasons why Citizen Space is so good for these kinds of consultation – it’s just good at its job. What I did want to share are some tips on how Citizen Space and related Delib services can be used to make running large scale / important consultations better.

Importantly, key things I wanted to pick up on was how Citizen Space can be used as a hub where consultation teams can manage their whole consultation process through – including bringing together both offline and online feedback together, so you’ve got all your consultation data in one place – enabling you to be more organised, and allowing you to more easily and quickly analyse and report your consultation findings.

Here’s a quick overview of how Citizen Space could help you do this:

Policy_consultation_process

As noted above, the key parts of the consultation process Citizen Space can help improve are:

  • Collaborative drafting: draft your consultation questions together with colleagues, and allow others to edit and update – showing how the consultation questionnaire would look and work but in a closed secure online space (rather than endlessly sharing word documents between your team!)
  • Publish your online consultation and supporting documents in an interactive format: Citizen Space allows you to upload all your consultation documents in one place, alongside your consultation survey – allowing stakeholders to read background information and feedback easily at the same time.
  • Ongoing management and tracking: once your consultation’s underway and people are feeding back, you can keep an eye on the results as they come in, and do quick analysis any time during the process.
  • Collating online and offline feedback together: one of the big challenges in managing a consultation process is that you’ll often get feedback from stakeholders in different formats: e.g. paper surveys, emails, .pdfs, comments from events. What Citizen Space allows you to do is collate all feedback from whatever format (once transcribed) into one central database, so that you can then analyse all the feedback quickly and easily. The system also provides each feedback record with a Unique ID, so that all records are easily tracked. Delib also provide *transcription services*, to help you transcribe feedback from different formats into a digital format.
  • Analysis and reporting: finally, at the end of the process you can easily analyse all the data you’ve collated using Citizen Space. Additionally, we can provide a 3rd Party analysis and reporting service from YouGov if you’d prefer 3rd party validation.

So, there you go! Hopefully that gives a good overview of how Citizen Space can be used to help ensure you run robust and pain-free consultation processes. If you’ve got any questions, just drop us a note: info@Delib.net

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Tips on how to develop up your online engagement capacity

Posted on January 19, 2012 by ChrisQ

When you’ve been used to running all your engagement processes in a more traditional way – for example, town hall meetings and postal surveys – the idea of *going virtual*, and starting to run online engagement exercises can be quite a scary prospect.

Although the Delib team are 100% geeky digital natives, we do understand the engagement landscape and the need to integrate online and offline to create the most effective multi-channel mix.  After all, not everyone in the world are Angry Birds champions!

So, to help government organisations make that transition from offline to online (multi-channel), we’ve developed up some quick tips as to how to develop up your online engagement capacity (see below).

I suppose one of the key points to make is that online and offline aren’t mutually exclusive.  In particular there are two great ways online and offline can merge and help each other:

  1. Management / organisation / data storage: using a consultation management system like Citizen Space allows you to organise and manage all your consultations (across your organisation) in one place.  Databases / calendars, enable citizens and staff to understand when consultations are taking place, and also provide a useful data record / archive of past consultations and their outcomes.
  2. Using Apps in live events: possibly more exciting, is the use of online apps in live events.  Both the Dialogue App and Budget Simulator are both used regularly by our clients in town hall meetings, to help facilitate open community dialogue.

More tips and tricks below!

Consultation Infrastructure Tips

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An interview with Delib’s new Australian consultant: Verne

Posted on January 12, 2012 by ChrisQ

It’s always nice to welcome new people into the Delib family. The most recent addition to our Australian team is Verne Krastins – an extremely experienced engagement consultant based in Victoria, and a keen guitarist (which is obviously of equal importance!).

As a quick introduction to Verne, we thought it would be a good idea to do a quick interview with him – so here you go:

Delib: When did you first use the internet, and what did you use it for?

VK: My first job in local government communications coincided with me and the internet. Councils in Victoria were amalgamated in 1994, bringing about major investment in communications infrastructure in the new bigger organisations. Then there was the Cluetrain Manifesto a few years later.

Delib: What’s the most awesome difference you’ve made to the community through your engagement work?

VK: I can’t imagine one person can make a lasting difference without others taking over the reigns at some stage. Unfortunately, sustainable engagement is not well done by governments. I’m proud of my part in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games – i directed a many layered year long community engagement campaign to connect the sectors, and broker them doing things together.

Delib: What’s your top community engagement tip?

VK: Be clear what the engagement is for, and what you’re going to do afterwards with (1) the information, and (2) the relationships, connections and databases created along the way. I’d also add that community engagement is marketing in disguise.

Delib: Who’s your hero [and why]?

VK: I have many. Frank Zappa (musical genius and satarist), Erwin Schroedinger (he described my favourite concepts, and a fellow theoretical biologist), Salvador Dali (turned me into a part time artist), and of course Jules Verne (who gave me SciFi, and my name).

Delib: What’s your favourite internet meme / phenomenon?

VK: Convergence. The day is coming when we’ll have a device in our pocket that does everything, foldable, expandable to whatwever screen size you want, phone/computer. Social networks will have effectively collapsed into me-at-centre, and when they crack AI

—-

We’re in the process of fully setting Verne up on our various systems, so once he’s fully up and running we’ll share details more widely.  Exciting times ;-)

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A very merry Melbourne Christmas

Posted on December 22, 2011 by ChrisQ

Travelling around Australia for the last few weeks has been pretty awesome fun. Obviously the sun has been a massive bonus, especially compared to the freezing cold of London I’d usually be facing at this time of year.

That said, I did find the idea of Christmas in the sun a wee bit of an odd one – this oddness was especially amplified by the festive decorations e.g. the sight of Father Christmas with his sleigh heading through Melbourne’s CBD in 30 degree heat. Though, when I stumbled across Jesus in his manger in Christmas Square it did make me think that given Jesus was born in a hot and sunny Bethlehem maybe a sunny Melbourne Christmas was more aligned to reality than a snowy London Christmas.

Anyway, amidst all these random thoughts I decided to create a photo tour of Melbourne’s Christmas decorations. So here you go . . . and have a great Christmas from everyone at Delib UK and Delib Australia ;-)

Fed Square’s Christmas tree forest
photo

Christmas carol concert in Fed Square School

Shooting star lights over Flinders Street
photo

Jesus in his manger in Christmas square
photo

 

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Five useful links for the new look NHS

Posted on December 15, 2011 by GillC

I speak to a lot of health care professionals about stakeholder engagement. The overwhelming problem faced by many in the NHS is the new engagement strategies needed by the GP Consortiums. I’ve gathered some helpful links to assist those re-thinking their Public and Patient Engagement strategies.

With all the uncertainty in the current state of health reforms, it is good to know that the NHS alliance is championing the cause of the GP Consortium.

A very real concern of many  health care professionals is how to engage all stakeholders, something Journalista has blogged about very well.

The Guardian have published a rather interesting article about the NHS use of Twitter and Facebook, which is well worth a read.

The guys at RCGP Centre for Commissioning have developed a ‘Rough Guide to Engagement and Experience for GP Consortia’ on the emerging national framework governing patient interaction. As a starters guide it’s invaluable.

Finally, a word to Stockport Clinical Commissioning Partnership who are using our very own Citizen Space to consult with the public. It’s great to see it working so well.

We’re speaking to lots of NHS organisations who want to engage more effectively with their stakeholders. If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of using Citizen Space, please get in touch or request a demo

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Angry Government (how government can learn from Angry Birds)

Posted on December 8, 2011 by ChrisQ

Last night I was given the opportunity to present at a *digital democracy meet-up* in Melbourne.  I very much subscribe to the belief in *giving* when it comes to speaking at events – the theory being, if X number of people (30 in last night’s case) have given up an hour of their valuable time to come and listen to me speak, then I am duty bound to share interesting insights that they (hopefully) didn’t know before.

So, in this instance, given Melbourne’s reputation as being a creative hub, I put together a talk called *Angry Government* – sharing thoughts on how government can learn from Angry Birds.

The basic tenet of my chat was pretty simple:  if Angry Birds is the most engaging / addictive thing on the internet, then how can government learn from the game (and online gaming in general) to engage better with citizens.

For those that missed my chat, here’s my short slide deck / notes I presented:
Angry Government

The basis of my thinking is all games are based around the same core drivers.  If you analyse these, you can then (fairly easily) apply these drivers to government engagement / consultation.

Importantly, implementing these drivers into government engagement work doesn’t have to be complicated and require high-levels of gaming technology.  Most of the drivers are pretty *soft touch* – i.e. are based around things like how to phrase a question (e.g. turning it into a community challenge) or ways of setting the narrative of the process (e.g. by using video / rich media).

That said, if you do want to be more creative and invest in technology to take your engagement to the next level you can – and we have.   An extreme example of this is our My2050 project for DECC around engaging UK citizens in CO2 emission targets, and on a less ambitious level is our Budget Simulator app that let’s local government consult on their budgets using a simulation process and our Dialogue App – for community crowd-sourcing.

photo

(photo from last night’s event in Melbourne)

@DelibThinks

 

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ACT’s Twitter Cabinet awesomeness

Posted on December 5, 2011 by ChrisQ

Travelling around Australia talking to people working in the engagement space has revealed some really interesting projects and initiatives underway – and importantly projects that are pretty substantive in their effect.

One of the most awesome projects I’ve come across is the ACT’s Twitter Cabinet -  flagged up by Steve OzLoop over a coffee earlier today in Canberra.

What makes  ACT’s Twitter Cabinet so awesome is the fact that it connects citizens directly to decision-makers in a super easy way – providing a direct channel through which citizens can easily feedback / share ideas  with ACT’s decision-makers at the *point of decision making*.  This for me is what real *digital democracy* is all about – connecting citizens with decision makers using the most appropriate technologies. (see the Twitter Cabinet in action below)

ACT Twitter Cabinet LIVE

Where the innovation in ACT’s Twitter Cabinet lies, isn’t in the technology or the process, but it’s the combining of new technology with old (existing processes) to make the democratic process more accessible.  All in all, it’s very inspiring and I hope governments from around the world learn from the impact such simple application of technology into existing democracy processes.

Thanks for the tip Steve + hats off to Katy Gallagher and all the ACT team for their great work ;-)
(live Twitter Cabinet conversation in action – screenshot below)
ACT twitter Cabinet page

 

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The worst commute in the world ;-)

Posted on December 4, 2011 by ChrisQ

I’ve been staying in Kirribilli in North Sydney whilst I’ve been in Sydney (thanks to the awesome AirBnB). Kirribilli is remarkable for a number of reasons – primarily for its amazing views over to the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, and secondarily as it’s where the Prime Minister’s house (Kirribilli House) is located.

The worst thing about living in Kirribilli is the horrible commute to work – which involves the following . . .

1) Overcrowded wait on the Harbour platform
photo

2) A stressful 5 minute journey across the Harbour
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3) Terrible views of insignificant landmarks like the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge
photo

. . . so there you go – a really torturous commute in comparison to my usual 20 minute sweaty sardine-like commute on the tube in London ;-)

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Some interesting Australian links

Posted on December 1, 2011 by ChrisQ

On my tour around Australia I’ve been sharing some of our experiences (or adventures as I like to call them) with people working in the Australian engagement space.

As a quick round-up, I thought I’d share the ones people have found most interesting one blog post:

Adventures in Digital democracy presentation

An overview of our experiences delivering the biggest government crowd-sourcing processes in the world, involving 750,000+ people.

Adventures in digital democracy

The Dialogue App

This is our super awesome, and super cheap web app for running community dialogues and crowd-sourcing processes.  Developed initially for use in the US by the White House.

See more here: www.Dialogue-App.com

Open for free use by community groups around the world via our #GlobalDialogueProject.

Watch our US Health IT Dialogue case study video here, giving a behind the scenes overview of how the Dialogue App can be used:

Citizen Space

Our all-in-one consultation platform.  Developed in collaboration with the UK government, and used by governments around the world.

More info here www.CitizenSpace.com

Awesome examples of government agencies using it here:

My2050

Our game-based consultation on Climate Change, made for the UK government to help both educate and get deliberative feedback from citizens on how best to reduce CO2 emissions through intelligent energy choices.

Have a play here: http://my2050.decc.gov.uk/

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