Our Apps
Crowd-source ideas and policies online.
www.dialogue-app.com
Run great budget consultation online. www.budgetsimulator.com
The purpose-built tool for governments to consult online.
www.quick-consult.com/
An open-source democracy platform.
www.citizenspace.com/
Author Archives: Ben
Big Society: some thoughts on what it is, where it might go and how we might fit
Last Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to go along to the Big Society Network launch at Number 10 (I’ve never been before and, whether or not it should be like this, there’s still an exciting sense of prestige, privilege and … Continue reading
Posted in Conversations, Democracy and government
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‘is [Your Freedom] the silliest new govt website or the most inspired?’
That was the question posed by Krishnan Guru-Murthy of http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/ on his Twitter account yesterday – and it nicely encapsulates the ability for an exercise and site like this to polarise opinion. There’s been a lot of coverage and comment … Continue reading
Crowdsourcing quick wins for government ICT strategy with SOCITM
I went along to a SOCITM South West event in Exeter last Friday where local authority IT managers were encouraged and challenged to think about the role of ICT in the new world of budget cuts and the big society; … Continue reading
Making effective democracy apps: the goal vs the play
Of course, there had to be a football-themed blog post today; you have now, so to speak, hit that post. We’re determined to improve democracy and governance by making it really simple for public sector bodies to run more effective … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Apps
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Dialogue App-powered QHSR project wins Intergovernmental Solutions Award
Going one better than our previous nomination for a Citizen Service Award, the pioneering National Dialogues for the US Department of Homeland Security won an Intergovernmental Solutions Award this week. The project was based on the Dialogue App platform (albeit a pretty souped-up … Continue reading
What’s next?
This post has lots of pictures in it, which makes it look quite long. Just so you know. We’re all big fans of the West Wing – especially the rapid-fire dispatching of problems and moving on to the next thing, … Continue reading
Two basic motivations for taking public consultation/citizen interaction processes online
I quite often talk about there being two basic motivations for taking public consultation/citizen interaction processes online, namely accessibility and aspiration – respectively, the need to ensure participation is available through all major communication channels (like the internet), and the … Continue reading
Posted in Engagement, Participation
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Can you get twice as many responses to a consultation by running it online?
Wycombe Council did when they used our Budget Simulator to run their budget consultation last year. But don’t just take my word for it; check out Jeff Wilmore, the Council’s Head of Communications, and Tony Green, the Council’s Deputy Leader, … Continue reading
Posted in Consultation, Engagement, Good examples, Projects and client work
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The day we designed digital deliberative democracy
Last Friday, as I’d hoped to do, we got some smart and interesting people together at our offices (and a couple of nearby pubs) in Bristol to figure out what digital deliberative democracy might/should look like when mapped on to some … Continue reading
The Digital Debate
Youtube + Facebook + text + Google Moderator + leadership debates = the Digital Debate. One to watch…