Post in Building Democracy Through Online Citizen Consultation: A Framework for Action

Aug 26 19:57 UTC

At long last, a report entitled, "Building Democracy Through Online Citizen
Consultation:  A Framework for Action," has emerged from an Ohio State
University conference of the same name.  The document is intended as a brief
practical guide to public officials who are wondering (a) what e-democracy
is and (b) what sorts of issues need to be considered if an online
consultation is to be staged successfully.  Helpful nuggets in the report
include Alexandra Samuel's hints for keeping online discussions on track and
a summary of a discussion she led of how to plan such an initiative, Lars
Hasselblad Torres's ideas for attracting and sustaining participation, Jerry
Kosicki's thoughts on achieving a representative sample of citizen opinion,
and a review of the respective pluses and minuses of online versus
face-to-face consultation (although doing one does not exclude doing the
other!).  To get a copy of the report, go to
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/pldd/initiatives.php, and click the word "here" at
the end of the paragraph entitled, "Building Democracy Through Online
Citizen Consultation."

Best, Peter

Peter M. Shane

Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law and

Director, Project on Law and Democratic Development

Executive Director, Knight Commission on the Information Needs of
Communities in a Democracy

Moritz College of Law

The Ohio State University

55 West 12th Avenue

Columbus, OH 43201

Ph:  614-688-3014