10 November 2003

What lessons does the eGovernment intermediaries consultation hold for the Office of the e-Envoy, or Government in general, on engaging citizens in complex policy issues?

	Stephen Coleman, Cisco Professor of e-Democracy, Oxford Internet Institute
	We should not be too critical of the Government for failing in an activity that most governments in most countries have failed to develop effectively. Engaging the public in policy questions cannot rely upon an assumption that the public is sitting around waiting to be consulted. But there is huge research evidence to show that citizens do want to be listened to and provided with serious responses to their accounts. Such listening exercises (perhaps we should dispense with the term consultation) need to be well managed on the basis of principles that are both democratic and well run. The problem with most consultations, online and offline, is that they are not as democratic as they should be (often the decision being consulted on is more or less signed and sealed) and are run by bureaucrats who have no idea of how to get the best out of public discourse. As Professor of e-Democracy at the Oxford Internet Institute, one of my key research aims is to devise effective ways for public talk about common experience to be incorporated into the policy-shaping and decision-making process.
	Thomas B Riley, Executive Director and Chair, Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance
	The fact that there was only one response from one citizen on the recent consultation strikes at the heart of the lack of understanding by the goverment of the true nature of the Internet. In our new information and communciations environment there is a culture of sharing and expectation of being informed on issues of interest to the individual. There are hundreds of forums and spaces on the Internet to which the govenrment could have sent notices or messages regarding their consultation process. Simply sending out a PDF file and expecting a response does not begin to be enough. Officials should have done their research and developed a clear communications' strategy as to how they were going to reach a wide body of people. It is not enough to say that many groups who responded represented thousands of people. This is questionable as many groups actually represent their own self-interest or the views of the experts within the organisation. Also, there is also the question of who these groups represent. The success of the delivery of e-government services is going to rest on getting right the ways in which the services are delivered.
	Steven Clift
	In general this is all about expectations. The benefits received from a consultation relate directly to the value of the comments received. If all of the comments come from organisations, that is completely legitimate. That means that groups with power are taking online consultation seriously. I think we will find that more "average citizens" will participate in online consultations at the local level. Activist citizens will still show up in greater numbers and that is fine. The world is run by those who show up. Let's use online consultation to create some transparency around those individuals and groups that are attempting to influence government policy. Let's make it easier for people to "show up" from home, at times that work with their busy schedules. Ultimately, this is not about numbers. It is about making better decisions that benefit the diverse needs of society as well as make hard choices based on better information and knowledge.
	Jason Kitcat, e-consultation researcher, SPRU, University of Sussex and founder of the Free e-Democracy Project
	It is no surprise that this consultation received such a low response rate. The exercise dealt with a highly technical topic and offered no support to citizens wanting to understand the issues. Just publishing a PDF document and offering an email address for responses does not dramatically alter the nature of a consultation: Yes emails are easier to send than letters but overall the process is no different to offline consultations. If the government wants more active participation in consultations (and this is a big 'if' which the government must carefully consider as greater participation will raise citizens' expectations dramatically) then much more work needs to be done. Supporting documents and links needs to be provided along with guided response forms and possibly hosted dialogues.
	Joe Organ
	The poor response to the Intermediaries consultation is indicative of wider trends in government and democracy. Although we would all like to think that citizens are keen to actively participate in policy decisions, the truth is that the vast majority have little time or enthusiasm to devote to anything other than issues which affect them directly. Intermediaries policy is currently, in the grand scheme of things, a backwater; it will receive little attention other than in specialist circles for the time being at least, despite the potential. General consultation will not work until citizens can see intermediaries operating in areas which touch their lives, for instance when high street banks are able to act on behalf of customers in drawing social security benefits or paying council tax. People are less interested in how government works, and more interested in it delivering services efficiently and effectively.