The Internet has so far
failed to tackle the challenge of broadening political and civic involvement to new and diverse populations, according to a Pew survey.
More people say they
have participated in some sort of political or civic activity online,
such as promoting social issues, encouraging others to vote or sharing
thoughts and comments on issues, than years past. But the survey found
that these activities are most common among those who already show up in
political life.
For a forthcoming report, we spent part of last year talking to
public officials and community leaders about their views toward public
participation in government. We asked them: What's working and what's
not? Overwhelmingly, we heard that officials, community leaders and the
public are interested in pursuing new ways to engage the public in
community decision making. They want processes that are more inclusive,
more thoughtful and that lead to better solutions.
There
is a clear need and desire to expand civic participation. How, then, do
we do it? This is a challenge we continuously work to address in our
face-to-face engagement efforts. We've found that a few principles tend
to encourage more robust participation. These principles include:
- Local sponsors and organizers. When
local community organizations take the lead in planning and organizing a
public participation event, local residents are more likely to feel
ownership.
- Personalized outreach. An email or phone call from a friend or acquaintance is much more effective for recruitment efforts than a general invite.
- Follow-up.
When organizers and decision makers follow up on an engagement event,
by explaining how the feedback was incorporated, for example, residents
trust that their opinions really count and will be more likely to attend
future events.
Digital engagement, though, is clearly quite different from community engagement. Digital tools
seem
to provide vast potential for expanding civic engagement and
participation, but doing it right will require thinking that's as
innovative and unprecedented as the digital tools themselves.
Have
you had successful experiences with online engagement? Do you have any
ideas for bridging the gap to reach beyond usual suspects? Send your
feedback to Allison Rizzolo at
arizzolo@publicagenda.org and join in the conversation with us on Twitter
@PublicAgenda.
Watch
our website for the aforementioned report on public officials and
community leaders. If you are interested in receiving word when the
research is released late this month, email Megan Donovan at
mdonovan@publicagenda.org.
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