8 th May 2009

1. Modelling Democracy: e-democracy and decision-making - Towards a User Generated State?John Morison QUB 8th May 2009

2. Web 2.0(Next generation of computing)

3. Web 2.0 The new revolution in information • Not new technology but new end user focus • User generated content (file sharing not portals) • Enhanced creativity • Increased interaction Social networking, ebay, Flickr, Skype, Amazon, RSS, Google / Stumble, YouTube (Open source, mashups, twitter, wikis, blogs, Facebook, etc, etc)

4. Web 2.0 Gov 2.0 The Power of Information • Re-invigorate electoral politics • Re-engineer public services Re-inventing the “state” and idea of the “public”

5. Power of information Free availability of public data Re-use of “official” data Government in partnership More information User-generated sites Mash-ups – sharing data, Personalised government More involvement

6. The Places Database +Analytical Windows • Places analytical windowshttp://www.places.communities.gov.uk/places • Floor Targets Interactive (FTI)http://www.fti.communities.gov.uk/fti/ • State of the Cities databasehttp://www.socd.communities.gov.uk/socd • Green Spaces – • Community Maps: Digital and Social Geographies of Great Britain  http://www.gps.communities.gov.uk/communitymaps • Data4nr.net - Data for Neighbourhoods and Regeneration - http://www.data4nr.net/introduction/ • Indices of Multiple Deprivation - http://www.imd.communities.gov.uk/

7. + http://www.localpriorities.communities.gov.uk/. http://www.greenflagaward.org.uk/maps/ http://www.greenstat.org.uk http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk http://www.esd.org.uk/esdtoolkit/Communities/LIS http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/cross-government/capability/reports.aspx

8. MySociety applicationsWritetoThem.com; TheyWorkforYou.com

9. Power of Information as key “the information revolution”… ”the smarter, more strategic state”… “the democratising power of information” Gordon Brown April 2009

10. Two aspects of the smarter, user generated state 1. Improving participation in formal democracy 2. Re-establishing the basis of public services

11. 1. Improving democracy:Re-engagement with formal politics • Voter turn-out less than 60% • Membership of political parties less than 25% of level in 1960s But … 60% express “an interest” in politics; 70% willing to sign a petition; 20% have boycotted products …

12. Governance of Britain – a Green Paper “a national conversation … [about how] .. to forge a new relationship between government and citizen” Key goal – “to invigorate democracy” Making democracy and government work in the UK

13. What is being done to develop democracy? Democratic innovations Central Government – citizen/consumer Local Government – consumer/citizen E-government – e-citizen/participant

14. Referendums Deliberative forums - Citizen summits - Citizens’ juries Petitions and e-petitions (+ duty of Local Councils to respond) Big Government and democratic innovations

15. e-consultations

16. Local government and active citizens • Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 • LSPs to produce ground-up LAAs • Vision, targets, milestones, Neighbourhood Action Plans, Neighbourhood Charters etc. • “duty to involve” • The Community Power Pack (2008) • Local Democracy National Project e-engagement techniques

17. Local authorities = “vibrant hubs” or “democratic centres” • “duty of democracy” • generation of ideas, volunteering, “take part” campaigns • “well-being duty”, • participatory planning • Civic Champions, • Empowerment fund, • community kitties

18. Participatory Budgeting • Information to support priority decision-making • Local Authorities and neighbourhoods • ICT supported £10 m since 2004 (2-3% annually)

19. Sustainable Communities Act 2007“a change in the relationships in British politics” • Bottom-up suggestions from community • Financial information to support local take-over of functions • Proposals shortlisted by “Selector” • Sec of State required to implement

20. 2. Public Services and the Modernisation of Government – a continuing phenomenon a style of government aimed at reinvigorating public services Introducing new concepts of efficiency including elements of private sector efficiency, but without ceding control to the same extent as with earlier versions of privatisation to ensure that the public sector will operate in a way that is “as efficient, dynamic and effective as anything in the private sector” a philosophy of government as well as a means of government

21. Re-engineering Public Services

22. Transformational Government in the UK “enabled by technology” 6 year plan • customer-centric, shared services, professionalism Linked to goals of increased economic productivity and enhanced social justice

23. Public services and Citizens The individualisation / personalisation of services The construction of ideas of communities, consumers, enterprising and prudential selves, Active, responsible, informed and engaged citizens

24. Gov 2.0 and services “equipping people with far better, richer information “ “using new technology to foster dialogue about public services with citizens and civil servants” User-focused, interactive Personal budgets for health and social care

25. Information-led + citizen-centred

26. Information for choice Performance measured against the new set of 198 National Indicators in force from 1 April 2008

27. How do we interpret this? Within liberal democracy? Something more?

28. Democratic sufficiency?

29. How do we better interpret this? “we must conduct an ascending analysis of power, starting that is, from its infinitesimal mechanisms … and then see how these have been – and continue to be – invested, colonized, utilized, involuted, transformed, displaced, extended etc. by ever more general mechanisms and by forms of global domination” Michel Foucault

30. Governmentality and the constitutional subject • Who is the legal subject summoned up by these discourses? • How different from the classical “man of law” as equal, rational, rights bearing, autonomous homo juridicus? • How can these ideas of citizenship be contested? • What understanding of power, the state and democracy is being invoked to direct these strategies? - Foucauldian approaches give more complex view of the proliferation of governmental technologies and subjects • What is left of our idea of the “public”? • (public space, public interest, public service etc.) • How can counter publics emerge?

31. Public services replicating idea of choice from private sector of competing providers But not only about “exiting the market” and punishing poor providers. Passing control back to service users. I.e. private law customer rights v. public law ideas of control in citizen-centred service Individualised services ( e.g. individual budgets for health, not health budgets) …. The choosing citizen /consumer

32. The enhanced consumer

33. The (marginally) enhanced consumer

34. The failed consumer

35. The contributing citizen University education NHS Dentistry Road use

36. The contributing citizen - surrendering rights

37. The watched and controlled citizen

38. The responsible citizen Self-governing and prudent Risk managing Insured

39. Beyond the consumer state to the user-generated state? • The interactive state • The active, consulted, empowered citizen / consumer • control with user of services • personalised • participatory • interactive • on demand • transparent • Government 2.0

40. How do we contest these ideas of citizenship? Does interaction + user generation + information + participation = democracy?