Artur Afonso Sousa
ESTV
ajas@di.estv.ipv.pt
Pedro Agante
Libertrium
pedroagante@libertrium.com
www.liberopinion.net
Liberopinion: a web platform
for enhancing e-Democracy
Luís Borges Gouveia
University Fernando Pessoa
lmbg@ufp.edu.pt
• Enable independent online interaction between the
stakeholders in a democratic process
• Encourage citizen participation
• Narrow the gap between citizens and politicians
• Foster debate, deliberation and knowledge sharing
• Create a wide community about eDemocracy
This Project aims to
Governmeter enables monitoring and
deliberation about the government
performance
Elections concentrates the main stakeholders
of an election in a single place and enables
multidirectional communication
• Concentrate in an independent online channel the stakeholders in a
general election
• Give voice to the citizens, enabling them to submit questions about their
concerns through an independent, structured and civilised channel
• Allow citizens to compare, side-by-side, the candidates’ answers to the
questions (at least to the best questions as voted by the community)
• Create means for citizens to contribute with suggestions to solve the
problems faced by the community
• Allow citizens to compare comments by the candidates to these
suggestions (at lest to the best ideas as voted by the community)
• Enable citizens to compare in a single place and with a structured format
the measures proposed in the electoral program of the candidates
Elections – Main Objectives
Elections
• Citizens submit questions and ideas over a
range of pre-defined topics.
• Citizes vote their interest on the questions
and suggestions in order to create the Top of
the most relevant questions and suggestions
• Candidates answer the questions and
comment the suggestions
• Candidates publish their electoral program
organized by topics
• Citizens compare the candidates’ electoral
programs
• Debate zones
– For candidates
– For citizens and candidates
Elections – Main Features
Elections – Timeline
September 2009 – parlamentary elections in Portugal (test Version)
October 2009 – local elections in Portugal (test Version in VISEU)
October 2010 – Partnership SAPO
December 2010 – Elections for Head of the Portuguese Medical Association
January 2011 - Portuguese Presidential elections
Elections in real-time – candidates in
Portuguese national elections (October 2009)
Future work - Elections
• Support for candidate-staff workflow
• How to prevent questions and suggestions with the same
content?
• How to manage a large amount of questions and
suggestions?
Governmeter
• Allow citizens to verify and to analyze the performance of the
different governments, including the current one, for each
statistical indicator.
• Allow citizens to analyze and comment if the objectives set by the
government in the electoral program, as well as the ones defined
during the legislative period are being fulfilled.
• Provide the means for the community to debate in a structured,
civilized and open way all measures being proposed by the
government and deliberate their advantages and disadvantages.
– The measures include the ones proposed in the electoral program, as well
as the ones undertaken during the legislative period
Governmeter – Main Objectives
Main Features:
• Graphic display of the main statistical
indicators.
• Citizens submit their own analysis
about the evolution of the statistical
indicators.
• Citizens give their point of view about
whether the Government objectives
have been fulfilled.
• Citizens debate the measures
proposed by the Government and
Parlament.
Governmeter – Main Features
Future work - Governmeter
• Public data API
• Semantic integration between the three areas
• Support e-petitions
• Interaction with existing social networks (Twitter,
Facebook)
• Incorporation of features of social networks such as, follow
citizen and candidate, follow question, among others.
• Receive automatic update notifications about followed
users and questions
• All citizen submissions are subject to moderation under the
Terms of Service
Elections and Governmeter – Additional
Features
Liberopinion - Summary
• We believe that it is useful for society to have an application that
unites, in a single, neutral and civilized place, the stakeholders in the
electoral process so as to allow multidirectional communication
between them.
• We consider that it is necessary to have an online presence that
promotes, in a single, neutral and civilized place, ongoing monitoring
and debate about the government activity.
Thank y u
www.liberopinion.net
info@liberopinion.net
Interface
Interface
Interface
Interface
Interface
Interface
Interface – submit question
Interface – submit question
Interface – submit question
Interface – submit question
Interface – submit question
Interface – submit question
Interface - answers
Interface - answers
Interface - answers
Interface - answers
Liberopinion - Governmeter
Liberopinion - Governmeter
− Beta version
− Two versions, parliamentary and one local election
− 3000 unique visitors and 380 registered users
− Parliamentary elections: 118 questions, 43 proposals, 1 active 
candidate
− Viseu local elections: 2 active candidates answering almost all 
the questions (97% from a total of 33 questions)
Case study: the Portuguese 2009 elections

Liberopinion: a web platform for enhancing e-Democracy

  • 1.
    Artur Afonso Sousa ESTV ajas@di.estv.ipv.pt PedroAgante Libertrium pedroagante@libertrium.com www.liberopinion.net Liberopinion: a web platform for enhancing e-Democracy Luís Borges Gouveia University Fernando Pessoa lmbg@ufp.edu.pt
  • 2.
    • Enable independentonline interaction between the stakeholders in a democratic process • Encourage citizen participation • Narrow the gap between citizens and politicians • Foster debate, deliberation and knowledge sharing • Create a wide community about eDemocracy This Project aims to
  • 3.
    Governmeter enables monitoringand deliberation about the government performance Elections concentrates the main stakeholders of an election in a single place and enables multidirectional communication
  • 4.
    • Concentrate inan independent online channel the stakeholders in a general election • Give voice to the citizens, enabling them to submit questions about their concerns through an independent, structured and civilised channel • Allow citizens to compare, side-by-side, the candidates’ answers to the questions (at least to the best questions as voted by the community) • Create means for citizens to contribute with suggestions to solve the problems faced by the community • Allow citizens to compare comments by the candidates to these suggestions (at lest to the best ideas as voted by the community) • Enable citizens to compare in a single place and with a structured format the measures proposed in the electoral program of the candidates Elections – Main Objectives
  • 5.
  • 6.
    • Citizens submitquestions and ideas over a range of pre-defined topics. • Citizes vote their interest on the questions and suggestions in order to create the Top of the most relevant questions and suggestions • Candidates answer the questions and comment the suggestions • Candidates publish their electoral program organized by topics • Citizens compare the candidates’ electoral programs • Debate zones – For candidates – For citizens and candidates Elections – Main Features
  • 7.
    Elections – Timeline September2009 – parlamentary elections in Portugal (test Version) October 2009 – local elections in Portugal (test Version in VISEU) October 2010 – Partnership SAPO December 2010 – Elections for Head of the Portuguese Medical Association January 2011 - Portuguese Presidential elections
  • 8.
    Elections in real-time– candidates in Portuguese national elections (October 2009)
  • 9.
    Future work -Elections • Support for candidate-staff workflow • How to prevent questions and suggestions with the same content? • How to manage a large amount of questions and suggestions?
  • 10.
  • 11.
    • Allow citizensto verify and to analyze the performance of the different governments, including the current one, for each statistical indicator. • Allow citizens to analyze and comment if the objectives set by the government in the electoral program, as well as the ones defined during the legislative period are being fulfilled. • Provide the means for the community to debate in a structured, civilized and open way all measures being proposed by the government and deliberate their advantages and disadvantages. – The measures include the ones proposed in the electoral program, as well as the ones undertaken during the legislative period Governmeter – Main Objectives
  • 12.
    Main Features: • Graphicdisplay of the main statistical indicators. • Citizens submit their own analysis about the evolution of the statistical indicators. • Citizens give their point of view about whether the Government objectives have been fulfilled. • Citizens debate the measures proposed by the Government and Parlament. Governmeter – Main Features
  • 13.
    Future work -Governmeter • Public data API • Semantic integration between the three areas • Support e-petitions
  • 14.
    • Interaction withexisting social networks (Twitter, Facebook) • Incorporation of features of social networks such as, follow citizen and candidate, follow question, among others. • Receive automatic update notifications about followed users and questions • All citizen submissions are subject to moderation under the Terms of Service Elections and Governmeter – Additional Features
  • 15.
    Liberopinion - Summary •We believe that it is useful for society to have an application that unites, in a single, neutral and civilized place, the stakeholders in the electoral process so as to allow multidirectional communication between them. • We consider that it is necessary to have an online presence that promotes, in a single, neutral and civilized place, ongoing monitoring and debate about the government activity.
  • 16.
  • 17.
  • 18.
  • 19.
  • 20.
  • 21.
  • 22.
  • 23.
  • 24.
  • 25.
  • 26.
  • 27.
  • 28.
  • 29.
  • 30.
  • 31.
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  • 35.

Editor's Notes

  • #3 Estes objectivos estão colocados como resposta a problemas identificados, cujas soluções (agregadas) são propostas através da plataforma da Liberopinion Aproximar os cidadãos (incluindo as mulheres e os jovens) da classe política  Aumentar a confiança nos políticos através do diálogo civilizado Dinamizar a cidadania - Despertar os cidadãos para causa pública
  • #4 Governmeter application enables monitoring and deliberation about the government performance according to: Key statistical indicators, Government objectives and measures Elections application concentrates the main stakeholders in a single place and enables multidirectional communication and deliberation based on questions, suggestions, answers and electoral program
  • #6 >> Descrever os objectivos e funcionalidades gerais - Plataforma de comunicação entre candidatos e eleitores para eleições Três áreas: - Perguntas e Respostas - Sugestões - Programas eleitorais
  • #8 Já temos abertura à participação de todos os candidatos à OM Já temos abertura à participação de vários candidatos presidenciais (dos principais)
  • #9 Three political parties registered Interesting comparison between candidates for the Viseu election Viseu local elections: 2 active candidates answering almost all the questions (97% from a total of 33 questions) Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #10 Considering future work in this application, Liberopinion-Elections, after more detailed consultation of the stakeholders, the citizens and candidates, functionalities such as workflow and staff management to the candidates and management of favorite contributions to the citizens were the main points identified. In addition, as a direct consequence of the application development and usage, the following open questions were identified for future research and development: How to prevent duplicated entries and how to manage a possibly large amount of questions and proposals. All in all, we believe Liberopinion-Elections to be an effective tool for elections 2.0, and we hope this new way of citizen-candidate interaction can also inspire other initiatives for finding innovative solutions in e-democracy. 
  • #11 >> Descrever os objectivos e funcionalidades gerais - Plataforma de comunicação entre candidatos e eleitores para eleições Três áreas: - Perguntas e Respostas - Sugestões - Programas eleitorais
  • #14 From the feedback we received, applications in e-democracy will become mainstream. These digital tools would provide a major contribution to reverse the current disengagement from political and electoral debate, as well as a valuable means to bring together both citizens and politicans through open and direct dialogue. There were two types of reactions by the politicians when invited to participate in this platform, one where the candidates show their enthusiam from the first moment and consider this as a great opportunity to transmit their political message to voters, while other candidates, typically of older age, admit that political future is towards tools such as this one, but feel their participation as another resource consuming initiative for which, in contrast to the well known broadcast media, they still do not have the appropriate internal structure and preparation. These were clear signs that tools specially designed for supporting e-democracy are still in an early stage and that there is openness from the vast majority of political parties to embrace and participate in new initiatives such as this one. All political candidates are well aware of the current momentum in internet-based social networks and dedicate more and more financial and human resources for transmitting their messages across the electorate through web channels such as twitter and facebook and their own websites.
  • #16 From the feedback we received, applications in e-democracy will become mainstream. These digital tools would provide a major contribution to reverse the current disengagement from political and electoral debate, as well as a valuable means to bring together both citizens and politicans through open and direct dialogue. There were two types of reactions by the politicians when invited to participate in this platform, one where the candidates show their enthusiam from the first moment and consider this as a great opportunity to transmit their political message to voters, while other candidates, typically of older age, admit that political future is towards tools such as this one, but feel their participation as another resource consuming initiative for which, in contrast to the well known broadcast media, they still do not have the appropriate internal structure and preparation. These were clear signs that tools specially designed for supporting e-democracy are still in an early stage and that there is openness from the vast majority of political parties to embrace and participate in new initiatives such as this one. All political candidates are well aware of the current momentum in internet-based social networks and dedicate more and more financial and human resources for transmitting their messages across the electorate through web channels such as twitter and facebook and their own websites.
  • #17 Considering future work in this application, Liberopinion-Elections, after more detailed consultation of the stakeholders, the citizens and candidates, functionalities such as workflow and staff management to the candidates and management of favourite contributions to the citizens were the main points identified. In addition, as a direct consequence of the application development and usage, the following open questions were identified for future research and development: How to prevent duplicated entries and how to manage a possibily large amount of questions and proposals. All in all, we believe Liberopinion-Elections to be an effective tool for elections 2.0, and we hope this new way of citizen-candidate interaction can also inspire other initiatives for finding innovative solutions in e-democracy. 
  • #18 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #19 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #20 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #21 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #22 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #23 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #24 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #25 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #26 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #27 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #28 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #29 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #30 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #31 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #32 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #33 Three political parties registered Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice
  • #36 Three political parties registered Interesting comparison between candidates for the Viseu election Viseu local elections: 2 active candidates answering almost all the questions (97% from a total of 33 questions) Emphasize comments it covered the last three weeks before the portuguese parliamentary elections and the last two weeks before the local elections. Limited to this time frame, and taking into consideration that approximately 300 different city hall elections were to be held, we decided to focus on the parliamentary election and on one local election, although the application is designed to cover all the local elections simultaneously. Questions and suggestions covering health care, education, economy, justice