The document discusses how civic engagement and forms of democracy are changing and evolving with new technologies and communication tools. It explores several case studies of successful public participation projects and notes that while online tools are useful, they do not replace face-to-face interaction. The presentation argues that communities need more permanent and sustainable places and spaces that bring people together both virtually and physically to participate in democratic decision making processes.

1. The Next Form of
Democracy?
Civic Engagement and Democracy Lecture
Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement
University of Illinois-Chicago
April 4, 2012

2. Slides available at:
www.slideshare.net/mattleighninger
Guides I’ll mention:
Planning for Stronger Local
Democracy - http://bit.ly/rWeHaU
Using Online Tools to Engage
the Public - http://bit.ly/iwjgqn

3. Notable public participation projects
• “Geraldton 2029,” Geraldton, Australia
• “Kendall-Whittier Growing Together,” Tulsa, OK
• “Lee County Pulling Together,” Fort Myers, FL
• “Horizons,” seven states, USA
• Participatory Budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil
• “Decatur Next,” Decatur, GA
• “Portsmouth Listens,” Portsmouth, NH
• “Multi-Channel PB,” La Plata, Argentina
• “Kuna ACT,” Kuna, ID
• “Citizen’s Assembly on Electoral Reform,” BC

4. How have citizens* changed?
 More educated
 More skeptical – different attitudes toward
authority
 Have less time to
spare
 Use the Internet
to learn and
connect
* “citizens” =
residents, people

6. Successful recent public
engagement tactics
 Proactive about recruitment – a “critical mass”
 Bringing together people with diverse views
 Sharing experiences
 Giving people chance to make up their own
minds (facilitated, deliberative)
 Different levels of action: volunteers, teams,
organizations, policy decisions
 Increasing use of online tools

8. Successful tactic: Online tools
 Complement face-to-face communication,
don’t replace it
 Particularly good for:
o Providing background information
o Data gathering by citizens
o Generating and ranking ideas
o Helping people visualize options
o Maintaining connections over time

9. Digital divides (plural)
 Overall, Internet access growing
 “Access” – to Internet, to government –
has never been enough
 Different people use different hardware
 Different people go to different places on
the Internet
 Communities just as complex online as off
– recruitment must be proactive

10. Successes, limitations of
engagement so far
Successes: Making policy decisions, planning
Catalyzing citizen action
Building trust
Fostering new leadership
Challenges: Time-consuming(especially recruitment)
Unsustainable (usually not intended to be)
Meets goals of ‘engagers,’ not ‘engaged’
Doesn’t change the institutions
Trust, relationships fade over time

12. Why plan for more sustainable
kinds of participation?
• Sustain the benefits
• Allow the ‘engaged’ to set the agenda
• Better address inequities
• Increase community attachment and
economic growth
• Increase residents’ sense of legitimacy and
“public happiness”

15. “Democracy needs a place to sit down”
Communities need places that are:
 Permanent
 Virtual and physical
 Not just “open,” but actively
welcoming
 Centered on citizen needs and
priorities
 Powerful
 Political, social, and cultural

16. Social media is a critical tool for
new forms of participation
 Can sustain networks in ways that are
convenient and interactive
 Capitalizes on face-to-face
relationships and makes people more
likely to seek them
 Adaptable to what people want

18. “Sometimes you need a
meeting that is also a party.
Sometimes you need a party
that is also a meeting.”
─ Gloria Rubio-Cortès,
National Civic League

19. Local democracy planners should consider
some key building blocks::

23. Resources
• www.participedia.net
• www.deliberative-democracy.net
• www.soulofthecommunity.org
• www.everydaydemocracy.org
• www.publicagenda.org
• www.kettering.org
• On Facebook: “Deliberative
Democracy Consortium” group page
• The Next Form of Democracy

24. Resources (continued)
• On YouTube: the DDC channel
• Using Online Tools to Engage – and
Be Engaged by – the Public at
http://bit.ly/iwjgqn
• Planning for Stronger Local
Democracy at bit.ly/rWeHaU – and
other resources at www.nlc.org