Digital Democracy, Building New Relationships with the Public for PCCs

7/30/2019 Digital Democracy, Building New Relationships with the Public for PCCs

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DigitaldemocracyBuilding new

relationships withthe public anAPCC guide

Developed or

the APCC by

Catherine HoweChie Executive,

Public-i


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2 | Digital democracy | Contents

Executive summary 3

Introduction 4

Why be digital? 6

What are people doing online? 7

How do we connect the

online and oine? 7

Conclusion 8

Understanding the channels 9

Social media or Web 2.0 9

Web 1.0 10

Traditional channels 10

The uture 12

Principles o uture engagement 13

Open by deault 13

Networked 14

Agile 14What kind o relationship

do you want with the public? 15

Communicative 15

Collaborative 15

Co-productive 16

How to be digital 17

Communicative politicians 17

Collaborative politicians 18Co-productive politicians 18

Resource and stafng requirements 18

Conclusion 19

Contents

Appendix 1 How can we create this? 20

Digital by deault 20

Open by deault 21

Networked 22

Agile 23

Appendix 2 Case studies 24

The police and bloggers working

together in Wolverhampton 24

Obama and Howard Dean 27

Community websites 28

#Riotcleanup 30

Mumsnet 31


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3 | Digital democracy | Executive summary

Police and Crime Commissioners oer an unprecedented opportunity to develop a dierent

kind o local democracy that refects the way in which people live in the 21st Century, rather

than the 19th Century principles on which much o our local democratic practice is based.

The public is increasingly active online. With the take-up o mobile devices we are seeing

greater use o social and content-creation technologies.

There is every indication that the public wants a direct relationship with elected politicians

and that, or many people, this will be online.

A new kind o political relationship with the public is needed i we are to overcome rising

levels o voter apathy and disengagement with politics.

We propose that this relationship should be open by deault, digital by deault, networked

and agile.

Every politician should take responsibility or their digital ootprint and actively curate an

online presence.

The extent to which this is done can be described across three models: communicative,

collaborative and co-productive.

Executive summary


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4 | Digital democracy | Introduction

The arrival o Police and Crime Commissioners oers us an unprecedented opportunity: to develop a

dierent kind o local democracy that is reective o the way people live in the 21st Century, rather

than the 19th Century principles on which much o our local democratic practice is based.

The public is increasingly active online and participating in campaigning movements such as

Avaaz1 or 38 Degrees2 and is using social media to organise community action and activities. These

range rom campaigns about parking to the guerrilla gardening and greening o urban spaces

by organisations like Incredible Edible3 in Todmorden. Levels o participation online in general

are growing in many dierent ways and the behaviours and culture o the digital world oer

opportunities to help shape a new kind o relationship between citizen and government.

This growth in participation is in contrast with the alling levels o voter turnout we have seen in

recent years.4 Indeed, the Electoral Reorm Society5 has estimated that turnout in the Police and

Crime Commissioner elections in November might be as low as 18.5%. Even i this turns out to be

pessimistic, local election turnout is languishing at no more than 35% o the electorate oering a

reasonable yardstick with which to judge the Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

Concerns over turnout prompt the question: does it matter? We believe that it does. Strong

democratic government needs a clear mandate at the ballot box and concern that this level o voter

participation does not provide this is thereore entirely legitimate. There is an argument that low

voter turnout can indicate satisaction with the status quo, but we are aware that levels o trust

in politicians are also declining; the public seems to be turning away rom politics. With a difcult

economic climate, at a time when government at all levels will need to ask more o its communities

and citizens, this should be o concern.

Modern policing is already making use o social media to interact with the public and create more

eective community relationships. The Police and Crime Commissioners will be in a position to do the

same. This paper is an opportunity to explore the evidence that suggests this new type o relationship

should be digital by deault and describes some o the ways in which the public currently interact,

not only with government, but also with other organisations, both public and private. As our society

becomes more digital and networked it is important to understand what this means, both o terms

o who is there and also in terms o who is not.

This paper outlines some o the channels that will be available or PCCs looking to democratically

engage with the public and how their use might challenge previous best practice. In doing so, we

discuss three potential models or the kinds o relationships that PCCs might have with the public.

While individual PCCs may choose dierent elements rom all three models they are nonetheless auseul way o exploring the range o options that are on oer.

Introduction

1 Avaaz is a global campaigning

movement which at time owriting has over 16m members.

Members choose which

campaigns are adopted and

crowdund the work. (www.

avaaz.org/en/)

2 Similar to Avaaz, 38 Degrees

operates only in the UK on

UK relevant issues. And they

have mobilised thousands i

not hundreds o thousands

o citizens on campaigns

(www.38degrees.org.uk)

3 Incredible Edible carry out

guerilla gardening in urban

areas (www.incredible-edible-

todmorden.co.uk)

4 This paper describes Local

and National Election Data

1918-2004: www.parliament.

uk/documents/commons/lib/

research/rp2004/rp04-061.

pd While improvements can

be seen the overall trends are

towards a reducing turnout.

The Hansard Audits o Political

Engagement also provide

valuable background data on

this topic: hansardsociety.org.

uk/blogs/parliament_and_

government/pages/audit-o-

political-engagement.aspx

5 Research rom the Electoral

Reorm Society: www.electoral-

reorm.org.uk/blog/pccs-how-

not-to-run-an-election


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5 | Digital democracy | Introduction

Throughout this report we develop our key principles or the design o democracy in the uture:

Digital by default Digital by deault isnt just a matter o choosing to prioritise the digital

channel. We suggest a need to design democracy based on the social eects o a more digital

society.

Open by default Open practice in terms o data and inormation sharing is the bedrock both o

inormed debate and o building trust in politicians.

Networked Our digital world is highly networked we want to use these networks as part o the

democratic relationship.

Agile We do not work in a fxed context and we need to design our democracy to be able to react

quickly but methodically to change.

The PCCs have the chance to defne a new and vibrant type o elected politician that will not only

to meet the challenge o voter apathy but, more importantly, will be relevant to digitally active and

engaged citizens. It is no exaggeration to say that this frst cohort o PCCs has an unprecedented

opportunity to shape a new kind o democratic contract with the electorate, which meets the needs

o our 21st Century society. This paper is intended to provoke and challenge ideas about what this

might look like.


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6 | Digital democracy | Why be digital?

The internet and digital technologies are now very much part o the abric o our society and the

way in which we live and work. At time o writing, OFCOM estimates that 80% o the UKs adult

population has access to the internet. While this fgure continues to rise, digital exclusion remains

a signifcant issue. Evidence suggests that we are reaching a point where the elderly and the more

widely socially and fnancially excluded groups in society are unable to take advantage o the benefts

o being online.6 Nonetheless, i we are designing or even just ten years into the uture we need to

plan or a more networked, connected and digital population.

We also need to consider the impact o increased use o mobile devices OFCOM7 currently

estimates take-up o mobile phones to be at 92% o the adult population with smartphones, with

the ability to connect to the internet, accounting or more than hal o these devices. Signifcantly,

the Oxord Internet Institutes (OxII) 2011 report on Next Generation Internet Users in Britain8 showsthat users who access the internet rom mobile devices are more likely to create content, consume

content or look or inormation online - in turn, allowing them to become more active participants.

Further analysis carried out or this report by the OCSI9 provides us with this overall picture o online

activity:

Category Denition Prevalence Typical users

Non-users People who do not use

the internet

27% Retired and

unemployed

First Generation Users

(FGUs)

People who use the

internet but do not

own multiple devices

or access internet on

the move

42% Those employed

in manual skilled/

semi-skilled labour,

some students and

unemployed

Next Generation Users

(NGUs)

People who access the

internet rom multiple

locations and devices.

Specifcally, those

who use at least two

internet applications

(out o browsing the

Internet, using email,

updating a socialnetworking site, or

fnding directions on

their mobile) or ft

two or more o the

ollowing criteria: own

a tablet; a reader;

or three or more

computers

31% Some students, and

those employed

in managerial/

administrative/

proessional positions

Why be digital?

6 Martha Lane Foxs Race

Online initiative collated

much o the research on the

benefts on being online: http://

raceonline2012.org/research

7 stakeholders.ocom.org.uk/

market-data-research/market-

data/communications-market-

reports/

8 Hutton W and Blank G,

2011, Next Generation Users:The Internet in Britain www.

oii.ox.ac.uk/downloads/

index.cm?File=publications/

oxis2011_report.pd

9 The data or this section

has been collated and

analysed by the team at the

OCSI, a spin-o o the Social

Disadvantage Research Centre

at the University o Oxord.

The OCSI is a research team

which works with public and

community organisations

to improve services, turning

complex datasets into engaging

inormation and accessible

analysis or communities and

decision-makers. More details

on OCSI can be ound at

www.ocsi.co.uk


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The OCSIs work goes on to examine this data with respect to socio-economic groups. The table

below shows the eight groups or which we have a prevalence o internet use fgures. These are

taken rom a combination o the OxII internet surveys10 and OFCOMs Technology Tracker survey:11

Category % Non-users % First

Generation

Users

% Next

Generation

Users

Students 1% 47.5% 51.5%

Retired 63% 34% 3%

Employed in Social Class AB 13% 39% 48%

Employed in Social Class C1 13% 40% 47%

Employed in Social Class C2 13% 45% 42%

Employed in Social Class DE 13% 52% 35%

Unemployed 27% 43% 30%

All others 27%12 42% 31%

The overall picture is o growth in internet take-up and usage a direction o travel that government

and democracy need to respond to.

What are people doing online?

For many people social media is a purely social activity. We use social media to keep in touch withamily and riends or to access entertainment or news inormation. Increasingly, brands are using

social media to orm a relationship with their customers and to engage audiences in a conversation

about their products and services. Brands listen online and learn valuable acts about consumer

preerences and needs. In turn, consumers have become accustomed to being able to interact with

service providers and are now bringing the same set o expectations to their democratic relationships.

Politicians ocus is on civic and democratic interactions, broadly characterised by a desire to discuss

issues that are relevant to the local or national community. Public-i has conducted Social Media

Audits in more than ten dierent local areas in order to look or inormal civic participation and

it is clear that local communities are making use o new technologies to have the community

conversations which might previously have taken place in local pubs or post ofces. These sites

represent networks o active and engaged citizens. The ocus or politicians in the uture is how toensure they have a relationship with these networks.

The case studies inAppendix two look at some o the impacts o this inormal and civic activity in a

national as well as local context.

How do we connect the online and ofine?

Neighborhood Saety Partnerships, Neighborhood Watch, Tenants Associations and Parish Councils

are all examples o traditional oine networks that will be a vital part o PCCs engagement and

communication.

The online activity described above does not detract rom oine participation or community

activities although the last Hansard Audit did show a concerning drop in levels o volunteering.Oine networks and activity can be said to complement online activity and vice versa. However, one

o the ways to ensure a positive online/oine dynamic is to consider how some o the behavioural

qualities o the digital environment can be made to enhance oine participation. Furthermore,

10 Hutton W and Blank G,

2011, Next Generation Users:

The Internet in Britain, OxIS,

www.oii.ox.ac.uk/downloads/

index.cm?File=publications/

oxis2011_report.pd

11 Ocom, 2011, Technology

Tracker Survey data tables,

stakeholders.ocom.org.uk/

market-data-research/statistics/

12 Note these categories do

not cover all people. We have

taken the 73% internet users

rom OxIS page 9 or all people

who are not retired, students,

employed or unemployed.


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there are many experiences and connections that cannot be recreated online and no one wants to

contemplate a relationship with the public that exists solely online. However, better use o digital can

and does strengthen oine as well as online relationships.

The technically simple act o either webcasting or live tweeting an oine meeting can both increase

the reach o the event and create a digital asset, which can be reused in other ways. Police Forces

throughout the UK are already experimenting with online community meetings and live web chats,

or example those used by Leicestershire Police in areas including Blaby, and it is reasonable that the

public will expect new PCCs to continue to experiment in this way.

The online environment is highly participative and collaborative and also tends to be more playul

than equivalent oine environments. Digital participants are now able to control their experience

to a ar greater extent than, or example, the fxed agenda o a community meeting might permit.

New orms o public meetings are being tested with great success. Formats such as the CityCamp

movement, which brings together the local community with technology experts and social innovators

to create change in their community, are eective because they pass much o the control o the

event to the participants. The CityCamp Brighton network13 has had our events now and has seen

participation rom more than 600 people in the city. These are very much oine events that take on

the characteristics o the online space.

Digital technology provides people with control over content production and distribution and gives

them a voice that can, i used eectively, reach thousands i not hundreds o thousands o people. It

is not surprising perhaps that these same people are disinclined to attend real-world meetings which

rely on a fxed agenda created by someone else. I we want to engage these digital participants in

a democratic conversation then we need to consider how to do this in a way that makes sense to

them.

Conclusion

Digital by deault can be argued or on solely the basis o the channel shit outlined above. But this

argument may be made more powerully by the social shit we are seeing, in terms o participatory

and collaborative behaviours that are developing online. It is this discussion o behaviours which we

take orward into the design section o this report.

13 This report was

commissioned by the Local

Government Association

(LGA) to look at the impact

o the CityCamp Brighton

events: www.idea.gov.uk/idk/

aio/29755205


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9 | Digital democracy | Understanding the channels

This section provides an overview o the dierent channels available and discusses them in the

context o political communication and engagement. The strategy underpinning the use o these

channels should be based on the substance o the conversation that the politician is seeking to have

with the public. This conversation will cover the policy-making cycle with all parties able to raise

concerns or ideas, to discuss solutions and narrow these down through deliberation into a decision

which is then communicated and carried out. In an agile, networked and ever-changing environment

these processes will need to happen in parallel, not sequentially.

Social media or Web 2.0

Social media is a term that covers a range o technologies with a number o characteristics:

users can create their own content;

users are able to create networks o riends and collaborators; and

users can share their own and other peoples content.

These characteristics pass both the means o content creation and distribution into the hands o the

user, provoking a seismic shit in the way in which we communicate. We are now more than passive

consumers o content and can expect to interact with media. And it is this change that is creating a

more participatory culture online. Social media breaks down into a number o dierent categories:

Category Description Examples

Social networks Social networks are defned by users having public

profles and the ability to connect or network withother users. These sites usually have the ability or

users to provide status updates and share and discuss

content created elsewhere.

Facebook

MySpaceLinkedIn

Micro blogging Micro blogging is the simple sharing o short updates

in a public way. While Twitter is the example everyone

knows, other social media tools also include orms o

micro blogging.

Twitter

Blog platorms Blogging platorms provide simple tools or users

to create their own content - oten text based.

People blog about almost any subject, and the most

successul can develop substantial ollowings thatvalue and trust their opinion.

WordPress

Blogger

Tumblr

Photo or video

sharing

Similar to blogging platorms, photo or video sharing

sites are a way or users to share the content that they

have created. Ranging in skill and technique, these

sites oten attract niche but committed audiences.

YouTube

Vimeo

Flickr

Instagram

Online

communities

Online communities have many o the aspects o

social networks but are usually based around a

specifc topic or area o interest. Access to content

may be restricted to members and participants can

orm strong relationships within these communities.

Mumsnet

Netmums

Macmillan Online

Community

There is also another set o sites such as Pinterest14 which allows users to create an online clipboard

o interesting content that could be described as curation tools. Curation is growing in popularity

as the volume o online content grows and users learn to use their riends to point out interesting

Understanding the channels

14 Pinternest enables users

to create visual pinboards o

other peoples content

www.pinterest.com


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content, rather than looking or it themselves. This phenomenon, oten called social search (search

based on the interests o your network) is embedded into search tools such as Google which will

prioritise your results based on your behaviours and the behaviours o users similar to yoursel, but is

more overtly used in curation tools such as Pinterest. This is useul to know as an eective curator o

content can have a large ollowing and can be an eective contact to help take your messages to a

wider audience.

Perhaps the most signifcant aspect o social media or PCCs will be the growth in hyperlocal

websites. Hyperlocal is passing into practitioner use in the UK airly seamlessly, with groups such

as Talk about Local, Podnosh and Networked Neighbourhoods using it to describe grassroot

communities that organise online and are ocused on a geographically defned area. The hyper in

the local comes rom the act that they tend to concentrate on areas that are considerably smallerthan any democratic decision making unit (or local newspaper patch) the exception being the

parish level. There is no technological commonality across these sites. They use dierent tools and

dierent platorms and vary between bulletin boards, to blogs to sites using more social tools. The

uniying themes are location and the idea o civic purpose and community.

The use o social media is growing rapidly and the ability to create networks and participate in

content creation is undamental to this growth. It is these qualities which we suggest are useul in

the design o democratic participation.

Web 1.0

There are many people who are still using the internet as a broadcast channel with minimal

interaction. This would include many sophisticated retail sites, some media sites and smallercommunity websites. However, social elements are working their way into many o these sites, with

user eedback and reviews now central to many retail sites, while services such as Tripadvisor15 are

based on user-generated content. In the public sector the Patient Opinion16 service enables patients

to give anonymous qualitative eedback about their experience with the NHS and similar approaches

are being trialled with the police in the orm o MyPolice.17 Each o these tools provide eedback,

not only to the provider but to the other users as well. In the context o the democratic conversation

these experience-sharing tools would be invaluable in creating a rich picture o how people eel

about their experience o police and crime in their area. In other areas, such as retail or travel, the

new business models rely on users providing eedback and sharing experiences. By building this into

the democratic process we can reect their experience o giving eedback ar more than the closed

consultation processes currently used by most areas o government.

Traditional channels

Anyone contemplating political ofce will already be aware o the traditional communication

channels, but it is worth considering the disruptive pressure that they are each acing rom digital

technologies:

15 www.tripadvisor.co.uk

16 www.patientopinion.org.uk

17 www.mypolice.org


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Channel Disruption Adaption

Television Television aces two main challenges:

1 the switch to mobile devices as well as

time shited audiences (where people

watch TV on catchup services rather

than live) which challenges both the

ormat and business model o content

consumption; and

2 the growth o social media and other

interactive services put pressure on

broadcasters to incorporate more ormso participation.

The BBC has pioneered innovation in

this area with the development to the

iPlayer which can be used on a range o

digital devices. Most other broadcasters

have ollowed this model. Both news and

entertainment programmes now will have

a second screen strand where viewers

can comment on Twitter or directly on

the shows website in order to participate

and these contributions can be seen toinuence the content o the shows.

Radio As our listening devices gain the ability to

oer video as well as audio content, radio

is being challenged to meet the pressure

o this convergence.

Radio stations are becoming community

hubs and oer greater levels o

interaction via their websites.

Print Print is perhaps the most severely

disrupted channel acing many challenges

with the growth o user generated

content and more participatory orms o

media, both making it harder to reach

an audience and also making the publicless inclined to pay or content. For

local newspapers the attrition o their

advertising revenue has been disastrous

to business models. New digital

distribution technologies such as the

Kindle and tablets such as the iPad with

the advantages o speed and portability

are eating into reader share and making

expensive investments in technology

essential.

The Guardian is leading the way, in the

UK, experimenting with new ways to

consume and interact with the news.

Many publishers have experimented with

the eBook ormat prior to the launch o

the Amazon Kindle which has currentlycornered the market. Local newspaper

groups in particular are fnding it hard to

adapt to the publics changing habits o

news consumption, and this is a problem

or local democracy which has in the past

relied on the existence o an eective

local media. To some extent social media

is flling this gap with the creation o

citizen journalists and bloggers, but this

space is still developing.

Telephone While the fxed landline model is indecline mobile telephony is on a constant

rise with 92% o adults having a phone

contract at the start o 2012.18

Swapping rom landline to mobiletelephones isnt just a simple feld in

a database. The paradigm shit oers

the ability to reach individuals quickly,

discretely and directly even i they

are living in shared accommodation

and service design should reect this

opportunity.

18 Figures taken rom the

Q1 2012 OFCOM Technology

tracker


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Channel Disruption Adaption

Face to

ace

The opportunity to speak, ace to ace,

with others will always have a place

in the political process, but its now

reasonable to expect that participants

will be online and active during these

encounters. This means that they have

access to inormation outside o the

meeting, can interact with people who

are not physically there and can orm

a backchannel o discussion within anevent.

There are three main adaptations that can

be made here:

1 Ensure that you are creating a digital

record o the meeting that is complete

rather than the incomplete record that

might be created by participants;

2 engage with the backchannel and make

it part o the event; and

3 open up the agenda setting and

planning o the event to ensure thatpeople are participating.

The uture

This summary touches on the mainstream digital channels today, but this landscape is constantly

changing and an essential skill or any leadership team will be the ability to horizon-scan and make

sensible inormed choices about the way in which technology and societys use o technology is

changing. For example, the growth in smartphone use makes location-based services (where the

service oers you choices based on your location) a reality that could start to see an augmented

reality in which physical spaces are enriched with an overlay o digital inormation. This may eel very

uturistic but, as the data in the last section outlines, these changes are happening rapidly.


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13 | Digital democracy | Principles o uture engagement

In writing this report we have based the approach on our basic principles as outlined in the introduction:

Digital by default Digital by deault isnt just a matter o choosing to prioritise the digital

channel. We suggest a need to design democracy based on the social eects o a more digital

society.

Open by default Open practice in terms o data and inormation sharing is the bedrock both o

inormed debate and o building trust in politicians.

Networked Our digital world is highly networked we want to use these networks as part o the

democratic relationship.

Agile We do not work in a fxed context and we need to design our democracy to be able to react

quickly but methodically to change.

The frst o these, digital by deault, was explored in detail in section two and this section seeks to

expand on the other three principles. The next section will describe what these principles might look

like in a practical sense.

Open by deault

Open by deault breaks down broadly into our areas o consideration:

Open process

Trust in process is created by being clear about what the process is. A good democratic experience is

one where you are happy that the outcome is air even i it isnt your preerred outcome. At presentmany o our decision-making processes do not eel open to the public, as they assume that the

public have access only through their representatives (and the public do not always eel connected to

politicians). We have a choice: amend the process or improve the connections between citizens and

politicians. The answer may be a combination o the two. More generally, open processes enable ar

wider participation and also build in the opportunity or creativity and innovation ar more eectively

than those that assume all the answers are held by those directly involved. Look at events like the

CityCamp movement19 to see what happens when you bring interested people together with no

agenda and some basic resources.

Open access

Open access is really about making sure that government is available to the public as are

politicians. This means taking the conversation, and the decision making process, to the places where

people are and having the debate on their terms, not at the convenience o government. It is also

about using new channels to make it possible or ar more people to connect directly to politicians.

There are some things that need a ace-to-ace conversation, but new technologies and the social

shit around the way in which they are used means that the public should insist that politicians and

government actively engage with them using these channels this is an entirely solvable problem.

Open standards

The real beneft o open source and open standards is the design signal it sends in creating an online

experience. I we want to be open by deault then we need to use open standards to build our civic

architecture.

Open mind

There is a fnal sense in which we need to consider open and ask ourselves how open we are to

new ideas. This is particularly important or politicians who, i being open, need to consider new

Principles o uture engagement

19 www.citycamp.govresh.com


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14 | Digital democracy | Principles o uture engagement

ideas throughout the policy-making process i they wish to gain the trust o the public. This doesnt

mean agreeing with everyone, but it does mean more active listening. I we are open by deault we

have to be open to external inuences, as well as being open with our thought processes.

Networked

All politicians are networked, but their networks are oten based on hierarchical structures rather

than the networked environment that the digital world oers. In this context, leadership needs to

show slightly dierent qualities to those o a hierarchal leader which we suggest are:

The ability to create a vision, and a narrative o that vision, which is ocused enough to give

direction and is open enough to enable others to contribute to it. This vision needs to be an

ongoing and public conversation.

To be credible in setting this vision it is essential that you have knowledge o your own place

in the network and the value that you bring and that this value is evident to the rest o the

network. You cannot be a leader in a networked organisation just by dint o job title; you need a

strong place to stand and an arena in which you contribute to the overall inormation and activity

exchange o the network. The social web is at the heart a meritocracy, and the digital environment

puts emphasis on personal contribution and exchange.

At the same time as having a clear view o their own contribution the networked leader also needs

to be an eective talent spotter they need to be able to quickly fnd and ampliy activities that

contribute to the vision both within and outside their organisation.

In doing this there is a need to be transparent with respect to decisions and to be able to explainthese as being consistent with vision and values.

The single aspect that is at the same time a byproduct o the above, and perhaps the most

immediately realisable aspect o the networked leader or the PCCs, is the power that networked

leaders have to convene people and conversations that cut across organisations.

Agile

The need to consider democracy and policy making in a more agile way is driven by a number o

actors:

an increased awareness o complexity and the need to build or complexity;

an awareness o the impossibility o developing anything in isolation we exist in open, not closed,systems and no idea exists in isolation; and

where so much o our service design is digitally based we need a shit rom engineering to systems

thinking.

This adds up to a requirement or eective evidence and learning mechanisms that have to be

embedded into your systems so that you are aware o and ready to react to change as it happens,

rather than being orced to wait out a complete decision-making cycle beore reacting.


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15 | Digital democracy | What kind o relationship do you want with the public?

This paper does not suggest more direct democracy (though there is evidence o an appetite or it,

with 76% o the population wanting greater use o reerendums or decision making, according

to the latest Hansard Audit o Political Engagement). What we are proposing is a more direct

representation, where the citizen is meaningully connected to their representative and where

we have a dierent kind o relationship between citizen and politician. We suggest that this is

only possible by making extensive use o technology and, to make this possible, we propose the

integration o all o the unctions o political ofce to help orm the relationship with the public, and

that this integration is based on the principles outlined in the last chapter. This will be described in

more practical detail in the next section, but involves each o these unctions:

Communications The communications unction includes the relationship with the press and

other media as well as public inormation campaigns.

Public engagement Public engagement is considered to be the process o actively trying to

involve the public in a specifc policy process.

Consultation and research Consultation and research reers to the systematic creation o an

evidence base or policy making.

Policy making and decision making Policy making and decision making represents the

process o refning that evidence base into a set o choices that are then deliberated and ultimately

decided on by the political process.

In each case we are seeking to use these unctions to create a stronger relationship between the

politician and their electorate in a way which is meaningul and accessible or both parties. Direct

representation does not mean direct interaction with every citizen, but it should mean a direct

connection that allows or the two-way ow o inormation and opinion.

However, the scale and nature o this relationship will vary depending on the characteristics both o

the local population and o the politician. In order to help navigate the possibilities, we have created

three potential models or politicians to adopt when designing their strategy or engagement with

the public each o these can be adapted to meet the needs o each unique situation.

Communicative

Eective politicians are already highly communicative and this model is based on current best

practice. However, with respect to the use o digital technologies, certain assumptions are made:

while digital channels are used to broadcast data and comments are responded to, there is limiteduse o online discussion;

relationships with the public are ormed oine, but uture communication may be digital;

any difcult matter, be it individual case work or community engagement, is carried out ace to ace;

sampled online opinion is not part o a discussion or consultation process public opinion is

understood via ormal consultation or community engagement meetings; and

policy making research and work in progress is not discussed with the public except to state that

it is ongoing.

Collaborative

As discussed in earlier sections, one o the defning eatures o the social web and new digital

technologies is the collaborative and participatory behaviours it acilitates. The collaborative model

makes the ollowing assumptions about the politicians behaviours:

What kind o relationship do youwant with the public?


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16 | Digital democracy | What kind o relationship do you want with the public?

social media is used both to create relationships and manage case work;

tools or active online listening are used and new items (agenda setting) are accepted or

discussion via these channels;

as part o this process the ofce and politician are aware o the online networks and opinion

shapers in their area and have cultivated constructive relationships with them as well as with the

traditional media;

the politician is open with their thinking about policy making and research, perhaps blogging

reections and ideas or even sharing their diary online so that the public can see who they are

meeting; and

the Ofce o the PCC is open by deault with respect to data and idea sharing.

Co-productive

Co-production20 is a term to describe a relationship with the public in which the citizens take an

active role not only in shaping but in delivering services. This requires a more open relationship in

which power is shared with the public. This is clearly the most challenging o the three scenarios

but reects some o the current thinking around democratic reorm, looking to tools such as

participatory budgeting or the more recent community right to buy as ways in which the public

can taken greater control over their local services. Within the policing arena, restorative justice

programmes can be said to work towards providing co-productive solutions to local crime problems.

This model assumes all o the behaviours o the collaborative model and makes the ollowing

additional assumptions:

the ofce and politician have a strong network and networked relationships with the local

community.

the policy making process is open21 and agile allowing or public scrutiny o the evidence base and

public deliberation o the choice criteria or decision making.

adoption o evidence based decision making which reects learning rom pilots and experiments in

public; and

an open agenda setting process with respect to policy making.

20 The term is well explained

in this report by Nesta:

www.nesta.org.uk/

publications/reports/assets/

eatures/the_challenge_o_

co-production

21 There is a current

dialogue on open policy

making being curated by

The Democratic Society:

www.openpolicy.demsoc.org


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17 | Digital democracy | How to be digital

Each politician will use their own personal mix o tools and techniques based on their preerences.

Some people are very comortable with the very short and immediate back-and-orth nature o Twitter,

while others are happier with the more refective option o a blog. Those who have a more visual mind

may preer to use a photo diary or video blogging. For some politicians Facebook works well and will

be their preerred channel. What is important is that the politician understands the relative strengths

and weaknesses o each approach and is able to discern which one is most likely to suit them.

Many candidates will already have a social media presence that will need to adapt to the role o

the representative upon election. Failing to resolve the dierences between a pre-election digital

ootprint and your identity as an elected politician may leave a PCC at risk o negative scrutiny rom

opponents and the media.

Social media requires direct input: one cannot expect to be authentic online without crating

some content onesel and resource constraints will almost certainly mean that PCCs will not have

a sta that will be able to create the kind o social media profle that, or example, the No10

communications team does or the Prime Minister. It is also important to bear in mind that, while a

simple website may satisy some users, there will be a growing number who would expect a more

social experience.

A simple way to manage this could be to have a Twitter and blog site working together. The PCC

can state on his or her Twitter profle that they check their eed every morning but dont have time

to answer questions. Instead a weekly blog post can reerence the questions/issues that have come

up on Twitter. The time commitment or this could be no more than 15 minutes a day and then an

hour once a week to prepare the blog post. In return, you could have reached thousands o yourelectorate in a direct and sociable way.

This digital home should be the oundation o the digital ootprint and it should be more accurate

and engaging than press or other coverage o what the PCC is doing. The huge advantage o the

social web or politicians is this direct connection with the public without media interpretation.

The common concern is how much time this might take up. By setting boundaries on where and

when engagement can take place it will be possible to prevent the process rom becoming overly

burdensome as long as these boundaries are communicated clearly and stuck to. It may also

be sensible to consider mapping out boundaries o content in advance as this will help to clariy.

Questions to consider are:

Is it appropriate to be online in the evening? Many social media users will interact with Twitter

while watching programmes such as BBC Question Time, when there is a lively online debate.

Should PCCs mention amily and riends as part o their content? How private or social should the

content be?

Should PCCs oer commentary on national issues as well as local ones?

These boundaries will change as PCCs develop their voice online and fnd the right mix o content

and channels. The sections below describe what this might mean in practice.

Communicative politicians

All politicians have to be eective communicators, however the advent o social media and digital

technologies has helped to change what this means. The communicative politician needs to have adigital presence that will relate to both frst and second generation internet users. This is most simply

delivered using a blog which is accessible via the PCC Ofces website, with updates tweeted out via

a connected Twitter account and also via the Ofces corporate account.

How to be digital


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18 | Digital democracy | How to be digital

While the PCCs communications team might support a PCC by monitoring interactions and drating

content, this space should belong to the politician and will need content directly in their voice to be

eective. This separation will also help to manage the distinction between their work as a politician

and the more corporate work o the Ofce.

I we are responding to the data that was presented in section two then this is the bare minimum o

participation that a politician should have in the online space.

Collaborative politicians

Collaborative politicians will have an active digital ootprint and will be using it to interact with their

electorate and beyond. Relationships will be made online with notable inuencers o opinion rom

both old and new networks, and ideas about new initiates and current thinking will be shared. Thetone will be open and conversational and will rely on open data and other initiatives implemented

by the Ofce to reinorce this. The collaborative politician may even go as ar as sharing their

diary online and being open with who they are meeting. It is likely that this will mean being active

on more than one channel - probably Twitter and one other and will usually be done rom a

smartphone on the go, rather than rom a desk.

Where possible and appropriate, the collaborative politician will answer questions in public - even

those that are raised via oine channels. By this means it will be possible to manage interactions

efciently while building a presence.

Beyond the standard social media monitoring o the communicative model, this approach requires

network analysis and an understanding o the reach o the politicians, via inuencers.Co-productive politicians

True co-production requires a dierent approach to decision making but the essence o this model

is the ambition or the citizens to have an active voice in shaping as well as making decisions. A co-

productive politician should be comortable about putting the evidence base in the public domain

and discussing it in public. They should also be adept at introducing and convening people both

online and oine with wide networks and a deep understanding o online and oine inuence.

In terms o social media the dierences between this and the collaborative model are airly minor,

although wider adoption may mean that active listening and polling tools are used in order to get

robust eedback on what the audience is saying.

Resource and stang requirements

Most o the ideas suggested in this paper should be manageable through minimal resource

requirements. However, it is not practical to expect that the PCC will have less than at least one

member o sta engaged with social media work and that this engagement should cut across

communications, engagement and policy making unctions. Technology costs can be kept low

though more sophisticated monitoring tools, or example, may require additional expenditure. Put

simply, there should be no Ofce so small that they cannot embrace the basic level o engagement,

but more sophisticated use will require sta time and expertise and this will need to be balanced

against other needs.


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19 | Digital democracy | Conclusion

The frst cohort o Police and Crime Commissioners has a unique opportunity to design a democratic

ofce that is developed with the needs o a 21st Century society in mind. This paper lays out the

evidence or this being based on our important principles: digital by deault, open by deault,

networked and agile. There are a range o ways in which these principles might be applied and each

PCC and their Ofce will be as unique as the areas that they serve.

Strong relationships with the community are at the heart o our police orces and the PCCs need to

have the same standard o deep-rooted community knowledge and engagement. However, in the

21st Century this has to take into account the social change driven by technology and think about

the needs o voters ten years in the uture..

This paper is speculative based on strong evidence and the experience and learning o many

practitioners and politicians. The actual impacts o a more networked and digital world may be very

dierent to the models proposed here, but unless our democracy is learning and evolving with the

technology and social changes then we risk a continuing widening o the gap between politicians

and the citizens they serve.

Conclusion


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20 | Digital democracy | Appendix 1

This section describes how we might deliver some o the principles we have discussed with respect to

the spectrum o relationships described in the three proposed approaches. We have approached this

with respect to each o the our principles which have been suggested by making suggestions about

actual tactics which could be used to deliver the outcome. Each o these have been tried within local

or central government in the UK unless indicated otherwise using italics. Some tactics do appear in

more than one place i they have multiple applicabilities.

Digital by deault

Within each o the models there is a need to respond to growing numbers o people online as well

as to take advantage o the cost saving potential o technology. The table below provides examples

o the kinds o activities which could make each o the models digital by deault.

Communication Engagement Consultation Democratic

process

Communicative The website

is the primary

inormation

sharing tool with

print being used

only to reach an

audience who

cant get online.

Updates arebroadcast via

social media as

well as via the

website

Events are

either webcast

or live tweeted

and widely

disseminated

online. The social

media channels

are monitored

and questionsanswered during

ofce hours

Questionnaires

and consultation

documents are

online with oine

copies being used

only to reach an

audience who

cant get online

Minutes o

meetings and

related papers are

available online.

Meetings are

either webcast

or live tweeted

and widely

disseminatedonline

Collaborative In addition to

the website, the

Ofce and/or

politician have

active social

media accounts

and have anunderstanding

o the network

that they have

and who they are

reaching via these

means

Social media is

used not only to

share updates but

also to respond

to content rom

other participants

and to gatherinormation.

Inormation is

again gathered

online, however

this may be done

via networks and

active citizens as

well as directly

No change rom

above

Co-productive Content can

be created and

distributed by

members o the

network as wellas by the Oce

Issues are raised

by the public as

well as the Ofce

and discussed

online

Ideas are crowd

sourced online in

an unstructured

way and then

analysed publicly

Online decision

making tools,

such as with

participatory

budgeting, areused to open up

the process

Appendix 1 How can we create this?


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Open by deault

Being open by deault is about more than just the data. The table below shows how this could be

realised.


process

Communicative The website

provides RSS

eeds and uses

open standards so

that content canbe widely shared

and reused

Engagement

activities are held

in places like

supermarkets

and where thepublic are already

meeting

A record o

all upcoming

consultations and

decisions is shared

online

Minutes o

meetings and

related papers are

available online.

Meetings areeither webcast

or live tweeted

and widely

disseminated

online. This

inormation is

available or

sharing

Collaborative The PCC is

blogging their

current thinking

and the work that

they are doing.

Details o the

PCCs diary are

available online.

Social media

channels are

used to actively

participate in

more generallocal news

An open data

store is created

and is actively

developed

with public

participation

There is an

opportunity or

the public to

suggest items

that need urther

investigation with

a view to entering

the policy making

process. Evidence

is shared openly

online with the

public

Comments rom

the public are

encouraged

during meetings

via social media

and other

channels


be created and

distributed by

members o the

network as well

as by the Oce

Open meeting

ormats are used

with no more

than 50% o the

agenda coming

rom the Ofce

Citizens are

able to actively

participate in

shaping the

evidence base or

decision making

Participatory

budgeting

approaches

are used or all

or part o the

budget setting

process


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Networked

The strength in networks is in the ties between dierent groups, and the role o connector and

convener has great power. The table below describes how this could be used in this context.


process

Communicative Social networks

are used to pass

on content which

is created or the

website

Network analysis

is used to extend

the reach and

access or

engagement work

Networks are

used to gather

responses rom

target groups

Decisions are

communicated

via relevant

networks rather

than being simplydisseminated

centrally

Collaborative Messages are

tailored to

reach specifc

networks and

these networks

are used ormally

as part o the

communication

process

Community

meetings are

planned to ocus

on preexisting

local networks

and groups

Consultations are

planned to ocus

on preexisting

local networks

and groups

Deliberations

are conducted

within networks

and then shared

with the PCC or

decision making

Co-productive Messages are

shaped in

response to active

listening to the

Ofces networks

and inuencers

The PCC convenes

meetings

o relevant

stakeholders with

respect to specifc

issues

Tasks are passed

to specic

networks or

action and

evidence

gathering

Solutions to

problems are

raised, discussed

and resolved

openly via

networked

discussion. In

many ways this is

what happened

with #riotcleanupbut without

democratic

oversight


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Agile

Agility is something which is oten discussed with respect to sotware development, however in this

context we are considering it with respect to the democratic relationship.


process

Communicative Press releases

are blogged

rather than being

distributed to the

media

Campaigns

are shaped to

refect specic

local priorities

and respond toeedback during

the campaign

duration

Formative

evidence is

gathered to help

shape an evidence

based to shapedecision making

Decisions are

made clearly

linked to the

evidence base

and respond tondings that have

been discovered

ater the start o

the policy making

cycle

Collaborative Content can be

rapidly uploaded

and distributed

rom multiple

areas o the

organisation whilestill adhering to

content guidelines

Campaigns are

co-created with

local networks in

order to respond

to user eedback

rapidly

Opinion is

sampled using

quick polling in

the same way as

Ipsos Mori and

similar to carryout research

Decisions are

made clearly

linked to the

evidence base

and respond to

ndings that havebeen discovered

ater the start o

the policy making

cycle


be created and

distributed by

members o the

network as well

as by the Oce

Open meeting

ormats are used

with no more

than 50% o the

agenda coming

rom the Ofce

Citizens are

able to actively

participate in

shaping the

evidence base or

decision making

Decisions are

shaped with

active citizens

who continue

to participate

actively in the

outcome


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The ollowing case studies are intended to provide a more in-depth picture o inormal civic activity

online.

The police and bloggers working together in Wolverhampton

This case study was originally gathered or our blog, ollowing the riots o the summer o 2011. It

eatures the story o how Superintendent Mark Payne o the West Midlands Police and the WV11

blog, which covers the Wednesfeld area o Wolverhampton, worked together to counter rumours

that spread about violence in the city.

The WV11 blog

The WV11 blog is run by Wednesfeld residents Steph Jennings and James Clarke; its dedicated to

providing local news and inormation and, because its very well run by people who care about theirarea, it has a large, loyal ollowing both on Facebook, Twitter and through the blog.

Because James and Steph are proud Wolverhampton residents, the blog keeps an eye on whats

happening across the city, and beore the events o August 2011 already knew about Mark Payne,

himsel a prominent user o Twitter to convey his activities as a police ofcer in the city.

How it happened: below weve charted how Mark and WV11 blog used social media to inorm

people o what was happening in the city over the space o a ew days.

Monday 8 August 2011

Following riots that had taken place the weekend beore in London, there were reports o trouble

spreading to other cities in England, including nearby Birmingham. All was calm in Wolverhampton,

but Superintendent Mark Payne was already having to quell misinormation on Twitter.

At the same time, Steph rom the WV11 blog was seeing similar rumours circulating on Facebook.That evening, she and James started to update their Facebook page to set people straight:

Appendix 2 Case studies


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Tuesday 9 August 2011

On Tuesday morning, Mark tweeted that there was some minor damage to shops in Wolves

overnight, but this was nothing in comparison to the problems elsewhere. At midday, he tweeted:

Huge amount o resources available to quell any trouble in Wolverhampton and the West Mids.

Hope common sense prevails.

Later that day, Mark was on the ground when trouble did are up: I was in amongst the rioters fve

minutes beore it kicked o. And I was able to use Twitter to tell people what was actually happening

and what wasnt.

Steph and James relayed Marks updates regularly to their Facebook page and blog. The work they

did appears to have had an invaluable eect. Steph said: Ater a while, people were coming onto

the Facebook page and correcting what other people were saying [when they were rumours]. People

were saying things like: I think you should just listen to what the guys running the site are saying.

Wednesday 10 August 2011

On the day ollowing the trouble, both Mark and WV11 were quick to report on the atermath

both the damage to shops and the eorts to clean up the centre. Mark also made sure people knew

about what the police had done to track down the troublemakers.

WV11 posted photographs in the aternoon showing how people were out on the streets tidying

up. They took care, Steph said, to not just capture shops that were damaged, but those that were

not.

The ill-ounded rumours on Twitter and Facebook continued on the Wednesday, but claims thered

be more trouble never materialised.


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Conclusions

Both Mark and the WV11 blog beneftted superfcially rom the riots as their work in preventing

the spread o difcult rumours lead to greatly enhanced ollower numbers or both online. But

most signifcantly, they both expressed an interest in working more closely together in the uture

demonstrating how largely inormal relationships established on the web could develop.

Mark had already been aware o the blog, but it proved how a group o interested local citizens,

working with the police, could help to stem the ow o misinormation.

It is important to point out that, while Steph and James were aware o Mark, there wasnt a close

relationship between them. Without social media, there would have been no way or these messagesto have been spread in this way.

One o the questions that will need to be discussed between the PCC and the Force is how this

kind o community dynamic will operate in a crisis situation what role will the PCC play in calming

ears and reaching out to networks? A ow i inormation will be needed and, i done correctly,

complementary networks should be in place across the Force, PCC and ofce o the PCC, which

should work smoothly together in this kind o circumstance rather than adding to conusion. The

Force can and will use social media in a crisis situation and so it is essential that the PCC is aware o

this and able to support this activity.


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Community websites

Rather than attempt to tell a story, this case study is an introduction to some o the many very well

maintained and considered local online communities that have been established over the last ew

years. We look at some o the dierent orms they can take, rom websites, to blogs and other less

obvious guises. These sites exist in every area and it should be a critical part o your communications

strategy to understand rom the start what the hyperlocal activity is like in your area.

Buckshaw Village

www.buckshawvillage.com

This site was once run as a orum but has now become a blog. In common with many o the best

hyperlocals it concentrates on the same kind o civic stories that have been the domain o local

newspapers. These include crime, planning, environment and community issues. As it is a blog,

readers can comment on stories underneath and subscribe or updates to their email or to an RSS

reader. Buckshaw Village also uses the photo-sharing website, Flickr, to present pictures o the area.

Brookmans Park

www.brookmans.com/orum/

This website might not look like much but it is an example o one o the least celebrated butnonetheless most well established and popular orms o online community. Local orums can

be ound up and down the country and this example has been chosen because it is in no way

remarkable. It uses a simple content management system, allowing users to comment on and start

conversations o their own choosing. This allows residents in an area, in this case in Hertordshire, to

discuss issues o signifcance to them.


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Hampton Peoples Network

www.hamptonpn.ning.com

The Hampton Peoples Network is set up on a Ning essentially a customisable social network.

While a lot o the content is public, you can join to take part in discussions and receive updates.

Like Buckshaw Village, it concentrates on civic content but eatures discussions that anyone who

is a member can take part in. Like a orum, its a orm o online community where commenting is

encouraged and oten conversations start with little content to begin with (unlike a blog).

The Ventnor Blog, now On the Wight

www.onthewight.com

This is an example o a hyperlocal blog that started small but in a relatively short time has become

one o the most successul and innovative local blog news sites on the web. As you can see by

browsing its content, the website looks to ulfll a similar role to that o a local newspaper with

coverage o arts, entertainment and hard news. Ventnor is someone dierent to many community

websites in that it has a commercial attitude, and its editors have worked hard to try to make it

fnancially sustainable.


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The Worthing Page

www.acebook.com/worthingtown

While most o the celebrated community websites are on the web, the Worthing Page is an example

o a Facebook group dedicated to a town, Worthing in Sussex.

Unlike blogs and community websites, it is ocused on discussion, which in some ways makes it

more like a orum. Its administrator, Ed Crouch, set it up on his iPhone while sitting in his car and

invited his riends to join. Membership quickly grew and the page now has more than 12,000 likes.

Discussions include everything rom places to go out to the problems o dealing with dog litter on

the streets. There are also appeals or help rom residents and the occasional lively civic debate. Like

the Ventnor blog the Worthing Page has looked to attract advertising and is attempting to become

commercially sustained.

Conclusions

What bonds all these websites is their sense o community and the act that the web allows people

to fnd and exercise that sense o community in a way that is both convenient, cheap and readily

accessible almost anywhere.

Oten these sites arent run by rustrated journalists attempting to start a publishing empire but

by ordinary people who care about their community. Like Steph and James o the WV11 blog, they

want to share the stories o their community and to help to improve it. Even when these sites do

have a commercial edge, they concentrate on their community and, mostly, rely on a degree o user-

generated content to sustain interest. This means that they cant be courted or engaged in quite

as simple a way as a newspaper might.

#Riotcleanup

While the riots o the summer o 2011 are oten blamed on the power o sel organisation made

possible by digital media (in particular, Blackberry Messenger) this same orce had a remarkably

positive impact when unleashed by civic-minded Twitter users.

The BBC called Dan Thompson the Riot Cleanup ounder but his campaign, i thats what it

should be called, is probably better described as a spontaneous response to a common problem:

what to do when someone smashes up your community.

It started very simply, with Dan asking i anyone would like to help clean up ater the riots in London,

on Twitter. As others rallied to his cause someone added the hashtag #riotcleanup and then it took

o.Hundreds o people attended a clean-up in Clapham Junction, a website appeared and the eorts

o the Riotcleanup soon spread. In London the BBC reported similar eorts were launched to repair


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rioter damage to Ealing and Lewisham, while urther afeld, in Liverpool, a Facebook group was

established to organise volunteers.

What #riotcleanup relied on was the simplicity o the idea which allowed it to be conveyed quickly

and through many people on Twitter and its common and immediate relevance. Almost no one

living in the UK would have been able to escape the riots, as they had been aorded almost universal

coverage on television, newspaper and radio. But they had also been the result o social media with

inormation about the riots changing hands on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere.

The speed o this mobilisation is perhaps what is most sobering or exciting. Mashable, the social

media blog, reported that in the 10 hours ollowing its setting up, the RiotCleanUp Twitter page had

just short o 50,000 ollowers.

Conclusions

Because Twitter in particular allows an idea, a date, or a link to be exchanged through many people

it can be cascaded to thousands o people very quickly as the #riotcleanup hashtag was. Twitter

allowed users to quickly decide on when and where to meet, to agree on what to bring and how to

get involved.

This incredibly quick and generally very eective mobilisation was heralded as a success but it is

interesting to note that it largely circumvented the authorities. While Boris Johnson was quick to turn

up in Clapham on the day o the clean-up, and the BBC reported that fre crews were cheered during

the event, the mass action had been put together with neither the input nor the blessing o the

people we commonly think o as being in charge at a time o crisis.

As with the WV11 example PCCs should consider what role and what connection they would have

with respect to this kind o activity in their area.

Mumsnet

As online communities go, Mumsnet is perhaps (in the UK at least) the most well known and, to

some at least, most notorious. Founded by a journalist and a television producer or ellow mums, it

has gained considerable media attention since it was launched in 2000.

It has also grown to be the most popular website or parents in the country and, thanks to its

webchats, where users o the site can post questions to guests, has hosted interviews with Prime

Minister David Cameron among a host o politicians and celebrities.

Mumsnet says its mission is to make parents lives easier It was established ollowing a disastrous

amily holiday that inspired Justine Roberts, co-ounder and chie executive, and ellow ounder

Carrie Longton to dream up a website or parents that would take on parenting issues and it does

this by allowing members the chance to communicate with each other in an environment thats

dedicated to them. In a Guardian interview, Roberts described that process as people organising

themselves to help each other, show small kindnesses and be communal.

That sense o sel organisation is very much part o the Mumsnet philosophy. As Roberts explained:

Our members are a 24/7 ocus group. I were not too sure about what path to take, we consult

with them. And they show us the way. We are conduits, not leaders. And, as the website says: We

try, as ar as possible to let the conversation ow and not to over moderate. Mumsnet is a site or

grown-ups.


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The results have been impressive. Not only can Mumsnet claim to be the most popular website or

parents in the UK, it can boast a string o sel-help results where members have pitched in to help

each other.

Perhaps the best known is that o Riven Vincent, who told Mumsnetters that a lack o provision o

respite care meant she had decided that she must ask or her daughter to be taken into residential

care. Fellow Mumsnet members sprung to her cause, lobbying the government to take action and

prompting the site itsel to launch a campaign, asking local authorities what their provision they had

to oer respite to amilies with disabled children.

Most amously, Mumsnet members campaigned against an EastEnders storyline in which a mother

who lost her baby to cot death chooses to steal another mothers child. The campaign attracted

negative attention or the site with some accusing Mumsnet o pursuing censorship (which the

website strenuously disputes). It did, however result in a change o story rom the BBC.

Conclusions

Mumsnet declares that it has aspirations to be sustained by advertising but it has been careul

not to all oul o the views o its members, explicitly banning advertisers whose values are not in

line with its own. In act, the site is as its ounders point out run explicitly or mutual beneft.

Browsing the message boards, on which members can ask questions, invariably demonstrates that

the claims o mutual support are true and it serves an important role or many people. Its power

comes rom its members ability to work together. It is a community that hasnt perhaps had direct

representation in the media in quite such an explicit and inuential way beore - perhaps part o its

massive success.

Sites like Mumsnet are very much issue ocused but where they decide to campaign they have

extensive reach, good media connections and deep brand loyalty rom participants which is why

political party leaders ran chat sessions on Mumsnet prior to the 2010 election. These sites represent

large active networks who can be mobilised on specifc issues or example child saety and could

be a vital part o the overall communications mix or a targeted audience.


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Digital Democracy, Building New Relationships with the Public for PCCs

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