Whitehall goes wiki

Think tank Demos notes what they believe is the first example of a UK government department or quango using a wiki for public consultation. The wiki (essentially a web site that can be edited and added-to by users) is run by the Sustainable Development Commission.
I wish Professor Tim Jackson, SDC Commissioner, every success in leading the debate and really hope it works. I did something a little less ambitious recently, when I used a wiki to develop a policy paper against a tight deadline with a group of professional planners. We got the job done, and it was a terrific way of showing anyone interested how development was going. What was more difficult was getting full use of the system. People would add some comments... or read the wiki and email me. But just as blogs offer a new experience to information consumers - see previous item - observing collaborative wiki writing may bring a new transparency to consultation when time is short and face-to-face difficult. Maybe there should be a "read this and agree" box to tick.
See also How e-consultation can become e-manipulation.