My friends at Involve today launched their excellent pamphlet Post Party Politics ... OK, I'm biased as co-author of one chapter .... and also a splendid new website designed by social software specialists Headshift. Involve is only six months old as an independent outfit, fostered by the Environment Council, but is already establishing itself as a major influence in the field of participation. Having Geoff Mulgan as chair, and a distinguished board of practitioners helps ... but I must pay tribute to the indomitable director Richard Wilson pictured here encouraging us to finish up the nibbles (sorry Richard, all the other pics were a bit blurry). His youthful enthusiasm for the subject almost overcomes my tired old mutterings that much participation isn't working, and he says he is converted to engagement version 2.0. As he writes in a forward to the pamphlet:
Involve believes that for government to maintain its democratic legitimacy and efficacy it must go back to basics and start with the people. Whether they are community activists, strategic operators, time poor housewives or disenfranchised students, the government must be able to connect with these people, wherever they are. It is only through this process of connection that government can understand its citizens and serve them properly. Too often the method of establishing a connection, e.g. party reform, has been prioritised over a wider discussion of the politics for making that connection meaningful and effective. Lee Bryant and David Wilcox discuss the challenge in reference to the oft heralded savior of democratic renewal, e-democracy.
They make the point that simply providing technology to do old government online is inadequate. But what does work is understanding what relationships (connections if you like) are required and seeing if technology can support them.
Different people will always want to be engaged and connected differently. Some prefer meeting in church halls or conference centres some community centres, the pub or new digital spaces online.
Or indeed at launch event. The do was a great opportunity to make new connections, and was delighted to meet Paulie of Never Trust a Hippy . Paulie drops insightful comments on to some of my items and I can return the compliment by referring to his Dialogue item. He addresses the question of the difficulty many people find in communicating with those around them.
Here's an experiment that everyone can try at home. Ask someone that you deal with regularly (friend, neighbour, colleague etc) to get in touch with someone else (anyone!) to explain / ask / query something.
Almost every time, your request will not be carried out. Not because of laziness or poor faith, but because most people will not admit that they are nervous about communication.
Phone them up" you say. Promises are made. A day later, "oh, they weren't in". "Send an e-mail" you say. The excuses lengthen. Contact is never made. Where it is, little by way of useful information changes hands. Often, the problem isn't the person you have asked to initiate contact - it is the person who is contacted that is unwilling to engage.
This has an uncanny resonance with the issues I was discussing earlier in the day with Paul Slater and Nick Booth. Both were at the Involve event ... I must find if they talked to Paulie. If not, I have their email addresses so it is easy to do a bit of practical Engagement 2.0 online.
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