Paper presented at: To blog or not blog? Government and Citizen e-Participation May 2009, by Dr Peter Chen, Government and International Relations, Sydney University.

1. To blog or not blog? Government and Citizen e-Participation
Electronic Engagement in the
Contemporary Public Sector
Dr Peter John Chen
Government &International Relations, Sydney University

2. Electronic engagement, definition
The use of Information Communication
Technologies (ICTs) by the public sector
to improve, enhance and expand the
engagement of the public in policy-
making processes.

3. New media impacts, McLuhan
“… the personal and social
consequences of any medium - that
is, of any extension of ourselves -
result from the new scale that is
introduced into our affairs by each
extension of ourselves, or by any new
technology.”

4. Some perspective, people
Source: McAllister & Clark, Australian Election Study

5. While on the other hand…

6. Positioning statements
• The specter of the “ladder” metaphor
• The problem of panaceas
• Forget everything you know about engagement
• Obsolescence is not failure
• “To blog or not to blog” … is that the question?

7. The questions
• What is the issue(s)?
• Who are the audience(s)?
• Extent participative?
• What objectives do we have for this activity?
• How interactive will this process be?
• Which is the right channel to use?

8. Conceptual schema, management styles
Example activities
Little / no
government Cyber-activism or Trans- Alternative Blogging ‘Listening’
Lobbying parency Journalism
steering Networks
Role
Nature of
Programmatic Semi- Online Dispute Citizen Juries or Co-Production Local content
Approach structured Resolution Deliberative (electronic Creation
Conferencing governance) Programs
‘Cultivating’
Role
Electronic Voting Online User or Electronic Internet
Focused in Elections Community Discussion Lists Access
Surveys Programs
Highly Diffused or
Specific Specificity of Outcome (intention) generalised
‘Steering’ Role

9. Implications
• If you’re not formally undertaking this activity,
you’re already doing it ad hoc
– Learn from previous technology adoptions
– Find your “leaders”
• Triangular relationship between:
– Engagement goals and objectives
– Communications channels (media)
– Management styles
• Management styles are not always mutually
exclusive
– Engagement “transitions”
– “Duel track” activities

10. The political “barrier”
The classic problem of cultivation and
listening approaches is they sit on the
boundary with agenda setting which
political elites jealously guard
... while publics often resent framing.

11. Pre-participation schema

12. International and domestic lessons
• Identify stakeholders and their objectives
– Authorizing environment
– “Publics”
– Be instrumental
– These people can help you
• Plan
– Short and long term
– Preparation
– Contingencies and options (implications for platform selection)
• It’s always a “hard launch”
– High exposure
– Quick cycling
• Reflexivity
– Be reflexive about your reflexivity
– Fight for good performance metrics
• Watch the close out

13. Some enduring recommendations
• Information society
– Web accessibility and storage
– Provision of information in “raw” form
– Licensing government data for public interest
– Use of syndication
• Engagement practice
– Short-termism
– Conventional consultation
– Citizen-to-citizen communication
• Capacity building
– Engagement and skills transfer
– Electronic democracy co-ordinating body
– Consultation portal

14. Electronic Engagement: A Guide
for Public Sector Managers
http://epress.anu.edu.au/engage_citation.html
Dr Peter John Chen
peter.chen@usyd.edu.au