1. GitPolicy
CONSENSUS-BUILDING THROUGH POLICY DESIGN
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2.  Open-source software to help people involved
in a common task achieve their goals
 Content management and version control
system
 Manage workflow in a collaborative
environment
 Structure according to the needs of the users
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3. GitPolicy
 Inclusive platform for collaborative policy design
 Synergistic with executive/legislative leadership
 Access opened beyond traditional elite/vested
interests
 Results-oriented process; shared commitment to
achieving an outcome
 Consensus is goal
 Differences are accepted and captured
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4. Crowdsourcing
 Left | State Innovation Exchange
 Right | American Legislative Exchange Council
 Elites and Special Interests | Paid advocates for
individual, group, issue and corporate interests
 Digital citizens | Coming together for shared
experience in policy crafting
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5. GitPolicy Pilot:
Nuclear Waste
REBUILDING A CONSENSUS-FOCUSED SOLUTION FOR MANAGING AND
DISPOSING OF AMERICA’S NUCLEAR WASTE
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6. Purpose
 Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) proposed as proof-of-
concept
 The goal is to recapture a 1982-like national consensus
 Generate specific provisions for amending the NWPA
 Consensus provisions will have demonstrated broad-
based support
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7. Participants | Stakeholders
 Anyone or organization who can promote, impede, or
block siting of a nuclear waste storage or disposal facility
 Potentially influential at national, state, tribal, regional,
transportation corridor, and/or community levels
 Transportation corridor “stakeholders” are integral to a
national solution
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8. Rich Source Materials | File Sharing
 Draft legislation and Congressional record promulgated
by committees or members of Congress
 Conclusions from corporate and non-governmental
sectors
 Report of the Blue Ribbon Commission for America’s
Nuclear Future
 Extensive stakeholder input
 International lessons learned, such as Sweden, Finland,
France and Canada
 Any other relevant primary or secondary sources
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9. Steps 9

10. Summary
 Processes of government are slow and log-jammed
 Partisanship, ideology and special interests are factors
 Technology can disrupt the routine and break inertia
 NWPA is prime for disruption through solution-focused
collaboration
 GitHub-- as the drafting platform -- offers a proof-of-
concept opportunity
 Process is iterative and builds on historical analyses and
previous legislative attempts
 GitPolicy also appears ripe for use in rulemaking and
regulation formation
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