Tobi Edler

U.S. General Services Administration

Tobi EdlerIntergovernmental Solutions Liaison

GSA Office of Citizen Services and Communicationstobi.edler@gsa.gov

Engaging Citizens in Government

Katie Stanton, the new U.S. director of Citizen Participation, asks:

• How do we use the aggregate input to create efficiencies and stronger policy decisions?

• How do we sift through thousand of comments to understand what citizens are telling us?

• How do we create engagement platforms that have a low barrier to entry, so that everyone can participate?

• How do we ensure every American can participate, and will want to participate in the process?

Creating a Participatory Government

Digital Engagement in the UK

National Dialogues Build Communities

“Getting 13 million people to agree to pull the lever on one day for one guy is very different

than getting 13 million people to agree on what healthcare reform should be...”

Andrew Rasiej, founder

Personal Democracy Forum

A Reality Check on Online Participation

Reinventing “We the People”

AmericaSpeaks: Principles for Citizen Engagement

Estonia, a Baltic nation that was once a part of the Soviet Union, has created a Web-based e-participation portal that promotes active citizen engagement in the national legislative process.

11,000 people (among a nation of 1.3 million) convened on brainstorming sessions to discuss common problems and support each other in achieving common goals.

My better Estonia

E-DemocraciaThe Brazilian House of Representatives recently launched the e-Democracia project to engage citizens in the legislative process. The e-Democracia site provides video, survey, and wiki tools, and allows the creation of topic focused social networks.

Participatory Budgeting In La Plata, Argentina participatory budgeting started with 40 face-to-face deliberative meetings. When electronic ballots and text messaging options were added participation increased nine fold.

South America

PDAs Document Potholes to Fix Streets

3 winning plans are fairer than the existing congressional districts

Ohio Redistricting

A citizen-centered approach to engagement necessitates that organizations not just plug into those they engage but empower them to

create change.

A Millennial Mode of Civic Engagement