Beyond communications:

Engagement through to democracy

LG Comms Annual ConferenceJune 2014

Catherine Howe, Chief Executive Public-i

My area of interest is in using the social web to do democratic things – my research explores digital civic space. I also run Public-i where we build some of these ideas – and webcast A LOT of council meetings.

Increasingly I am interested in digital leadership and the skills we need to work effectively in the network society

I am also part of the team trying to build NHS Citizen

@curiousc

http://www.public-i.info/blog

Who am I to be telling you this?

Some background

Austerity

Everything is changing

+

We need to change everything

Everything is changing

+

We need to change everything

Social Change

Aging population

Democratic deficit

Political parties are shrinking

Climate change

Technological innovation

3AM worries!

Welcome to the Network Society

Networks as the dominant social structure

http://blog.socialflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/kony-early-network.jpg

Networked

Participatory Culture and a Network Society

Collaborating

ParticipatingSharing

Creating

Connecting

This is the world of Generation Y: The

millennial generation

The networked individual

Open by default: this is open not just in terms of information but also in terms of thinking and decision making

Digitally native: not in terms of age but in terms of the individual adopting the behaviours and social norms of the digital culture

Co-productive: an expectation that everyone in the conversation has power to act and the potential to be active in the outcome as well as the decision-making process

And as the name says, networked: able to be effective via networked as well as hierarchical power as a leader, to blur boundaries and to work across groups

The qualities of Democracy in a Network Society

Why democracy?

Disintermediation: People want action

http://occupylondon.org.uk

No-one is in charge

Decisions are negotiated

Objectives are contested

They are highly networked and agile

Is this intelligence or community policing?

Occupy

Change.org Youth Petitions

We have become brands made up of

many voices

We limit ourselves by simply considering changes to the way we communicate

Do we have shared values?

Do we even have shared language?

What do we mean by Digital?

Disintermediation

Can we really maintain 4 relationships with the citizen?

Communications Engagement

Consultation Politcians

The range of networked behaviours

Communicative Tell people what you have done

We have developed a model of networked councillor behaviours

Collaborative Discuss with people what you are doing

Co-productive Agree with people what you could do together

How do we shift this dynamic?

How do we explore the art of the possible?

Service Redesign Change the system not the process

How do we create a networked organisation?

Look outsideMany professions are addressing this issue themselves

Talk to the members This is a democratic issue

Our working assumption, explored in this work, is that:

a more networked society will need a more Networked Councillor

- able to represent and respond to people acclimatized to a collaborative and networked way of decision-making and taking action.

WHAT!!!

Talk to members!!!!

Citizens do not need us to organise them

What could digital civic space look like?

Networks….of networks

Society not Technology

Digital Civic Space

Open

Co-productive

Place defined by Citizens

Representative

Public

Change our democratic model

ParticipatoryHigh levels of participation at the hyperlocal level

What would networked democracy look like?

DeliberativeMore deliberative approaches for shared problems

Direct representation Direct representation for wicked issues

Different skills are needed

An understanding of networked power

Collaboration skills

Co-design skills

Social media ‘social’ skills

An adequate understanding of the basic lexicon of digital

Horizon scanning and research

Data skills

Digital commissioning

Agile project management

Cultural Practical

As we figure out this stuff within communications as a profession: How do we create a robust evidence base that means we don’t have to keep

having the same discussions again and again? Should everyone be responsible for reputation management? What does a multi voice brand look like? How do we ensure that all staff share the organisational values and understand

that our brand is our message How do we create skills for digital leaders?

How do we keep learning?

There is not magic bullet

Will we just communicate with the public or collaborate with them?

Catherine Howecatherine.howe@public-i.info

Thank you for your time