Integrating the Drivers of eParticipation at Regional Level

Acronym of the case:

IDEAL-EU

Web address of the case:

http://www.ideal-eu.net

Country of the case:

France , Greece , Italy , Slovenia , Spain

City/region:

Toscana, Poitou-Charentes, Catalunya

Posting Date:

4 April 2008

Last Edited Date:

16 February 2010

Author:

Angelo Marcotulli (Regional Government of Tuscany)

climate change | Social Networkiing Platform | Town Meeting

Type of initiative

Network
Promotion/awareness campaign

Case Abstract

The IDEAL-EU project has supported the efforts of
the European Parliament to raise awareness on the topic of climate
change and energy among the EU citizens, especially the new
generations, and to propose the appropriate policy responses at all
institutional levels (including Member States and Regions).

Reported impact has been threefold:

An increased visibility of the latest evidence on climate
change policy in the EU, with special respect to the ongoing
initiatives and priorities in the context of â€˜Kyoto IIâ€™
negotiation rounds, at all levels of Regional constituency
(including environmental institutions and agencies, academia and
research centres, the business and civil society, regional and local
public administrations, etc.);
A living experimentation of advanced eParticipation techniques
to elicit the involvement and ensure an informed deliberation of EU
citizens (especially young people) on policy related issues;
An evidence-based and reasonable set of
recommendations to EU Regional Parliaments wanting to integrate
eParticipation in the context of political decision making.

Description of the case

Domain

eGovernment

Topic

eParticipation, eDemocracy and eVoting | Open Source | Policy | Regional and Local

Sector

Environment | Local/Regional Community Development

Date

January 2008 to January 2010

Date operational

January 2008

Target Users

Administrative | Citizen

Target Users Description

The project identified as main target user youth people aged from 14 to 30 years old. The choice was made based on the impact that climate change could have on lives of the next generation. Schools from secondary to high school has been involved.

Scope

Local (city or municipality) | National | Regional (sub-national)

Status

Implementation

Language(s)

English | French | Italian

Other

CatalÃƒÂ

Policy Context and Legal Framework

The year 2007, when the IDEAL-EU
proposal was drafted, marked a turning point in the policy approach
of the EU institutions towards global warming and climate change. In
particular, a clear assumption of leadership was taken on by the
European Parliament in the design of a new set of priorities for the
Member States and the Commission itself. This was done particularly
through the appointment of a Temporary Committee on Climate Change,
chaired by MEP Guido Sacconi. With a cross-party membership of 60
MEPs, one of the Committeeâ€™s key roles was to coordinate the
European Parliament's position ahead of negotiations on a post-2012
climate policy framework and to examine how the EU could respond to
the new â€œKyoto IIâ€ challenges. At the time (August 2007) the
IDEAL-EU proposal was drafted to be evaluated by the European
Commission as a Preparatory Action on eParticipation, a letter of
endorsement was signed by MEP Guido Sacconi, who didnâ€™t only
express his interest in the project, but also promised to circulate
its proceedings to his fellow Committee members, as well as to
evaluate the possibility, during the project, of promoting
â€œoccasions [for the Committee members] to debate with [European]
citizens on the issues of climate changeâ€.

Project Size and Implementation

Type of initiative

Participation

Overall Implementation approach

Public administration

Technology choice

Open source software

Funding source

Public funding EU

Project size

Implementation: €500-999,000

Implementation and Management Approach

The project has been carried out in three main
steps:

By deploying and disseminating in three Regions
of Europe (Toscana â€“ Italy, Poitou Charentes - France and
Catalunya â€“ Spain) an innovative Social Networking Platform
that has allowed the distribution of thematic information and the
realisation of electronic debates, involving Regional citizens and
stakeholders, on the broad topic of climate change and energy in
Europe;

By organising on 15^th November 2008
an Electronic Town Meeting, in three venues simultaneously
(Firenze, Poitiers and Barcelona), to let Regional young people
discuss and vote on the most crucial issues at stake and on the
related recommendations to European policy makers, in particular to
the Temporary Committee on Climate Change, chaired by MEP Guido
Sacconi, whom the deliberation results were handed out three days
later;

By laying the foundations of a European
Network of Participatory Regions, (http://www.demo-part.org)
based on the successful track record of experiences of the three
Administrations involved in the project, but open to a wider
involvement of Regional authorities active on the good practices of
(e-)Participation in Europe.

Technology solution

All the software used is based on OSS and PHP language.

The projectâ€™s first step
consisted of launching a Social
Networking Platform
(www.ideal-debate.eu) in four languages: Catalan, French, Italian,
and English. Background documents on the European policy making
status were kindly provided by the Secretariat of the European
Parliament's Temporary Committee chaired by MEP Guido Sacconi. The
platform was open to all the Internauts who wanted to find
information, share documents, take part in debates, vote for their
favourite point of view and meet other people interested in
combating climate change. This tool was particularly appreciated by
the youngsters who see Internet as an easy and different way to
express themselves.

During the second half of
2008, more than 1000 people from all over the world launched
discussions on 200 different themes they had themselves chosen, such
as new sources of energy, eco-friendly food and transport,
sustainable tourism, waste management, etc. These debates were a big
opportunity for the participants to deepen their knowledge and raise
new questions in the perspective of the Electronic Town Meeting.
They also proved to be a rich source of ideas for the three Regions
in defining the themes to be dealt with during that event.

The Electronic
Town Meeting took place in three
different countries and in seven locations: Catalonia (CornellÃ ),
Toscana (Florence, Follonica, Leghorn, Prato, Abbadia San Salvatore)
and Poitou Charentes (Poitiers). Moreover, an experiment was done
with two â€œvirtual tablesâ€ hosting participants from all over
Europe. These different venues where connected through a
videoconference and streaming communication system, allowing
participants to receive the same information and to discuss and vote
simultaneously about the items of a single agenda.

The debate was structured around two thematic axes and their
different options. The morning session was common to the three
regions and dealt with the issue of climate change and energy in
Europe, including the topics of renewable energy, fossil fuels and
energy consumption reduction. The afternoon session was developed
locally. The participants could express their individual preferences
through an electronic polling system on the different options
related to the topics discussed.

Impact, innovation and results

Impact

Anticipated impact will be threefold:
- An increased visibility of the latest evidence on climate change with a special respect to new and potential developments in the field of fighting against climate change;

- A stronger and more integrated reflection of the European communities of interest (EU and Member State institutions and agencies, academia, business and civil society, local public administrations, etc.) around the environmental, legal, economic, social, public health, geopolitical and regional implications of climate change issues;

- A qualified and reasonable set of proposals coming â€œfrom the bottomâ€ of the European constituency, on the future EUâ€™s climate change policy in the context of Kyoto II negotiation rounds.

Track record of sharing

In close correlation with the activities of the Temporary Committee on Climate Change, a Virtual Town Meeting will be organised at EU level, in the month of November 2008, to let European citizens discuss and vote on the issues at stake and the related recommendations to policy makers.

Lessons learnt

Despite the discussion being
of a general nature, the IDEAL-EU experimentation showed that it is
possible, even in a short time frame, to allow for an effective and
constructive participation of citizens to legislation and policy
making. One of the main projectâ€™s outcomes has been a formal
description and a sustainability analysis of the needed changes in
state-of-the-art decision-making processes, at any level - from the
Regional to the European one - to make appropriate room for
electronic participation.

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