Top-level decisions through public deliberation on the internet

Acronym of the case:

comuno

Web address of the case:

http://comuno.org

Country of the case:

Germany , United Kingdom , North America

Posting Date:

6 February 2009

Last Edited Date:

27 April 2009

Author:

Michael Kaschesky (Swiss Center for Public Management and E-Government)

participation | innovation | Governance

Type of initiative

Project or service

Case Abstract

This case study found internet-enabled public deliberation having a direct impact on top-level decisions and identified institutional mechanisms by which this occurs. Most government initiatives aimed at promoting online deliberation fall short of expectations because they continue to employ the traditional government-to-citizens model. The participatory governance model developed in this study presents design and process parameters along which more integrative and interactive participatory approaches can be modeled. The applicability of the propositions is demonstrated by systematically collecting online data and analyzing public deliberation on the governance of a worldwide software standard. Self-selection of participants and opposing views, mutual adjustment, and high influence combined with incremental decision-making were shown to be critical for institutionalizing a broadly supported governance approach.

In order to understand better how the co-evolution of internet and democracy can be improved, the present study investigates the following research questions: (1) does internet-enabled public deliberation have an impact on top-level decision-making and (2) are there discernible patterns or mechanisms by which public deliberation is incorporated into top-level decision-making?

The case developed and tested a novel ICT-driven methodology for identifying and tracing processes of public opinion-forming and mobilization on the internet. Deliberation occurred in the natural environment of participants. It demonstrates how processes of opinion-forming and mobilization on the internet were incidental with changes to the Java governance approach. The methodological approach used a combination of quantitative and qualitative coding techniques to systematically identify and analyze relevant sources on the internet.

Based on the unique combination of codes from each dimension attached to statements, 12 major groups of combinations (themes) were identified. This made it possible to trace the dominance of themes over time as well as the key participants supporting themes at different points in time. Comparing the evolution of themes with key outcomes allowed linking processes of opinion-forming to key decisions and actions by corporate actors. Application and testing using a real-life incident of internet-enabled deliberation and negotiation proved the feasibility of the methodology and ICT-toolset for tracing and structuring internet-content.

DOWNLOAD LINK: Top-level decisions through public deliberation on the internet: Evidence from the evolution of Java governance

ePractice Library

Description of the case

Domain

eGovernment

Topic

Efficiency & Effectiveness, Benchmarking | eParticipation, eDemocracy and eVoting | Policy

Sector

Communication (infrastructure) | Other

Date

January 1998 to August 2006

Date operational

January 2009

Target Users

Administrative | Business (SME) | Citizen | Civil society | Intermediaries

Target Users Description

The target group of the case study are decision-makers interested in identifying the opportunities that participative approaches to decision-making yield in terms of user-generated innovation and stakeholder buy-in.

Scope

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

Status

Research

Language(s)

English

Policy Context and Legal Framework

The idea that public deliberation and civic engagement are vital for democracy is probably as old as democracy. The idea that internet-enabled public deliberation and participation are vital for democracy is probably as old as the internet. For example, studies found that politically active citizens view internet information and communication as encouraging civic engagement [26]. Since the early 1990s, online community networks have formed around broader issues of public interest and local decision-making [32]. Yet, co-evolution of internet and democracy is nowhere near that of internet and business or social life. Political philosophers and computer professionals identify similar objectives: reinvigorating democracy requires commitment to the public sphere [22] [32]. This commitment appears to be lacking, not with the constituency but with those responsible for listening to it [23] [34].

Long before corporations discovered the internet for business, online pioneers used internet platforms for deliberation and participation around issues of public interest and local decision-making. The online community networks of the early 1990s featured the following characteristics [32]:

Community of interest â€“ participants are motivated by common goals, so participants have a stake in the process.

Reciprocal interaction â€“ content is created by a large number of contributors, thereby decentralizing publishing.

Equal access â€“ large numbers of participants are able to participate, thus lowering barriers of entry.

Modifiable platforms â€“ users to design or co-design interfaces or services, thus increasing personalization.

How much progress has been made since the early 90s of the last century? Where are the ICT-tools â€œheralding a new era for democracyâ€ [4, p.40]?

REFERENCES PDF: Top-level decisions through public deliberation on the internet: Evidence from the evolution of Java governance

ePractice Library

Project Size and Implementation

Type of initiative

Participation

Overall Implementation approach

Private sector

Technology choice

Mainly (or only) open standards | Open source software

Funding source

Public funding national

Project size

Implementation: €49-299,000

Yearly cost:

€1-49,000

Implementation and Management Approach

The approach chosen for the present case employs a novel methodology developed around discourse tracking known from media and communications studies and digital ethnography (data collection via digital "footprints").

Technology solution

The novel methodology introduced and proven in a doctoral research project combines existing quantitative and qualitative approaches with a specifically developed database tool to track and code internet-retrieved content.

Impact, innovation and results

Impact

a) feeds into existing approaches for modelling and retrieving internet-based content; b) currently at completion stage, c) dissemination of results via conferences and peer-reviewed journals; d) novel methodology combines existing technologies with a specifically developed database tool to track and code internet-retrieved content; e) replication to other areas of internet-enabled collective problem-solving processes f) currently at completion stage g) cooperation targeted to other relevant initiatives h) partnerships being developed with other relevant initiatives

Track record of sharing

Dissemination of results occurs via conferences and peer-reviewed journals as well as research comunity websites.

Lessons learnt

The research presented here investigated whether internet-enabled public deliberation has an impact on top-level decision-making and whether there are discernible patterns or mechanisms by which this occurs. The analysis identified a comprehensive overlap between content of prominent themes and of top-level decisions suggesting that online deliberation had a direct impact on top-level decision-making. Analysis further presented comprehensive evidence that, except for direct participation in decision-making, all of the design and process parameters were evident. In particular, the present research provides evidence that problem-solving characterized by

self-selection of participants and multiple opposing views,

mutual adjustment between positions, and

high influence combined with incremental decision-making

at least approximates the best possible outcome.

A direct impact of public deliberation on decision-making was observable, but that impact depended on top-level decision-makers incorporating the inputs. This carries important corollaries for government initiatives on internet-enabled consultation and participation. First, the present study suggests that online political engagement is not only popular but that it also accomplishes tangible results. It thus confirms other findings suggesting that the internet in general â€“ as a public sphere â€“ provides incentives for political engagement [19]. But political engagement occurs across the internet, not necessarily on government websites. Second, the present study suggests that if top-level decision-makers listen to and engage with constituents on an equal level, as the executives of global corporations did, lasting and optimal decision outcomes can be reached.

In the present case, deliberation and mobilization not only had an indirect impact on top-level decision-making by shaping the agenda and mounting supporting pressure. Even more importantly, internet-enabled deliberation and mobilization led to the adoption of a participatory and community-led governance approach.

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Patrick Lismore

Patrick Lismore, Rate Your Politician

02 March 2009 | 4199 Visits | Rating: No votes

I was reading your Case, the project sounded Interesting is there anywhere I can I more about the project. It sounds like something that could be useful for visualising data across several of my country web sites.

Michael Kaschesky

Visualising data across web sites

27 April 2009 | 0 Visit | Rating: No votes

I had a look at r8yourpolitician.uk and you are already using a basic taxonomy ("Issues") to organize your users posts. The issues in your case are the themes in the comuno case. You can track and visualize who of your users are posting under what issues and how issues become more or less prominent over time. To express and visualize these relationships we used social network analysis (SNA). In the comuno case, we feeded data into the SNA tool "by hand". Of course for real-time visualization you want to automate the task, perhaps across your websites. This brings out the underlying *pattern* and how it changes over time. It does not "explain" anything, it just shows relationships. It is then up to the community to interpret the network graphs. The comuno case is part of a PhD-project that is being finalized now. So expect more information sometime in April, most likely under *Recent projects* at http://comuno.org/communities/cross/good-governance PS: I keep the group updated about availability of the full report

UPDATE 26-APR-09

reply

04 March 2009 | 0 Visit | Rating: No votes

Thanks for the reply will look forward to reading more about your work in the future.

Simon Smith

comuno - what kind of deliberation?

13 February 2009 | 4785 Visits | Rating: 5 (maximum:5)

Sounds like an interesting project, Michael, although from reading your description I'm not quite clear how you defined the field, i.e. what kind of public deliberation or problem-solving exercises did the study encompass?

Re: comuno - what kind of deliberation?

27 April 2009 | 0 Visit | Rating: 5 (maximum:5)

Simon, thank you for prompting clarification about defining the field. The comuno case was interested in tracking internet-enabled processes of opinion-forming and mobilization regarding the fundamental changes in the governance of the Java software standard. The focus was on players involved in application server software, because it was in this context where calls to open-up Java and its governance surfaced prominently. Therefore, the field includes all players with an interest or stake in the evolution of Java application server software. How did we define who had an interest, i.e. who was a stakeholder or â€œkey participantâ€? Stakeholders were those who featured most prominently across the set of web pages retrieved through the initial Google search for â€œopen source Javaâ€. This approach is equivalent to self-selection in participation models, where â€“ if unmediated â€“ the most vocal groups dominate. The approach appears feasible given that we were interested in how the discourse on opening Java and its governance developed on the internet. The stakeholders included in the case were, for example, Java owner Sun, opensource newcomers JBoss and Lutris, incumbent firms BEA and IBM, as well as opensource groups such as the Apache Software Foundation and the Open-Source Initiative. While opensource-skeptical incumbents were prominently represented, opensource-skeptical Java programmers remained marginal. One conclusion could be that this group was therefore unable to influence deliberation and negotiation about the Java governance model.

comuno | governance | innovation | participation

Structuring unstructured data

13 February 2009 | 0 Visit | Rating: 5 (maximum:5)

What struck me was that you seemed to be re-creating a deliberation exercise among a sort of topical community (the Java websphere) as it had been 'discussing' your chosen problem over an extended time period, rather than working with, or setting up, a 'real' group. I think this approach has wide applicability in the eParticipation field, where there are a lot of very poorly connected arenas for discussion, most of which are not integrated into policy-making processes at all. Turning that 'unstructured data' into the sort of structured data that could inform decision-making is something I see as a crucial challenge.

Using existing platforms to inform formal policy-making

You`re absolutely right.. the idea was to track *existing* public deliberations across a broad range of internet platforms - not to create a platform and wait for users to make policy. There are already platforms and processes of solving collective problems (i.e. of political work). For us, the challenge is to utilize the power of the social web for informing (and legitimating) more formal policy-making processes.

comuno | participation | innovation | governance