1. on-line forums: a strategy for community engagement Nancy Averill, Director of Research Ann Dale, Trudeau Fellow CRC in Sustainable Community Development Professor, Royal Roads University

2. Why is dialogue so important? messy, wicked problems no-one is an expert beyond any one sector, jurisdiction to solve interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary lost capacity for ‘shared meaning’in communities

3. 6-year RRU Research Program 1.Can the Internet be used for substantive dialogue? 2.Can the Internet be used to enhance literacy? 3.Can the Internet be used to inform public policy?

4. Public Forums Research Salons E-Dialogues E-dialogue Research Social Capital & Sustainable Development Electronic Library and Publishing Non-timber Forest Products

5. What is an e-Dialogue? synchronous (real-time) conversations bringing the best minds together on-line interdisciplinary space deliberative dialogue with e-audiences actively moderated living archive

6. www.e-Dialogues.ca research e-Dialogues student-led e-Dialogues professional e-Dialogues Scientists for the Future Post-Kyoto Public Forum variant, Post- Kyoto Forum

7. Level of Engagement Total visits to e-Dialogues website 14000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

8. Level of Engagement geographical outreach Canada, USA, Mexico, Australia, UK, USA Military, Holland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, South Africa

9. Level of Interactivity Level of e-Dialogue Interactivity (NWMO) e-DialogueRisk, Uncertainty and the Management of Nuclear Waste Decision-Making under Conditions of Risk and Uncertainty # of experts6 (including moderator)5 (including moderator) # of posts12574 Average post per expert20.814.8 Average pacepost every 58 secpost every 1 min, 37 sec

10. What worked? engaged, meaningful dialogue critical reflection capacity for more lateral thinking data collection method for students living archive continuing visits to the site evidence of ongoing dialogue and new connections

11. What didn’t work? age barrier (typing, reading on-line) public conversation engagement of public policy community new dominance patterns

12. Questions? level of diversity captured e-format and frankness privacy legislation impacts real-time versus any-time dominance and conflict tyranny of expertise

13. Benefits of On-Line Engagement independent of place cost-effective interdisciplinary dialogue scale-free networks inclusivity and diversity enlargement of the public sphere potential to re-engage youth

14. The Future e-research collaboratives potential e-peer review new e-communities of practice deliberative polling and deliberative democracy

15. Three e-spaces exist, e-dialogues. research salons and public forums. All three are designed to work in different ways but all contribute to the research agenda of knowledge diffusion; literacy around critical public policy issues, in particular sustainable development; and e-life-long learning. All three spaces work synergistically together towards public engagement (or mobilization) and are designed to work iteratively back and forth, in possible combination with multi- media events, such as round tables, multistakeholder processes, television and radio. All are complimentary and in concert contribute to creating a new kind of civic research and literacy using leading-edge internet communications technologies (ICTs).