eParticipation in Bristol Anna McDermott Consultation and Research

Overview Overview of the tools used in the ASK Bristol e- participation programme Examples of crowdsourcing to inform budgeting Where we are going

Live blogging Crowd sourcing Social media (2010) E-bulletin ASK Bristol (wordpress) You tube Webcasting (2007) Neighbourhood e-forums E-petitions (2004) Online surveys Consultation Finder Interactive voting Developing a range of tools

Tapping into the wisdom of the crowd Online brain storming A way of identifying solutions / issues Shared problem solving Are you ready? Twitter, FB, bulletins, build contact lists Culture ready? What is crowd sourcing?

Why we wanted to try it : Source ideas and solutions from the crowd Develop understanding of issues Facilitate discussion between citizens Bring new people and fresh thinking to problems Early engagement It’s my Bristol

Challenge: Save 20% of budget over 4 years Council Leader – raise understanding / get suggestions from public Council members got involved 4385 views / 600 suggestions grouped in to 70 themes Bristol’s Budget Conversation

Cllr Rogers on his participation in the Budget Conversation

Critical success factors Chose the right platform for your crowd sourcing Use it early / right stage Made up your mind / seeking confirmation Clear presentation of the issue Getting the message out / maintaining interest Key players joining in Closing the loop - feedback Crowd engagement

The future is hyper-local Community websites to our 14 NP areas Recruiting community moderators and content providers Broad appeal: events, community news, not just NP business Strong social media presence: Flickr, Twitter, Facebook Community run

Neighbourhood level Participatory budgeting £15,000 of well-being money in a neighbourhood Live, work, study or just interested First e-participatory budgeting pilot 537 users / 397 comments / 60 ideas Will continue to pilot this approach

Getting the message out….

Social media, feeds and widgets Social media lets your content travel Citizens to promote their participation to their friends Join in the conversations where they are happening We use Twitter and facebook to post consultations, e- petitions, citizen ideas, webcasts Feeds – auto-updating – Google Feedburner Widgets – help promote, and link consultation tools together Our e-bulletin is still important

Time resources Set up Software / hosting costs Moderation time Presentation of the issue Participation in discussion Promotion Analysis Giving feedback

Choosing tools: Things to look out for… Are there free tools that offer what you need? Social media integration – content travelling Easy log-in – capture additional info? Established tool or new one? Comment and discuss - voting/rating comments / ideas Moderation facilities – pre/post moderation User generated content e.g. photos Ease of participation

Offline is still important Bristol’s Citizens’ Panel paper surveys Neighbourhood forum meetings where people can go and raise issues in their local area Public displays and drop in sessions in local neighbourhoods for big consultation issues Council working with partners to develop skills for the digitally excluded and give access to second hand computer equipment

Looking to the future Neighbourhood / hyper local sites Mobile internet access – smart phones and tablets – ensure your sites work well on these Social media for social good Co production, volunteers, pledges

Thank you for listening