The Health Canada Policy Toolkit for Public Involvement in Decision
Making
Level 3 Technique:
Computer-Assisted Participation II: Interactive World Wide Web/Electronic Conferencing
What Is It?
The World Wide Web is a major component of the Internet, originally
designed to foster global interaction and shared knowledge.
The range of interactive applications on the World Wide Web and
the Internet is limited only by citizens' ability to define their
communication and information needs, and by the creativity with
which those needs are met. A specific interactive tool can be designed
to serve a geographic community, or a virtual community defined
by a common issue or area of concern.
Websites and other interactive tools can be used to disseminate
information rapidly, collect responses within hours or days, and
mobilize large numbers of citizens around common concerns - particularly
if the individuals involved have already expressed interest in
the issue or in a related topic. This quick response can be extremely
helpful in laying the foundation for a more formal deliberative
process, such as a citizens' panel or a deliberative voting exercise.
Electronic communication tools can also be used to educate members
of geographic or virtual communities on specific issues, when a
public involvement process allows time to develop an online presence,
publicize it extensively using a variety of targeted media (both
electronic and conventional), and gradually build up a large group
of repeat visitors. Websites can also include opportunities for
visitors to sign up for online discussion groups or list servers,
which enable them to receive information more frequently and play
a more active role in framing or exploring an issue.
Specific World Wide Web and electronic conferencing tools include:
- Online conferences, discussion groups and list servers, allowing
neighbourhoods and communities of interest to share information
and resources
- Interactive learning tools, including affordable distance education
programs and personalized or informal learning packages
- Educational games, usually requiring participants to gather
knowledge or information in order to complete a challenge or
quest
- Community maps, virtual tours and online trade shows, in which
participants visit a website that may combine photography, graphic
art, audio, video clips or three-dimensional settings to represent
a real-life location or event.
- A diverse and rapidly expanding network of websites, bibliographies,
digital libraries, indexing tools, online newsletters and electronic
magazines (e-zines), and news summaries, many of which provide
valuable, reliable information at no cost to anyone with access
to the Internet.
How It Works
The first step in using World Wide Web or electronic conferencing
techniques is to become familiar with the technology, how it works
and how it is currently used. To get started, you'll need an email
account with Internet access - depending on your organization,
you can make arrangements either through your in-house system administrator
or contact a private Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Libraries, bookstores and the Internet itself are full of cutting-edge
resources on electronic conferencing that will be out of date three
to six months after you obtain them. Anyone contemplating a public
involvement exercise that includes an online component should consider
the following steps:
- Arrange online access, if you haven't already done so.
- Briefly scan a current guide to online resources to ensure
that you understand the basic process of logging on and navigating
the Internet.
- Visit at least a selection of the public involvement websites
listed in this toolkit to get a hands-on snapshot of what other
practitioners are doing to build electronic components into their
community strategies.
- Define the online presence and techniques that make the most
sense for the specific process that you are undertaking, bearing
in mind the geographic scope and duration of the exercise, the
technical proficiency and online access of the target audience(s)
and any partners in the process, and the likely role of interactive
media alongside more traditional public involvement techniques.
For specialized services, such as computer-assisted voting linked
to a website, you will likely have to call upon outside resources.
For somewhat less complex tasks, such as designing a website with
a limited degree of audience interaction, you will likely be able
to arrange in-house or in-kind support. You may find that learning
to do the work yourself is easier and faster than you think.
When Is It Most Useful?
Interactive media allow facilitators and participants to share
information, quickly and effectively, without the controls or delays
traditionally imposed by gatekeepers or intermediaries. Participants
in a deliberative process can take part in an ongoing discussion
at their own convenience, rather than agreeing to meet for a limited
time at a specific location. Interactive media can be used to generate
broader interest in a topic, since a single message can conceivably
reach thousands of readers in a matter of hours.
The anonymity of online fora can disguise or reduce the immediacy
of surface differences that often hinder live communication, such
as social position, physical impairment, gender or ethnocultural
origin.
Logistics and Limits
The logistics behind technically simple interactive techniques
are straightforward for anyone with access to email and/or the
Internet. Programming expertise is required for educational games
and other tools that involve specialized scripts and minute-to-minute
feedback. Any public involvement plan that relies on the collection
or dissemination of electronic information must allow sufficient
time for thoughtful collection, analysis and synthesis of that
information - and a reasonable budget for any paid staff time that
may be required.
Cost Implications
The cost of interactive media depends on the complexity of each
specific tool, and on the amount and quality of individualized
design required to develop it.
Expectation for Feedback or Follow-up
The opportunity to interact directly with other stakeholders and
with decision makers encourages many participants, especially those
who are most active in a deliberative process, to expect regular
written updates and tangible outcomes as a result of their involvement.
Timelines
The shelf life of an interactive tool depends on the public involvement
process of which it is a part, and on the frequency with which
it is updated. If a website is out of date, and there is no
opportunity to revise it, it is far better to remove it from the
Internet than to give the impression that an ongoing initiative
is frozen in time. A website can be updated or deleted by
obtaining the appropriate password from an in-house system administrator
or private Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Potential Pitfalls
As noted elsewhere in this toolkit, the effectiveness of any online
participation tool is limited by participants' access to and comfort
with email and the Internet, and by their literacy skills. As well,
the anonymity associated with online communication can encourage
distribution of false, misleading or malicious content. The immediate,
dispersed character of Internet communication requires users to
develop more cautious habits - a message posted in a moment of
anger or confusion might be distributed (and redistributed) across
the country or around the world, with serious repercussions for
the individual, his or her organization, and the overall process
within which the discussion takes place. Finally, online resources
can be difficult to find and almost impossible to prioritize without
at least minimal search skills and experience.
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