Online participation

Remember: The internet will not replace all the other ways government agencies relate to people, and better technology alone does not guarantee better participation.

The State Services Commission's Guide to Online Participation for government agencies is the most comprehensive New Zealand guidance on this topic.

It includes local examples of online participation led by government, and is itself a result of using these techniques - having been produced using a wiki.

The State Services Commission's Guide to Online Participation: When Government Engages includes case studies of several Kiwi examples of government using the online environment to seek greater input from communities.

Online participation techniques include websites, email, chat rooms, shared workspaces and wiki. Ideally, whatever is available online should also be available in hard-copy, but as more interaction and discussion happens online, the best you might be able to do is provide a hard copy summary.

• Feedback and submissions: can be made online using forms, questionnaires, or email.
• Full documentation on the Web: you can post all consultation documents on websites (newzealand.govt.nz and your own agency's), including supporting and background documents, submission summaries and raw submissions.
• E-zines: keep people up-to-date by sending regular email news about a participation exercise.
• Online hearings, civic conferences or other special events: you can invite a government minister, local authority councillor or policymaker to interact with the public for a set time.
• Dialogue with specific audiences: you can approach targeted audiences both online and offline to participate in discussion.
• Shared workspaces and wiki where people can collaborate online and edit or comment on material produced by others.

From the all-of-government web portal, the public can now find out what government is consulting on, find their way to government services and information, find their MP online, find important documents about what Parliament is discussing and how to make submissions to its committees, and view legislation online. You can even search ALL government websites from the site, so the chances of the public finding your website are better than ever!

There is no single success factor for using the internet effectively. Online participation is just another technique for involvement – lessons from the real world apply online.

To engage people online, the issues need to be broadcast widely and the facts stated clearly. Technical problems can be off-putting. Be certain that tools work as you expect – before going live – and have support on hand.

If you do regular consultations, consider setting up an RSS feed to notify interested people of new opportunities automatically. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a standard format for automating news feeds for syndication. It allows summaries of web content, together with links to the full versions, to be e-mail to people or displayed automatically on newzealand.govt.nz or other websites.

• Don't rely exclusively on the internet as not everyone uses it.
• Provide multiple opportunities for citizens to have input. Use a simple poll, a questionnaire or a blank page to collect feedback.
• Integrate online opportunities with other activities. Give high visibility to your site in all marketing material.
• Have a permanent place on your site where people can provide feedback.
• Don't leave online discussion to prospective contributors – line up facilitators before you start.
• Writing for the web is different from writing for print – use concise, objective language.
• Allow for resources to maintain information on your website and respond to feedback accordingly.

Online participation is still in its early days. When using online techniques remember that:

• People expect websites to be up-to-date, reliable, relevant, accessible and trustworthy.
• People expect quick responses to electronic communication.
• People are quite impatient when reading web pages.
• There is a potential for email overload.

As in any form of consultation or participation, you need to carefully manage expectations, be realistic about what you can deliver and set appropriate budgets.

The State Services Commission-led E-government Strategy goal is to transform government operations by 2010 through the use of technology. This will mean that policy processes and service design and delivery will undergo significant changes as the demand for participation increases.

The E-Government Participation Project is examining the scope for e-government to improve the opportunities for public and businesses to participate in government. As part of the project, workshops are held regularly to explore related topics and complement the The Guide to Online Participation. 

The New Zealand Government Web Guidelines are a standard for public sector websites. The major focus of the guidelines is accessibility – removing impediments to online access to government information.   Accessible websites can be used by people regardless of disability, use of the latest technology or the availability of fast internet connections.