CitizenScape - eParticipation in Legislation Implementation
CitizenScape is a citizen-driven initiative that will provide tools, applications and services that empower citizens to contribute to legislative and decision-making processes and address the implementation of EU initiated legislation by Local Authorities. CitizenScape will involve key stakeholders, i.e. actors from both civil society and public institutions in a shared environment that is moderated and managed by the Local Authority.
CitizenScape will integrate and test state-of-the-art Web 2.0 social networking ICT-based tools and solutions in a socially purposeful way in concrete legislative and decision-making processes - specifically looking at engaging Citizens to debate and participate in the implementation of EU environmental legislation at a local level. It will define the precise conditions to be fulfilled, the desires and needs expressed by citizens for collective participation in major EU issues, and the specific barriers to be overcome for deployment.
The project will, in parallel with integrating “best of breed” components into the technological solution, adapt the very successful Public-i webcast methodology to create a framework for recruiting citizens to CitizenScape and then moderating their inputs. From this experience it is planned that the platform and approach will be applied and contribute to other EU policies as a key driver to sustain and expand the service after the trial period. The project seeks to create a ‘democratic pathway’ by attracting and recruiting citizens to use the Web 2.- style space of CitizenScape and then migrating them to more formal online democratic tools (such as petitioning). These formal tools will be the means to access the decision makers – in this case Local Councillors.
CitizenScape is unique in its combination of a strong and focused implementation methodology alongside the operational use of innovative technology. CitizenScape will be a flexible online space that will blend and integrate social networking and other Web 2.0 technologies with more formal online democratic tools. The Citizen eParticipation methodology will create an accessible and inclusive model for engaging citizens which will ensure that CitizenScape implementations not only have effective technologies but also effective offline recruitment activities and support to guarantee that the CitizenScapes are vibrant and active democratic centres.