UK expert touts public as partners for Government
20 Oct 2009
Dr Andy Williamson
Hansard Society UK
Citizens should not be treated as “consumers” of e-Government services, but rather as participants, for Gov 2.0 policies to succeed, CeBIT’s Gov 2.0 conference was told.
Dr Andy Williamson, of the Hansard Society in the UK, one of the key drivers of digital democracy in Britain, spoke of the need to engage citizens as active participants to avoid e-Government failures.
“Citizens are not consumers, they do not ‘consume’ democracy, they take part in it,” Dr Williamson said.
“It is a participatory thing.”
But to also encourage participation, citizens need to have confidence in the democratic process, he said.
“If we take part, it means we have a degree of trust in the process.
“We have to look at he issue of trust in digital engagement. This is not about replacing official engagement, but enhancing it.”
He said the issue of political trust was a serious issue, particularly in the UK where government was often viewed with suspicion.
“People don’t like politicians in the UK – they are more hated than real estate agents or journalists,” he joked.
He said e-Government projects often relied on enthusiastic and knowledgeable proponents to drive them. In the UK, he said, politicians like Tom Watson filled this role. He said Australia’s Senator Kate Lundy, seemed to be similarly proactive in Australia.
“It’s hard to express how important it is to have someone senior in Government to drive digital engagement,” he said.
“If you don’t have enthusiasm in Government, it won’t get done.
“Policy makers have to know the power of these technologies to make them happen.”
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