Benefits & Drawbacks
From:
Tim Erickson
Date:
2005 Dec 01 18:10 UTC
Short link
>Tim Erickson <tim@politalk.com>
>> One of the features of an Issues Forum, is that it is an ongoing
>> sustained project within a local community. Its very hard to "fake" a
>> grassroots movement (even in a city of 250,000) over a sustained
> > period of time. [...]
>
>This may be a deterrent, but very hard isn't impossible. When
>there's a multi-million-pound grant involved, that can make it
>seem worth doing to some people. It's "for the good of the town"
>even if the townspeople hate it, the damn ingrates.
I'd just like to repeat the fact, that Issues Forums are not the same
as consultations. The connection between the forum and any particular
policy decision is less direct, which removes some of the incentive
for "astro-turfing." We've not seen it happen in over 6 years on our
three oldest forums.
In theory, its possible. BUT - I think that its possible for any
political process to be manipulated in unethical ways. I don't think
anyone can give you a process that is impossible to manipulate by a
determined group.
The key here, is that the Issues Forum is governed/regulated by a
group of citizens (or an non-partisan assortment of local officials)
who are not connected to any particular issue, but have as their
primary objective to preserve the credibility and integrity of the
forum. One must approach an Issues Forum with some trust in the team
that is managing it and give it time to develop.
Best wishes,
Tim Erickson
E-Democracy.Org
.