From ParticipatioNZ

Why have a guide? This section defines the scope and purpose of the Guide to Online Participation.

Contents 1 Snapshot 1.1 Voices 1.2 Quote 1.3 Key messages 1.4 Highlights 2 Full story

Snapshot

Voices

"We like everything to be instant, that’s why we carry our phones around with us all the time." -- College student

"If we regard the law as programming code, then we currently have a cathedral model with outdated code which is poorly executed. What we need is to shift to open source code where success is predicated on 'release early, release often' and where 'many eyeballs make bugs shallow'." -- Workshop participant

Quote

By 2020, people’s engagement with the government will have been transformed, as increasing and innovative use is made of the opportunities offered by network technologies. 2006 E-government Strategy

Key messages

• To meet future challenges government, at all levels, will need to use all available channels to draw on a wider range of knowledge and ideas than ever before. Technology is one small part of the picture.
• New Zealand has set ambitious goals for transforming government. These are expressed as concrete development goals for the State Services and milestones for e-government.
• This Guide to Online Participation is designed to support State servants as they explore how to use new tools to engage with New Zealanders. It is a living document that will need regular updating to reflect a rapidly changing environment and what we have learned.

Highlights

• The future is here Technologies and people are changing. Internet and Web 2.0 applications are enabling new forms of social networking and collaboration. State services are changing to keep pace with these changes and online participation is part of the picture.

• Why is participation important? Public participation can help improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of service delivery through crowdsourcing, user-centred design and tighter feedback loops. It can also improve the quality of public policy and the chances of successful implementation.

• Who is this Guide for? New Zealand State Services that are seeking to provide people with additional electronic channels for engaging with government on policy and service design, development and delivery.

• Who helped to develop this guide? A broad-based community of practice with members drawn from across the State Services, local government, business and civil society.

• Why has the State Services Commission developed this Guide? The State Services Commission is committed to leading thinking and development of good public sector management practice. Part of its job is to help agencies to achieve the Development Goals for State Services,reach the E-government Strategy milestones and deliver on the Digital Strategy.

• How to use the Guide. This Guide is a practical primer for both newcomers to the field and experienced practitioners seeking to engage people online. It supports State servants in using new tools to improve service delivery and policy design.

• What online participation can and cannot do Online participation is neither a panacea nor a gimmick. It offers an important additional channel for conducting meaningful public participation.

Full story

For the full story on Guide to Online Participation's purpose read more here.