Experiments in Civic Sensemaking
These are the slightly modified slides from a quick presentation I gave last night at Web Monday Silicon Valley in San Francisco. It’s a first high-level introduction to our first product, a web application for problem solving and decision making in large groups.
We hope to have the initial pieces of an alpha version in place some time over the coming weeks.
Following a recent IAP2 Northern California chapter meeting, I came across this definition of public participation:
What is Public Participation?
Public participation is the process by which an organization consults with interested or affected individuals, organizations, and government entities before making a decision. Public participation is two-way communication and collaborative problem solving with the goal of achieving better and more acceptable decisions. Public participation prevents or minimizes disputes by creating a process for resolving issues before they become polarized. Other terms sometimes used are “public involvement,” “community involvement,” or “stakeholder involvement.”
We are currently working on our first product, a web-based software application for problem solving and decision making in large groups. To some degree, what we have in mind is a public participation engine (at least for those parts of an engagement project that can feasibly be run online).
At a corporate picnic in Los Gatos, CA last August, the party host (some Senior VP of Marketing or similar rank at the company I worked for at the time), after welcoming the 100-plus employees who were attending that sunny afternoon, reminded everybody of the company’s strict don’t-drink-and-drive policy. For those who wanted to enjoy the selection of excellent wines or other alcoholic beverages (and do so beyond a level that is deemed safe for driving), it was made very clear that they were expected to leave their cars parked and either share a ride with a designated driver, have someone pick them up, or simply take a cab home. Everyone was asked to watch out for each other to make sure these rules were being followed.
He then went on to say that if anyone, for whatever reason, still ended up in a situation where they were stuck after the event (needing to get home but unfit to drive), the company would cover the cost of the cab, to anywhere — no conditions, no questions asked.
I remember that I was impressed by the prudence with which the risk of drunk driving was being addressed. And thinking: maybe if all of us (whether as bosses, colleagues, neighbors, friends, or family) offered this kind of “no questions asked” emergency pickup more often, we might be able to prevent a lot of bad things from happening.
***
I met Joe three times.
The first time in Tokyo, Japan in October of 2004.
The second time in Dublin, Ireland in April of 2005.
The third and last time in Rome, Italy in February of 2006.
Our partners were both working for the same organization and would go on these international business trips where, on occasion. we would have the chance to accompany them.
I have only fond memories of these three trips.
Last summer, I started talking to Joe about this project and some of the ideas I had in the area of online dialogue and deliberation. Joe was an excellent sounding board for me, always very helpful and supportive. Then, earlier this year, he even shared his expertise as a lawyer and helped with drafting some of the legal documents I was working on (a privacy policy, some terms of use etc.).
I definitely consider him part of the broader team I was building. And I was hoping that we’d get the opportunity to intensify our collaboration over time.
***
Sadly, prudence was sorely missing early Labor Day morning, when an alleged drunk driver going the wrong way on Staten Island’s West Shore Expressway crashed into the car Joe was driving, killing him and injuring his passenger.
He was 39 years old. We’ll miss him very much.
In addition to this blog, you can now follow Intellitics on Twitter.
What is Twitter? According to Wikipedia:
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send “updates” (text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) via SMS, instant messaging, email, to the Twitter website, or an application such as Twitterrific. [...]
Updates are displayed on the user’s profile page and also instantly delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. The sender can restrict delivery to those in his or her circle of friends (delivery to everyone is the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, instant messaging, SMS, RSS, email or through an application.
If you’re interested in receiving infrequent updates from us (very low volume for now), simply add Intellitics to the list of people you follow on Twitter.
This past weekend, Barcamp celebrated its 2-year anniversary at BarCampBlock in Palo Alto, CA.
For those who’ve never heard of the concept:
BarCamp is an international network of unconferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants — focusing on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies and social protocols.
From the BarCampBlock press release:
Who should be there? Anyone working on a new startup that wants to get some great feedback. Anyone looking for talent. Anyone talented looking for work. Anyone looking to invest in brilliant new ideas. Anyone looking to find partners for their brilliant new ideas. Anyone who wants to practice a presentation s/he is working on. Anyone who has a passion for blogging, wikis, design, coding and the web in general. Everyone is welcome. Everyone is encouraged to present. It’s totally free and an excellent source of what is hot, new and upcoming.
With a contribution of $100, Intellitics is a proud sponsor of BarCampBlock, long before we even incorporate. It’s our way of saying thank you to the many who — at previous barcamps or similar open events (and often without their knowing it) — have contributed so generously to the ideas we’re trying to implement. If you happen to have been at any one of these events and were involved in our discussions about civic participation and how to bring dialogue and deliberation to the web, this donation was for you:
Yep, it’s all about giving back.
For more information about BarCampBlock, read the blogs, browse the pictures, or follow up on the session notes.
The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) provides a good definition of dialogue and deliberation, and describes how the two relate to each other:
So what are dialogue and deliberation anyway?
Dialogue is a process that allows people, usually in small groups, to share their perspectives and experiences with one another about difficult issues we tend to just debate about or avoid entirely. Issues like racial disparities, youth violence and gay marriage.
Dialogue is not about judging, weighing or making decisions, but about understanding and learning. Dialogue dispels stereotypes, builds trust and enables people to be open to perspectives that are very different from their own. Dialogue can, and often does, lead to both personal and collaborative action.
Deliberation is a closely related process with a different emphasis. Deliberation emphasizes the use of logic and reasoning to make better decisions. Decisions about important public issues like health care and immigration are too often made through the use of power or coercion rather than a sound decision-making process that involves all parties and explores all options.
Dialogue and deliberation processes tend to use skilled facilitators and carefully constructed ground rules or agreements to ensure that all participants are heard and are treated as equals. For groups that want to move from talk to a decision or action, NCDD recommends starting with dialogue and encouraging deliberation after people have had the chance to tell their personal story (in relation to the issue at hand) in a respectful environment.
Dialogue lays the groundwork for the vital work of deliberation. The trust, mutual understanding and relationships that are built during dialogue allow for participants to deliberate more effectively, and to make better decisions.
Dialogue and deliberation are used for a variety of reasons: to resolve conflicts and bridge divides; to build understanding about complex issues; to foster innovative solutions to problems and launch action; and to reach agreement on or recommendations about policy decisions.
At Intellitics, our goal is online dialogue and deliberation.
According to Wikipedia:
Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. … Although the term is generally applied to behavior within governments, politics is observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions.
Politics consists of “social relations involving authority or power”. and refers to the regulation of a political unit, and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy.
At Intellitics, we’re interested in exploring ways how the internet can better support this decision-making process.
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