Ep 41 - Mass digital participation, with Simon Wright

 

Introducing Simon Wright

When we make it easy for our communities to talk to us through quick surveys and online forms, are we losing the opportunity for important and hard conversations?

Today’s guest, Simon Wright, unpacks the limitations of our consultation mindset. The limitations of technical or expert-driven conversations that miss the political and moral implications when engaging with communities.

There is power in open dialogue and discussion, but often organisations are talking to people through closed dialogues. It’s only through those hard conversations, those brave dialogues, that we can uncover insights that otherwise we might not have expected.

Simon has a wealth of stories and experiences that he can draw on as a member on the expert advisory panel for the New Zealand Open Government Partnership, as a partner at Public Engagement Projects, and as a teacher on digital engagement at Victoria University.

This episode will be particularly valuable for anybody working in a policy role who is trying to understand how to fit community participation into the policy process.

In today’s episode you’ll learn:

  • Why the ‘hub-and-spoke’ model of consultation causes disconnect and why you should move away from it

  • That the public is tired of consultation and hungry for more authentic ways of talking and working with institutions

  • Why we should stop trying to make it easy and fast for the public to engage with institutions

  • How digital tools can help us to have open dialogues with more people to uncover new ideas and ways of thinking.

  • How to step up your digital engagement to allow people to build on each other’s ideas instead of having a two-way conversation with only your organisation.

Resources mentioned in this episode

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