As a startup innovating in the civic technology space, PlaceSpeak is continuously improving and developing new features to help organizations in all industries and sectors meet their engagement goals. Based on extensive user research and customer feedback, we have recently developed a new set of features designed to increase engagement rates.
From now on, new visitors who are not registered with PlaceSpeak will be greeted by a beautifully redesigned consultation page with several optional new sections:
- Why We Are Consulting: Explain to participants why you want to hear from them. What information you are looking to collect? What you will do with the feedback collected?
- Who is Listening: Who are the decision-makers who will be reviewing the feedback collected? Who is responsible for using that information to make decisions?
- Why You Should Participate: How will people benefit from participating? What are the consequences of not participating?
“Inform” is the first step on the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation. For an effective and productive public dialogue, people need to be provided with “balanced and objective information to assist them in understanding the problems, alternatives and/or solutions”.
However, citizen engagement processes often involve complex policy issues which may include technical documents, jargon, and other specialized information. For example, municipal bylaws or architectural drawings can be inaccessible and confusing to individuals without specialized training or knowledge. When people are confused, they may feel intimidated, inadequate or unqualified to speak on a certain issue, and be deterred from participating.
Each month, PlaceSpeak presents a Q&A with experts in public engagement and civic technology.
This month, we spoke with Allan Foster, VP Global Partner Success at ForgeRock. As one of the founders of ForgeRock, he has helped build ForgeRock into a multinational Identity Management software vendor with offices on four continents. Having served in multiple positions during its startup, Allan is now responsible for leading the worldwide ForgeRock community. This includes the contributing developer community, as well as the representation of ForgeRock on multiple standards committees.In the twenty years prior to ForgeRock, Allan founded and ran a successful small consulting business focusing on the Identity Management space, with clients all over the world.
Residents of Cloverdale-Langley City will now have an additional option for communicating with their Member of Parliament, John Aldag. The newly-launched PlaceSpeak page allows constituents to engage meaningfully on topics that matter to the community in a safe and secure way.
Residents can participate in a poll on their priorities for the riding or engage in dialogue on wide ranging issues. They can also be notified of any upcoming events hosted by the MP.
For more than two decades, governments across the globe focused on standardizing processes and introducing online services. This generated some return on investment. But with digital technology, governments can achieve so much more.
Putting the constituent’s point of view at the center of every decision is a key prerequisite for success in the digital age. This does not stop with citizen facing services, but also applies across a wide range of initiatives aimed at delivering on policy mandates.
To govern in a digital society, government organizations need to put themselves in the shoes of the citizen to transform operational, process and engagement models.
