Digital Engagement Team

HMRC getting some shiznit for taking to Twitter for customer service but I think it is fantastic. Used the service myself Friday and was impressed. I could tell they were struggling with demand but did a great job.

Shared by Gillian Fisher. I'll get in touch with Kate to find out more about what their training looks like and to share what we're thinking of over here. Anyone else thinking the same as me or already made contact?

'This official Instagram account is produced by Local Government and Regeneration Committee clerks to provide information on the Committee's work'. Hmmmmm.....

A review of Brazil as a leader in participatory institutions, outline of their successes.

Participatory budgeting in Vallejo, California and how it's not going so well. 'Elected officials can feel like they're supposed to be governing but they're contradicted and their ideas or leadership are not affirmed.'

#OurUK is a place to capture discussions and resources on citizen led constitutional reform in the UK after the Scottish referendum. Coordinated by Involve.

Delib blog about the first meeting of local government users of their consultation platform Citizen Space.

A global community of democracy researchers, practitioners and interested citizens who crowd-source data on democratic innovations from around the world.

Demsoc (The Democratic Society) is a membership organisation promoting participation, networked democracy, and active citizenship.

Great site, great level of activity reflected. Reportedly working better than Vallejo because it works at ward level, not city wide.

Just to flag the activities of our colleagues. Could be good for a chat sometime? PB for SG led by Kathleen Glazik who also heads up Community Council stuff for SG (LA Community Council Liaison Officers).

Keeping this as it's a popular idea with the Education lot for Engage. If we do something similar on the new/updated site, it could be an exemplar? Does Delib have something similar to offer?

Government of Canada's Change Lab work in progress. Also shares failure for free from other government labs worldwide.

We want to challenge this traditional way of operating elections. We've already started building a prototype for an online voting platform, designed to operate a policy-based election. With Kickstarter's help, we will launch our platform at the time of the 2015 general election campaign. Participants will vote on ideas, and not just the narrow field of polarised ideas often dictated by political parties and the media. Voters will consider policies, the results will be captured and visualised, with national data being updated as the election progresses. Data and trends can then be used as part of a national debate.

Data for policy changes, improvement of public services, improvement in marketing and enabling civic participation. An angle for the Digital Engagement team?