Introduction

Digital Dialogues is an independent review of ways in which online communication tools (such as social networking sites and blogs) have been used by central government to support public engagement. The Digital Dialogues initiative was set up by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and carried out by the Hansard Society from 2006 to 2008; the initiative was launched at a time when the public were already engaging politically online – albeit not with the government. It aimed to:

• raise central government’s awareness of the potential uses of new technology in communications and engagement contexts;

• develop case studies to explore the issues affecting online engagement between government and the public; and

• promote efficacious practices across central government.

During the initial phase of Digital Dialogues, the Hansard Society helped government departments and agencies to set up websites that suited their engagement needs: some were running a formal consultation and wanted to broaden their reach; others were interested in exploring different ways of involving and informing stakeholders and the public. From these online encounters emerged case studies that assessed the capacity of new technologies to support central government’s engagement practices and provided recommendations for those seeking to develop that capability. The first report was published in December 2006, containing the six original case studies and draft guidance for government officials.

The second phase of Digital Dialogues embedded the practical experience acquired through the first. It offered government departments and agencies involved in Phase 1 the opportunity to continue exploring new forms of online engagement, should they wish to. For many, a dilemma was raised: is it possible to increase public understandings of government while ensuring that their concerns are heard and acted upon? The report provided guidance that reflected the need for a sustainable approach to online engagement; it was published in August 2007.

With the social networking capacities of the interactive web, and particularly Web2.0 , becoming pivotal in citizens’ everyday lives and in campaigning contexts, the third phase of Digital Dialogues began to explore how these could be harnessed by government. Phase 3 incorporated case studies in which government departments and agencies were using diverse methods of online engagement, or embedding previous experience into sustained practice. In the few cases studies in which participating departments or agencies were new to online engagement, we explored the issues involved in changing communication cultures to accommodate them. In those where departments or agencies had developed a more self-sufficient practice, we examined the capacity for new methods of online engagement to broaden and deepen participation.

This report has been prepared to inform government approaches to online engagement. It gives practical guidance to suit a range of engagement contexts and styles; this is provided alongside a précis of the debates surrounding democratic renewal, online deliberation and governance – a useful scene-setter for all readers. This background and the report’s conclusions highlight the issues faced by government departments who seek to engage and consult the public and stakeholders using new systems of communication. The case studies – detailed at the end of the report – are particularly relevant to members of the public who are interested in engaging with government; they are also useful to engagement professionals and academics, providing a benchmark for government’s approach to online engagement and the shifting patterns of democracy and governance in the UK.

Taken together, the various sections of the report – the guidance, background, conclusions, and the individual case studies – highlight the factors that help and hinder online engagement. The report illustrates how approaches that focus too much on the technology without considering the need to communicate (and how) fare less well than those that embed good understandings of citizens, governance and online deliberation. Where government departments and agencies invest the time and effort to engage with citizens, there is a marked efficacy effect: public cynicism is reduced when policies and processes are explained; public trust increases when people feel heard.

Online deliberations that inform the public about how their contributions are being considered, or – if not – how (or where) they can be expressed more effectively, engender trust. Where the role of the engagement exercise is to build and sustain a community of practice or stakeholder base, a reflexive approach to online engagement can help government departments to develop good practice. The collaborative nature of online deliberation can – at first – seem alien to government officials, stakeholders and the public: they require new approaches to ‘risk’ and communication. Offering greater transparency (and therefore increased scrutiny), online deliberation provides a powerful way of improving public understandings of policy issues specifically and governance generally, and enhances public engagement – provided that it is conducted efficaciously.

For many government departments, this means understanding how to harness the benefits of new forms of communication: new technologies can both broaden and deepen engagement. This report highlights how to make online engagement work, basing its guidance on empirical evidence from the case studies; these, together with insights into the democratic context, provide the report with a depth of knowledge and the benefit of experience. The next section will provide a set of guidelines for good engagement that have been developed through the research findings, this is then followed by a summary of the key findings from the first two phases of Digital Dialogues and a discussion of the third phase. The next section contextualises online engagement within a landscape of democratic disenfranchisement and digital deficit, exploring the socio-technical issues around engaging online. Finally, the report concludes with a summary of the project and a detailed description of each of the case studies in Phase 3.