Welcome

Heading into the second decade of the 21st century, we constantly hear about how social media, geolocation, mobile apps and similar technological innovations are changing the way we interact with each other. But how are they changing the way we interact with our governments (particularly local governments)? Are they offering new opportunities for civic engagement? Are they changing the way residents view their role in local government, creating new opportunities for citizen involvement? Or are they cementing old ideas of citizens as customers by facilitating the delivery of government services?

These questions are of particular interest to those of us at the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership as we seek to help solve public problems by promoting citizen's participation in governance. We have created this blog to provide up-to-date information relating to what is being called "Government 2.0." We hope what you find here will help local governments and their residents make the most of the technology available for genuine citizen engagement.

New to Gov 2.0? Check out our foundational documents »

Engagement Commons Launched

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Davenport Institute

Back in January we shared some info about a new engagement resources being developed with support from the Knight Foundation.  Last week opensource.com announced the launch of Engagement Commons:

To date, we’ve curated more than 150 engagement-focused app entries in Engagement Commons. But simply cataloguing these tools is not enough. Now we need to add a layer of context: the stories and narratives behind how these apps are facilitating real results in real communities.

You can read more here and visit the new website here.

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Online Game to Engage Residents

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Davenport Institute

The City of Quincy is working to engage all of its residents.  Because the city has a high Asian population, city officials have worked with the Asian American Civic Engagement Task Force to create an online game that will allow residents to join in planning in their native language:

This has resulted in an online game, available both in English and Chinese languages, called the NoQuWo (for North Quincy and Wollaston) Community PlanIt Game. The game is open to all members of the community and it focuses on transportation, local business growth, arts and culture, and other civic information.

“I believe firmly that local government should be an open and responsive forum for the residents of the city. The NoQuWo Community PlanIt Game is another step in that direction,” said Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch in a press release. “As we work to strengthen the quality of life in North Quincy and Wollaston, we want to make sure we are engaging everyone in discussions about the future of these vibrant neighborhoods.”

You can find out more here.

 

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Award for Redlands311

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Davenport Institute

Last year the City of Redlands, CA launched an application in collaboration with CitySourced to help residents connect with their city.  This application has received an award from the Center for Digital Government as the “Best Application Serving the Public.”

You can read more about the application on strong cities here.

You can access the application download page here.

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