When the doors of our town halls open again, will we still meet online?

This article was written by Wietse Van Ransbeeck, CEO and Co-founder of CitizenLab.

• The problem:__ Local governments’ contact with residents has been pushed online
• Why it matters:__ Some members of society are disenfranchised by the digital divide
• The solution: Digital democracy is one path, but a hybrid model is better

In the past year, local governments found themselves facing a new obstacle amidst a global pandemic: they had to navigate online tools if they wanted to keep interacting with their constituents. Online tools became vital outlets for maintaining an open dialogue with residents, understanding their community’s unique and changing needs, and moving forward with existing local projects. Now, over a year in, the progress made has us all wondering: when the doors of our town halls open again, will we still meet online?

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Why not online?

For most local governments, the idea of digitising was daunting, if not terrifying. It was already hard enough to engage most residents in local government, so how could they now be expected to build trust with community members, moderate conversations to avoid polarisation, and build new solutions in traditional structures both virtually and quickly? While just a year ago it may have seemed impossible to adapt a lot of the traditional structures used by local governments, we now know the speed and innovation that is possible even in the most bureaucratic offices. We also know that the local governments that were willing to pioneer new approaches to keeping their residents engaged, despite extenuating circumstances, reaped the rewards.

People are ready and eager to engage in a modern, participatory democracy.

In the United States, the City of Lancaster was able to reach new audiences and increase participation in local projects 13x by giving people online and offline ways to participate in local democracy during the pandemic. In Europe, the Dutch City of Almere decided to add online elements to their existing in-person participation projects to reach an unlikely audience: their elderly residents. The City needed to know what could be done to better tailor housing, care, mobility, safety, and well-being to the needs of the elderly. With the launch of their (G)oud in Almere project, they used their platform for surveys and workshops to gather ideas. From there, they launched support networks for dementia patients and their families, special transportation options for the mobility impaired, and updated policies for elderly residents with migrant backgrounds. The results are clear: *people are ready and eager to engage in a modern, participatory democracy. And local governments have the opportunity to rethink how they engage community members, both online and offline. *

The benefits of digital democracy

In the past, most communities relied on citizens’ assemblies, town halls, and city council meetings to hear from their residents and other local stakeholders. Pre-COVID, there was such a heavy reliance on in-person meetings, both for day-to-day government operations and for the occasional community engagement opportunity, that it seemed as though in-person was the only option for deliberation. But when the doors of city halls around the world closed this past year, the shift to digital gatherings paved the way for new opportunities.

Deliberation suddenly transferred to our computer screens and cellphones, with our city representatives lined up right alongside community members, engaged in conversation about everything from how to allocate public funds through participatory budgeting in Ghent to collective urban planning in the London Borough of Newham. Without the daunting, formal halls of a city building to intimidate people or battling work and family schedules to rush to a one-time meeting, people had more opportunities to engage. The new ways of doing things, digitally or through hybrid engagement, began to lend themselves to more accessible engagement options and increased community participation.

What have we learned so far?

The pandemic forever changed our relationships with public spaces, government services, and our orientation towards our communities and neighborhoods. Community members aren’t just curious about the decisions made about their streets, climate, public budgets, green spaces, schools, and more — they have a direct pulse on what’s most needed and important for local governments to spend time and resources to improve. Offering them digital engagement options means you’ll be able to reach a broader audience, re-invest event costs into your community, and move your projects forward more efficiently.

In the last year, we’ve seen how existing digital tools may not be the right fit for local government needs, such as in the case of the now-viral Handforth Parish Council meeting gone wrong. But we’ve also seen how quickly digital innovations can develop, and how they can be adapted to the unique needs of local governments. Tools like the online workshops developed by CitizenLab make it possible to host in-depth, live discussions online.

__The tools we need for modern democracy are here — now it’s time that we co-create the cities of our future. __

Going up the community engagement ladder from initial surveys to more constructive dialogue that includes interactive elements like voting, polls, and idea-collection in real-time means you’ll be able to build relationships and trust with your community members virtually. While these workshops shouldn’t replace all in-person discussions, they make it possible to have more frequent discussions that are open to those who might traditionally be excluded from in-person events, such as working parents. It also means you’ll be able to reach more people, and make better, data-driven decisions.

The case for a hybrid democratic future

Digital tools can help lower barriers to participation, and make it possible to reach more of your community than offline methods alone. Whether digital options mean that you can reach more people from traditionally unheard groups or engage younger residents, a hybrid approach means that you maintain some in-person elements so that you can also address the growing digital divide and avoid isolating marginalised communities who may not have the digital skills or tools to participate virtually. To address this gap, the Belgian City of Mol provided tablets with access to the city’s participation platform across their town hall and in public libraries to ensure everyone who was interested in participating could join. Additionally, several other cities are planning for a future of hybrid meetings that would enable in-person and digital engagement.

While traditional gatherings, such as town hall meetings, are likely to go back to in-person, we’ll probably also see more hybrid options for future public meetings. Online tools have quickly evolved over the last year, and have transformed engagement and the expectations the public has about their options to participate. A more cost-effective, efficient, inclusive, and data-driven future is ahead of us. The tools we need for modern democracy are here — now it’s time that we co-create the cities of our future. — Wietse Van Ransbeeck

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(Picture Credit: Pexels)