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| Clouds: a metaphor for our increasingly connected lives, apparently. Photo: Jhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/48813704@N02/5740160774/in |
Since attending my first Political Innovation event earlier this month I've been thinking about the potential new technology such as social media and other digital engagement tools have to transform the way policy is made.
So far , much of the debate has tended to focus on how technology will change the way policy professionals (politicians, civil servants and assorted policy wonks) engage with citizens from static consultation windows to a more dynamic, conversational form of engagement. You can read a good summary of these developments by Dr Andy Williamson on the Political Innovation website.
While any progress towards a more conversational form of engagement in policymaking should be celebrated, I feel in our excitement to 'do' crowdsourced policymaking we must not lose sight of the need for an attendant increase in policy literacy. Without us as citizens having a mature understanding of the wider context in which policy is developed and how our views on different issues relate to each other, there is a danger that new technology will simply add to the 'noise' which already surrounds policymakers.
