Presentation of CivicEvolution: An online initiative for practical civic engagement

Brian Sullivan
Public Dialog Systems

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     Last modified: May 16, 2005

Abstract
CivicEvolution is a non-partisan online initiative committed to empowering citizens to transform their communities; it has been designed to support a continuum of activities that build toward practical civic engagement.

While there has been some notable success in online politicking and fund raising, substantial and practical civic engagement remains distressingly low in our society. The attributes of Internet technologies suggest great possibilities for solutions to our civic ills, but the promise has failed to materialize. There are a myriad of sites dedicated to all manner of causes and constituents; but in many ways they still fall short of expectations due to a combination of reasons: too partisan, too passive, too focused, too political and too few opportunities for practical engagement.

This presentation will explore the features and functions of CivicEvolution that overcome these challenges and lead visitors toward greater awareness and practical civic engagement.

The demonstration will include a scenario that shows how people can use the site's civic journalism features to publicize and explain an issue, form small discussion groups to deliberate about it, read the posts of other discussions to understand alternative perspectives, and explore suggested resources and actions. Citizens can gravitate toward one or more groups taking a stand on the issue. Groups can work to build consensus about the issue by encouraging others to consider their analysis and proposals and share this information with friends and representatives. Groups can also propose projects to address the issue, enlist member support for projects, and share knowledge with related projects.

Anticipated uses for CivicEvolution include public policy awareness and consultation, awareness and behavior modification campaigns, corporate accountability drives, media literacy/criticism, and government transparency. CivicEvolution will be launched by recruiting organizations and content providers which seek to improve interaction with and between their constituents.