‘Can they hear me?’ Exploring Citizen-led participation in policy-making
This session explores the stories and experiences of citizens who have created social media spaces for participation in Ontario policy. This topic will be explored through the sharing of video clips from interviews with the creators of Facebook groups, blogs, and other participation spaces directly pertinent to Ontario policies. These videos were collected as part of my dissertation research (in progress), which explores eParticipation in the province Ontario. Drawing upon preliminary analyses of the interviews and social media spaces, I will sketch out some of the observed socio-technical practices which are connecting citizen participation, transparency, open data, and freedom of information.
Possible topics for group discussion include:
- Challenges for governments in responding to citizen-led participation
- The complexities of public and/or private platforms for participation
- The interlinking of open data and public participation
