The Democratic Society
Four rulesfor councils’ democratic engagement
THE
DEM
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RATI
C S
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IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
One.Remember the di!erence between consumers and citizens
THE
DEM
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RATI
C S
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IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
They need di!erent sorts of engagement
Consumer Citizen
Recipient Participant
One-o! Ongoing
Individualist Collective
Managerial Political
THE
DEM
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RATI
C S
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IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Not everyone sees the council as neutral
My LocalCouncil
For example, local politicians always carry their national party’s baggage
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Political issues = di"cult issues
You can’t always get to an agreed position when there are underlying philosophical di!erences
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Two.People understand local government less than you think they do.
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Don’t force people into your structures
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Focus on the citizen, not the process
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Don’t assume knowledge, with anyone
Who’s in charge of planning policy around
here, anyway ?
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Three.Work to expand the democratic space
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Don’t use the council website
Don’t use this When you can use these (and many others)
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Make online and o#ine support each other
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Remember that politics bores most people
Assume that people have ten minutes a month for
politics, not an hour or two every day
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Four.Real engagement means culture change and service transformation
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Few politicians, many citizens
For every one politician, councillor, senior civil servant or political journalist...
...there are 44,470 ordinary citizens.
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
O"cers need to get out and engage
Even the best politicians have• little time• little understanding of detail• little knowledge of background
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
Public speaking ≠ political speaking
Explaining the background to the new parking schemeon Nevskii Prospekt
THE
DEM
OC
RATI
C S
OC
IETY
http://www.demsoc.org
A cheering final word:Local government does culture change well
• Partnership working done
• Joint commissioning done
• Trusts & shared services done
• Real openness and engagement
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