CLEAR

Citizenlink eAction Repository (acronym: CLEAR)
Toolkit empowerment citizens and support government

The present state of affairs in eParticpation can be characterised as “Let many flowers blossom”. Looking at the maturity cycle that is common in innovation, in due time a number of feasible projects will survive. The Citizenlink approach in The Netherlands consists of modelling and standardising promising instruments in the field of information, services, politics and cohesion. These address the possibilities of increasing transparency, reducing complexity of decision-making and supporting involvement.

Issuefeed

Government is generally able to collect information about popular opinions and preferences as they are published or distributed in the analogue world. In order to be able to do the same in the digital world, and instrument is designed that helps civil servants to find the relevant information about issues in the “second society”.

Issuefeed (not yet available)

WeEvaluate

Copying the example of rating websites who gather information about commercial services (like restaurants) and thereby create (or destroy) reputation, a national website has been started on which citizens can evaluate public services. They can design their own rating system or they can use a simplified model of the National Citizen Satisfaction Survey based on the criteria of the e-Citizen Charter.

WeEvaluate

TrackYourCouncil

One of the Dutch successes in using the internet during election time has been the Voting Assistant. This provides a comparison between the programmes of political parties on the basis of 30 main issues. It helps voters to make their choice. At the recent national elections about 5 million voters used the assistant (almost half of those eligible to vote).
Since it is more helpful to make your electoral choice on actual behaviour than on future promises, another instrument is being developed: a Voting Tracker which assembles the voting record of parties and politicians and thus makes transparent what their positions have been on certain issues.

TrackYourCouncil

ePetitions

Apart form the right of petition current in most representative systems, according to Dutch law, citizens are entitled to start a citizens' initiative. If enough people support the issue, it can be tabled with a representative body like a city council or the parliament, which has to discuss it. This is similar to the right of petition. The internet can be quite a help to gather the required number of signatures, so a website to this end has been started. A number of Dutch municipalities have created their own portal on this website.

ePetitions

Citizens'Blog

This project aims to introduce a new, more structured way of blogging. A number of experts are invited to forward opinions on improving government and are encouraged to comment on each others ideas. Citizenlink moderates this discussion and after one or more rounds summarises the debate and puts forward conclusions. A concrete proposal is presented to the responsible politician (i.e. the Deputy Minister of the Interior), who has promised to react. When successful, this format will become available on other levels of government.

Citizens'Blog

eParticipation award 2009

The eParticipation Award is a recognition for citizens and governments whom are using digital resources to increase citizen involvement. It is the second time that Citizen Link organizes the eParticipation Award. The main goal is to ask attention and in particular to stimulate good eParticipation initiatives.

Intented results

An inventory of all eParticipation initiatives has held - that are started at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.
eParticipation gets a lot of positive publicity.
The development of eParticipation in 2009 will be defined in a special edition.

More: ePractise.eu