Cool Tools for Government
We're looking at 'cool tools' that allow us to re-think public services. Who are the people seeing the gaps between individuals and institutions, and how are they filling them? How do we close feedback loops?
collective action?
at 6:35pm on Friday, 14th July 2006
I think pledgebank is one of the best examples of connecting individual's social concerns with wider action. This happens on the individual's terms -- you make a pledge and hope that others sign on.
Tom Steinberg says "We all know what it is like to feel powerless, that our own actions can't really change the things that we want to change. PledgeBank is about beating that feeling..."
Of course this doesn't mean that the pledges necessarily link individuals to government, but that is always a possibility. And it's empowering to see that other people want to join your pledges.
The question is how to scale it up?
Tom Steinberg says "We all know what it is like to feel powerless, that our own actions can't really change the things that we want to change. PledgeBank is about beating that feeling..."
Of course this doesn't mean that the pledges necessarily link individuals to government, but that is always a possibility. And it's empowering to see that other people want to join your pledges.
The question is how to scale it up?
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I was also interested to read about the next project from MySociety - a Freedom of Information Filer & Archive which will enable you to ubmit FOI requests and create an archive of responses. There's more on the MySociety blog: http://www.mysociety.org/2006/09/27/the-mysociety-call-for-proposals-the-winner-and-runners-up/