Crowd-sourcing techniques: participation, transparency and the factors determining the co-production of policy

Abstract

The establishment of trust in the transparency of government and the commitment to collaboration with citizens, through engagement initiatives,remain strong priorities for Australian governments. The paper discusses the Gov 2.0 Taskforce recommendations within the context of Australian uptake of social media, and the Web 2.0 features of government initiatives. It compares the relative success of two engagement projects: Community Cabinets at the federal level; and SAPLAN consultation processes at state level. Comparative analysis suggests that participatory initiatives depend for their success on expanding the role of public servants; and on realistic assessments of citizen expertise and expectations of collaboration, which take account of the online capacities being formed by social media protocols in civil society sectors.