An annual event that invites multidisciplinary teams to create digital prototypes for the facilitation of collective intelligence and public participation. The 2016 workshop drew participants from 30 countries who collaborated on 8 new technologies.
Problems and Purpose
How can we activate collective intelligence processes? How can these processes improve the way that democracy functions? Can public policy be constructed using democratic participation tools, platforms and methodologies created by citizens on a collaborative basis?
New network technologies offer possibilities in moving towards a more direct and deliberative democracy. The democratic cities of the future demand new tools to enable distributed forms of political action and collaborative decision-making.
MediaLab-Prado's Collective Intelligence for Democracy Workshop is an annual event that invites multidisciplinary teams to create digital prototypes for the facilitation of collective intelligence, participatory democracy, and civic engagement. The 2016 workshop, hosted, as ever, in Madrid's MediaLab-Prado —a social innovation lab — saw eight teams work together on projects considering collective intelligence and its relationship to democracy. The projects attempted to address subjects as diverse as collaborative legislation, digital tools, gamification, democratic deliberation, bottom-up processes and distributed democracy.
Background History and Context
MediaLab-Prado and the Collective Intelligence Workshop are both part of a city-wide initiative to increase citizen participation, create government transparency, and improve public-service delivery using information and communications technology. Madrid's committment to the use and expansion of civic tech has been officially supported and implemented since 2013.
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The event is organized by MediaLab-Prado with the financial support of the City of Madrid.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
Eight multidisciplinary teams were select through an open call for project proposals. The workshop was specifically targetted at hackers, activists, politicians, programmers, designers, participation experts and any other person with an interest in direct democracy and digital citizen participation. Participedia was selected to take part in the workshop.
Methods and Tools Used
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
Through a series of workshops and participant-led meetings, the eight multidisciplinary teams worked collaboratively to create new digital prototypes to facilitate and open new paths to direct democratic participation via the internet. Participants were asked not to "re-invent the wheel" but to prioritise projects that build on or improve existing developments, hacking digital open-source platforms to give them new uses and even designing participation processes using existing tools.
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
There were several projects developed during the workshop with many still in development:
- Herramienta de Participación Ciudadana para el Consenso de Normas
- Redacción Colaborativa Para Participación Ciudadana
- Empujando Juntos
- Turnómetro
- Digidem Guide
- El Proyecto Participación Ciudadana y Aplicación de Gobierno Abierto
- Democracy Earth
Analysis and Lessons Learned
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See Also
ICT Facilitation of Citizen Participation, Open Government, and Public Service Delivery in Madrid
References
[1] Inteligencia Colectiva. Proyectos. http://inteligenciacolectiva.cc/proyectos [DEAD LINK]
Update: similar information can be found at https://www.medialab-prado.es/programas/inteligencia-colectiva-para-la-democracia-2016
[2] Inteligencia Colectiva. http://inteligenciacolectiva.cc/post/153993706517/ocho-iniciativas-para-la-reinventar-la-democracia [DEAD LINK]
External Links
https://www.medialab-prado.es/