Webcasting pilots for the Local e-Democracy National Project

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Method(s) Used

Webcasting (Methods)

Name of person who posted the project:

Dominic Potter

Location of project:

United Kingdom

Date when the project started:

2005

Date when the project ended/project ongoing:

2006

Background to project:

Four webcasting pilot projects were funded as part of the Local e-Democracy National Project, each taking different approaches and with different objectives. These projects take place within a much larger context of webcasting projects that are being delivered in many local authorities across the UK, some of which have been in place for several years.
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This case study will focus mainly on the pilot undertaken in the London Borough of Croydon.
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Purpose of project:

In Croydon, the project aimed to:
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expand awareness and participation in the democratic process among the community in Croydon
enhance current democratic processes and facilitate e-participation
make the most of new online technology to increase political engagement in the community
provide a direct electronic means for the community to access proceedings of meetings of the council and other community organisations
facilitate the communication process between decision making representatives and their constituents, enhancing the accessibility and accountability of those representatives
support the work of community leaders and expand their audiences
provide a reusable product for sharing with other local authorities
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Project activities:

Croydon focused on formal democratic meetings, and on opening up these meetings to people who cannot attend (due to work commitments or to physical disabilities, for instance) so they can view the meeting and take part at their convenience.
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Croydon webcast Council meetings were run once or twice a week. In total twenty meetings were broadcast for the pilot. In addition to this, the Croydon project took the technology into the community (using a wired van) and webcast neighbourhood partnership group meetings.
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Project results:

The pilots were viewed as enough of a success for them to be made permanent fixtures. Furthermore, more and more Local Authorities are now utilising this method.
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Some specific lessons from the pilot were:

Pilot project stakeholders regard webcast training as critical. Sufficient training for those who will be using the webcasting technology (both internally and externally) must be sustained beyond the pilot period.
Promoting the use of new channels through traditional channels will only reach those exposed to these traditional channels, rather than widening participation. An example of non-traditional promotion is the Lewisham pilot?s use of their SMS gateway to send reminders and information via text message from their webcasting suitcase itself.
When a webcast is addressed to a specific subgroup of the public, such as Council tenants or community groups, the promotion channels chosen need to be targeted to an audience.
Promoting a webcast session on an issue that is both relevant and of interest to residents, rather than focussing on the novelty of the channel itself, is critical.
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Contact details:

Tony Zirkel,
Business Solutions Manager
Tel: 020 8686 4433
e-mail: tony.zirkel@croydon.gov.uk
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