On September 26th 2009, 100 people from Kettering in the UK were part of the most extensive global consultation ever held and the first of its kind. This event, where citizens were asked their views on how governments tackle climate change, will influence key decision makers at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen in December.

To read more about this groundbreaking citizen dialogue and to learn the results from the UK and around the world,...

The Obama administration has recently agreed to make the records of visitors to the White House publicly available online. The move comes in response to a lawsuit launched by an organisation called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The legal action was initially launched during the Bush administration and has now finally reached a settlement. More information can be found here: http://www.citizensforethics....

Last month saw the announcement of the millionth word in the English language as 'Web 2.0'. This is notable as the term is quite new (despite 'slumdog' also being a contender) although not too surprising since the use of Web 2.0 is so ubiquitous. The term may imply an update to the World Wide Web but in reality it means a different way of creating and sharing information. Among the most publicised uses of Web 2....

When Barack Obama released his memorandum on 'Transparency and Open Government' the day after he was inaugurated as the 44th US President it was music to the ears for organisations involved in public participation. His instructions that "departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves...with nonprofit organizations, businesses,...

It's been over 18 months since the launch of www.peopleandparticipation.net and we are keen to make sure that the site remains up to date and useful. Please help us make the website better by taking our short user survey. It only takes a couple of minutes to complete and everyone who takes the survey will be entered into a draw to win a £20 Amazon voucher.

Click here to take survey

Simply Understand is a unique service which translates government consultations from technical policyspeak into plain English. The website creator, Corinne Pritchard, is a civil servant who grew frustrated by her own attempts to respond to policy consultations. Upon reading her first consultation document she found the language so impenetrable that she could barely get through the first few pages....

Us Now, a new documentary film project about the power of mass collaboration, government and the Internet premiered in the UK on 12 May and is creating quite a storm in participation circles.

Us Now tells the stories of online networks that are challenging the existing notion of hierarchy. In the belief that new technologies and a closely related culture of collaboration present radical new models of social organisation,...

Pathways Through Participation research project: Starts April 2009
This is a joint research project being led by NCVO in partnership with the Institute for Volunteering Research and [Involve]. Each organisation has a history of researching the different forms of participation that will be explored together in this project....

On the first of April 2009 a new Duty to Involve came into force for local authorities and other best value organisations across England, including all Local Authorities. The purpose of the duty is to: _'embed a culture of engagement and empowerment. This means that authorities consider, as a matter of course, the possibilities for provision of information to,...

Are you inspired by public engagement? Do you think ordinary people should have more of a say on issues to do with science and technology? Do you ever wish you would get the chance to judge an award?

Now is your chance. Until the 11th of February you can vote for the project you think should get the 'People's choice award' in public engagement on science and technology issues.

*What is the 'People's choice award'?...