The Open Lobby
The goal of this project is to establish an active community, organized around two projects:
- Project: Knowledge
- Developing information resources for Oregonians, on the workings of our government and other aspects of society;
- Project: Influence
- Using a consensus-based process to develop policy proposals, which can then be taken up by the legislature, ballot initiative, etc.
Using modern internet-based technology will be a core aspect of the project, but not to the exclusion of in-person meetings and projects. Accessibility and transparency are the core values, and we will not require people to use an unfamiliar Internet-based tool in order to participate.
—>Get involved!
Of course, government tries to adapt to modern technology, but the results range from the embarrassing to the criminal: electronic voting machines that "count" votes according to the whims of their programmers, web sites full of unsearchable PDFs, the need to visit four separate web sites to find information that should be linked together. Directly changing government to adapt to modern technology would be an enormous project. Thankfully, it is also an unnecessary one. As flawed as it is, our government is designed to respond, on some level, to the will of the people. If we can design and use a system that allows us to develop broad and strong consensus around policy changes, and can communicate our wishes effectively to existing government bodies, they will respond. It's what advocacy organizations have been doing from the beginning; but we can do it better. Building a solid foundation, and holding transparency and accessibility as core values, we can begin to assess our collective will. We can educate ourselves and our neighbors about important issues, and make good and relevant decisions about how they should be addressed. We have voices, typing fingers, hearts, and minds. We have friends and contacts, and we are capable of negotiating with adversaries. We also have access to some truly incredible technology. We can reclaim our democracy. If we don't want it to disappear, we must. ContentsWiki successesSystems that are based on new technology – specifically, wiki-based systems – have proven successful beyond expectation. Wikipedia, an encyclopedia built entirely by volunteers, has yielded some excellent articles. Articles on topics that are deeply controversial, where one might reasonably expect passionate disagreement to prevent meaningful consensus, are often quite good. This results from people talking through the controversial issues, and reaching a consensus on a neutral description that informs the reader, while remaining compatible with various points of view. But Wikipedia is one example of many. New Zealand set up a wiki-based web site to capture the public's views on what a new Policing Act might look like; by all reports (see "New Zealand Launches Wiki To Help Citizens Draft New Law" and "Police wiki lets you write the law"), it yielded innovative ideas, and was a resounding success. Please see Wiki success stories for specific examples of how various groups have used wiki-based sites to refine information and/or to be more effective and productive. Project: Knowledge
The first of two projects will be to develop objective, factual, and analytical materials about how society operates. For instance: how taxes are structured, how the curriculum in our public schools is developed, what agencies oversee what social services. Factual information on how our society operates is vital to any citizen seeking meaningful interaction with a democratic government. How is Oregon's tax system structured, and how do we compare to other states? Who makes decisions about public school curriculum? Many advocacy organizations work hard to track this sort of information, but the fruits of their research is often not available to the public. When it is, an organization's conflict of interest – whether apparent or real – might call any information it publishes into question. Or, it may not be written to be accessible to a wide audience, requiring specialized knowledge or training. The rapid growth of Wikipedia shows the power of a large community, organized around a simple principle (like writing an encyclopedia), to develop a vast and highly-organized compendium of information. Oregon, in particular, has an extraordinary community of editors, illustrating how some loosely-organized collaboration, sprinkled with a little good humor, can deliver even more impressive results. (Wikipedia's Oregon portal is a good place to get a feel for the articles this project has produced.) But ultimately, Wikipedia's mission is to broad to include, for instance, highly-detailed information about various proposed electoral reforms, or the campaign strategies used around an issue like gay marriage. Drawing on Wikipedia as an inspiration, a resource, and hopefully even a source for volunteers, this component of the project will aim to provide the sort of information that might help you put a story about the proposed removal of dams on the Klamath River into historical context, or understand why a single police shooting might mean much more than it would appear to the community it affects. (Wikipedia has developed some good guidelines around reliable sources, verifiability, neutral point of view, and other issues.) This project will probably rely on a wiki-based web site, but other platforms for more structured information (like online databases dabbledb.com or wagn.org) may be more appropriate for some content. See an example on DabbleDB, a database of (some) Oregon ballot measures. It's also possible that producing pamphlets or other printed media will be desirable. Existing resources:
Possible projects:
Project: InfluenceUse an online, collaborative process to develop policy recommendations. Generate broad consensus using an inclusive process. Lobby relevant legislative body(s) (Portland City Council, Oregon Legislative Assembly, etc.) to adopt policy recommendations. This process would rely on wiki software and, most likely, Consensus Polling or some variant thereof. In-person meetings would be essential, to involve those not hip to online collaboration, and to reach new participants. (Take a Seat at the Table and The Archimedes Movement are two local organizations that have had some success with "offline" versions of this type of project.) Possible issues
Side benefits
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