Mr Fraser Henderson (P11)
Foremost I think that more Local Authorities
should develop local e-Petitioning services. The reason being
that Bristol and Kingston Upon Thames are great success stories.
At the most fundamental level, e-enabling the
petitioning process is worthwhile. But the feedback channel and
outreach are the real strengths of e-Petitioning. For example,
three and a half million people have received answers from the
No.10 system so far at a modest cost of £140,000.
Foremost I believe that e-Petitions must be
connected with policy cycle. While I endorses the proposed equality
of online and offline petitions I am concerned that there may
be a misconception about whom and what powers the petitioner is
triggering. The expectations of any e-system must be matched with
an ability to deliver. For example, the word "petition"
provokes an emotional response compared with say "call to
action".
I am also concerned that there will be a disconnect
between the various e-Petitioning systems, from No.10 to the regional
and local authority networks. A system should be in place to co-ordinate
the various e-Petitions into the most appropriate channels or
aggregate all the systems.
I would also like to question the triggering
of action based on signature numbers. The real issue is the proportion
of people affected by the petition who also support it. I would
like to see special consideration given to e-Petitions with low
support yet high impact among the signatories.
THE TECHNOLOGY
In terms of the e-Petition system itself, I
recommend that it lists both paper and e-Petitions. Furthermore,
for the purposes of transparency, that the responses to submitted
petitions are published on the website in addition to the supporters
by email
Compared to existing e-Petitioning systems (Napier,
mySociety) there should be an ability to add more multimedia elements
such as supporting images or video.
If the Napier software was used then I recommend
using the DigiTV interface which could then be used to interface
with Parliament TV. An interactive voice system so people could
access petitions via the telephone would be phenomenal at bridging
the digital divide.
EVALUATION
Evaluation is an important aspect of any pilot
system. I propose that parliament consider mechanisms for evaluating
customer insight and satisfaction as well as embedded profile
analysis of respondents (eg acorn).
The satisfaction of responses to petitions can
be measured by using an automated system such as GovMetric (http://www.govmetric.com).
Additionally it would be useful for the system to encompass an
issues forum so that petition responses can be debated post closure.
Equally there should be a mechanism by which the principal petitioner
can start a conversation with the petition signatories. This gives
more democratic value to single statement petitions.
ABUSE
Something will have to be done to stop "astroturfing".
Astroturfing is a neologism for formal public relations campaigns
in politics and advertising that seek to create the impression
of being spontaneous, grassroots behavior. The principal petitioner
should be legally bound to a code of ethics. See the Public Relations
Society of America Member Code of Ethics 2000 on disclosure of
information for ideas.
THE BIGGER
PICTURE
The wider opportunity for the House is what
they do with the petitioner once they have signed or started a
petition. Ideally the petitioner should be encouraged to escalate
their level of engagement.
December 2007
| 
