Online Dialogue/Public Forums
Information Renaissance
Online dialogues are designed to expand public knowledge and encourage discussion of issues with significant potential for social benefit and change. They go beyond e-mail and online opinion surveys: providing background information, enlisting expert panelists, actively recruiting participants including those who are hard to reach, and providing support to sponsors, panelists and users. The sponsoring organization frames the issues to be covered, defines the agendas for each day of the discussion, lists the stakeholders in these issues and coordinates the format with the objectives for the dialogue.
Online dialogues are open to the public. Participants are requested to register, but anyone can read the discussions and daily summaries, and review background resources. Participants join in at their convenience (unlike a chat room, for which all must be online at the same time); they can take time to reflect on background materials and others' postings, and reply at any time of the day or night. The dialogue web site is maintained as an archive long after the online discussion has concluded, providing an authoritative source of information and reference.
Examples:
California Education Dialogue
Public Involvement in EPA Decisions
Readings:
Barbara Brandon and Bob Carlitz, Using the Internet to Build Capacity Local Stakeholders
IPAC Events
