Start a Local Online Public Issues Forum

Here at OnlineGroups.Net, we don’t just provide sites where people can collaborate in online groups. We also build and release GroupServer, the software that underpins OnlineGroups.Net, and we help organisations to implement GroupServer to create successful online groups and communities. Sometimes, that involves technical work such as hosting, configuring, customising and maintaining software. At other times, it involves social and organisational consulting, to get people engaged and participating in online groups. I affectionately refer to the latter as “wrangling”.

One of the wrangling projects I’ve worked on recently is establishing the Canterbury Online Public Issues Forum. Now that the forum is up and running, and looks like it’s going to be a sustainable part of the local democratic landscape, I’ve written the Aotearoa Local Online Public Issues Forum Guide (PDF, 445kb), which aims to help others to get similar forums started. The guide is based on our experience with the Canterbury Forum, and includes the text of various documents that we used to get the forum started.

One of the main contributors to the Canterbury forum project was funding provided by the Community Partnership Fund. The 2008/2009 funding round of the Community Partnership Fund will open on 6 October 2008. If you are interested in starting an online public issues forum in Aotearoa New Zealand, you may be also able to get some support from the CPF. You can use the Canterbury forum as evidence of what can be achieved, and use the guide to increase your chances of creating another sucessful forum. I would also be happy to help you in any way that I can, so feel free to get in touch.

If you plan to start a local online public issues forum outside Aotearoa New Zealand, the guide will probably be of some use to you, too. Of course, I also recommend you get in touch with our friends, customer and colleagues at E-Democracy.Org, because they are the world experts in local online participative democracy. It was only with their help that I was able to achieve what I have in Canterbury. Thank you Steven Clift and Tim Erickson for your inspiration, assistance and leadership. My thanks also to Ron Kjestrup, Nicki Reece, Plains 96.9FM, Andrew Groom and the Canterbury forum steering team, and the participants and Guest Speakers in the forum, Environment Canterbury, and Christchurch City Council, who have all been instrumental in the success of this project.