How can web 2.0 support citizen engagement with public services?

What kinds of engagement are there?

There might be increasing levels of engagement from passive to active.

e.g.

• Online information (most sites)
• Online advice via some algorithmic system (e.g. NHS Direct online)
• Transactional services (e.g. car tax)
• Feedback from service users (e.g. Patient Opinion) perhaps with service responses
• Consultation with groups of users/citizens
• Online petitions
• Co-design of services 

 Efforts of this sort have tended to relate to services at an organisational/managerial level. Is there scope for citizen feedback to motivate/inspire/change what front line staff do?

In addition public sector bureaucracies are notoriously impervious to feedback. Are there ways for the web to assist/support organisational change, perhaps initiated by public feedback. Would this be a good thing?

The web tends to make organisations more transparent, and vastly increases the "surface area" which is exposed to the outside. Is this likely to happen with public services? Would this result in greater public engagement/understanding/commitment to high quality public services?

These are the sorts of questions that swill around in the collective brain of Patient Opinion. I'd love the chance to discuss them with others at this conference.

Another thing that Paul Hodgkin (of PO) has presented well on is the contrast between the social media that citizens find it easy to engage with, and the social media that organisations find congenial. A key question is how to construct bridges between these?

Ella at Napier University who is coming along is doing research in this area. She is also organising an event in November with funding from EU.

We also hope to have one of the mysociety volunteers from north of the border. There will also be public servants attending, however there are no elected representatives attending.

Maybe two bits of 'light' reading for homework?

• 'Web 2.0 in Government: why and how?' is a piece of EU research published earlier this year. Perhaps a bit dry, but good overview, and for basic data on things like participation rates, and a list of exemplar applications (including PatientOpinion!)
• [We'll surely be hearing about this on the day but] Hansard Society 'Digital Dialogues' survey of early Whitehall initiatives re citizen engagement - a series of case studies, but also really handy collated guidance, and more detailed stuff in appendices for roles like e-mentors etc.