Civic Intelligence Tools

Categories

These categories are diffuse and rarely exist in a vaccuum. This list is incomplete -- and -- I need more examples!

Awareness

Especially of other perspectives and practices accomplished through data-sharing and development of data depositories

New Tactics, Zapatitza Movement, Liberating Voices!

Monitoring

Allows quicker and cheaper intelligence. What is monitored is a political issue

Sustainable Seattle, Google Alerts

Engagement

Powerful groups and campaign often begin here...

Where's George?

Alternative Communication

By-pass "establishment" media

B92, Free Republic, Truthout

Community (geographical, virtual, ad-hoc, issue-based, etc.) Building

Comment??

RCM, newsgroups, MUDs, etc.

Campaigns

No campaign management sites per se, but a collection of tactics

Jubilee 2000 (Surman and Reilly), Free Republic, MoveOn, petition systems, automated mailing

Open Protocols and Civic "Knockoffs"

Providng low-cost subsets and clones of expensive systems

BCSCW (Lotus Notes), Virtual Terrain (GIS)

Citizen / Community Research and Experimentation

Key to civic intelligence. Knowledge off "brethren" projects a useful precondition

iLabs (Bishop et al), Science for the People (India)

Re-framing, developing issue strategies

This is a necessary -- yet underappreciated -- part of strategizing -- and a core element of civic intelligence

What support exists? You could use wikis this way of course

Brainstorming

Collaborative issue development is important

What support exists? Mind-mapping? You could use wikis this way of course

Collaborative Document Development

Necessary -- not trivial. Can be open to all -- or to a small group

Wikis (Wikipedia), Living Platform development, Green Party, Canada; BCSCW

New Dialogues and Collaborations

Another fundamental part of civic intelligence -- a precursor to collaboration and coalition building

De Waag (Netherlands) and Sarai (India)

Hybrid Venues

Mixing participatory modes; concentrating (face-to-face) the distributed ("virtual")

Summer Source (Surman and Reilly); DIAC-06 (a gleam in our eye)

Self-Reflection Surveys / Census

These can also help build community and spread innovation; probing "mental model"

Community networking civic intelligence self-study survey

Deliberation

Making decisions together is different than just talking -- or voting

Deliberative Polling (Fishkin), e-Liberate

Metacognition

Evaluating and modifying "mental models"

Approprating the Internet for Socail Change (Surman and Reilly); Civic Intelligence (Schuler) -- Any technological tools?? "Mind Mapping"