Howard’s Slide Text in SoCP

Public Policy e-Participation

National Development Council

14 June 2015

Outline

  1. Background
  2. Basics of civic participation 
  3. International trends of e-participation 
  4. General rate of Internet access and online civic participation in Taiwan
  5. Public policy e-participation in Taiwan
    1. Public sector
    2. Private sector
  6. Currently in progress: Platforms for public policy e-participation
  7. Conclusion

1. Background

  • Strengthening government’s administrative performance and using Web 2.0 effectively
    •

    Social media improves communication and interaction with the public and allows for the innovation of government service procedures, enhancing the quality of administration.

    In the summary report of the "National Affairs Conference on Trade and Economics" held on 28 July 2014, there was an appeal based on a joint/majority opinion that stated:

    Action item for the Council: Planning and establishing a normalized platform for public policy e-participation and promoting policy transparency and civic participation.

  • United Nations e-government indicator: e-participation 
    •

    Most important basics of civic participation:

    2. Basics of civic participation 

    Civic participation is an important factor for establishing a democratic system and for deepening democracy. With the development of democratic politics, the channels of public participation in public policy must adapt to the digital age and gradually develop various forms.

    The traditional forms of public participation, such as elections, public hearings, evidence hearings, and press conferences, are a top-down mode of communication that places more emphasis on reflecting the mainstream values of a minority of society, so they have gradually become insufficient for meeting the needs of society at large.

    As the Internet and social media have developed, the emerging values of diversity and tolerance have given rise to qualitative and quantitative changes in public participation and have also brought opportunities and challenges to the government’s public administration.

    It is hoped that the advance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) will be beneficial for expanding communication and interaction between the government and the public and will be especially beneficial for the government’s understanding of public sentiment and for establishing relationships that connect to private and community resources.

    It will appropriately authorize the public so that both sides become the joint creators and contributors of the public value of policy, forming the foundation for the sustainable development of democratic values.

  • International Examples
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  • Openness of government information
    •

    3. International trends of e-participation 

    1. Openness of government information — Government services and government information are openly available, forming the first stage of contact in government-public interaction.
    2. Use of social media — Interaction on social media is the best practical tool of social networking. Governments around the world have listed the development of social media or new online media among the strategies and measures for government administration.
    3. e-participation platforms — Examples include Singapore’s civic participation platform (REACH) (https://www.reach.gov.sg/Home.aspx); South Korea’s public online petition and discussion portal (E-People) (http://www.epeople.go.kr/); the US White House petition website (We the People) (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/); and the UK Parliament e-petitions website (e-petitions) (http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/).
  • Handling and response methods: United States
    •
    1. The White House or administrative departments decide whether or not to respond, so not every issue receives a response. A response will still be made for important issues that do not meet the threshold requirements. 
    2. U.S. President Obama occasionally gives a direct response, but most responses are provided by the related administrative departments of the U.S. government. 
  • Handling and response methods: United Kingdom
    •
    1. It requires a statement of public support of the petition by a Member of Parliament. 
    2. The Backbench Business Committee decides whether or not to include the issue on the debate agenda. 
    3. It is submitted to the Backbench Business Committee for debate.

    4. General rate of Internet access and online civic participation in Taiwan

  • Changes to the rates of computer and Internet usage
    •

    There has been a rising trend in Wi-Fi or mobile Internet usage year after year:

    Note: The sample size of people of age 12 or older in 2013 was 3,079. 

    e-Participation (Web users):

  • Many non-governmental websites for the online expression of views on policy
    •

    5. Public policy e-participation in Taiwan

  • Public sector development of online civic participation in Taiwan
    •

    Mechanism details

    Management categories

    Real-world symposiums

    Public opinion Q&A

    Information dissemination frequency

    The National Development Council’s "Free Economic Pilot Zone Online Communication Meeting" and "National Affairs Conference on Trade and Economics" properly use social networking media to expand public participation.

  • Development of online civic participation in Taiwan
    •

    The National Affairs Conference on Trade and Economics held two e-participation community coordination meetings on 21 May and 7 June 2014 and started posting on the Loomio online community discussion platform on 9 June. 

    The north region pre-conference explanatory meeting, the north region post-conference sharing meeting, the north-south-central-west four-region post-conference sharing meeting, and the nationwide conference post-conference sharing meeting were held on 18 June, 25 June, 17 July, and 6 August, respectively, to promote the participation by young people.

    The Ministry of Education held a youth debate demonstration competition on 19 July, for which there were 69 competitors. The public Facebook group "Pros Outweigh the Cons, Is Z > B? Cons Outweigh the Pros, Is B >Z? -- The Influence of Free Trade on the Future of Taiwan’s Youth" was also formed, and there was live event streaming from LiveHouse.in.

    The Ministry of Education held the Youth World Café Online Gathering event on 20 July and also provided live event streaming in the hopes of building a consensus through virtual-physical integration.

  • Executive Yuan press conference live broadcast and online response
    •

    The Executive Yuan held a post-meeting online press conference live test broadcast on the YouTube platform on 11 September 2014 and set up a "Camera on the Executive Yuan" channel on YouTube for users to subscribe to. 

    Starting in October 2014, the Executive Yuan post-meeting press conference held every Thursday has been streamed online to make use of new media so that public viewing can be more convenient and instantaneous and to directly provide first-hand information. 

    The Executive Yuan also welcomes the public to engage in constructive discussion when viewing online videos, and the public can instantly share any suggestions they may have, which will be used as a reference for governmental improvements.  

    URL address: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6HwFBpg_WCQfIzy8I4_KQ

  • Open DPP — Established on 3 February 1015
    •

    When an issue reaches 10,000 votes on Open DPP, it will be submitted to the DPP Central Standing Committee within 14 days. Every week, the issue with the most votes will be selected to be submitted to the Central Standing Committee. If there are more than two issues that meet the criteria in one week, then the one with the most votes will be submitted.  The votes are counted cumulatively, and 30 days after an issue is proposed, its vote count will start over from zero.  In special circumstances, the "Open DPP Anti-Aging Team" has the right to make adjustments.  http://opendpp.tw/vote/

    There have been 119 issues proposed as of 7 June 2015, of which two became approved issues. The "approved issues" involved the "Appendectomy Project" and all-around re-call. This entailed supporting the revision to the recall law and a recall vote on 14 February and asking the DPP to take real action to support a recall campaign, medical dispute handling, and medical malpractice compensation law.

  • Social Democratic Party online deliberation
    •

    The SDP Planning Office has a platform for discussing the party platform and political opinions, which is jointly established by the Planning Office and the g0v dynamic democracy project. 

    In the first stage (5 to 25 March), they tried to get a clear understanding of the problems and tried to allow participants to focus what their common ideas and values are. 

    In the second stage (29 March to 30 June), the SDP proposed the details of the draft platform and political opinions. To make sure the discussion is based on "informed participation," they provide the relevant information needed for discussion. When a certain topic has collected many constructive comments, it results in a real meeting being called to engage in discussion, revise draft resolutions, and even propose drafts.

    https://ask.sdparty.tw/

  • Taiwan countersignature resources planning platform
    •

    Developed based on the concept of "countersignatures," it mainly provides the general public with a platform to combine their voices and energy from anywhere and at anytime in hopes of allowing individuals and groups with common ideas and common values to form policy communities with shared values. 

    There are currently 1,319 issues, with 2,901,316 countersignatures. The issue with the most countersignatures has 435,610.

    Issues raised on this platform do not need to be reviewed, and the issue originators can submit issues at any time and from any place to be shared with other users. The number of countersignatures can be boosted through personal channels or through being shared on social media by Internet users. 

    Information comes from http://campaign.tw-npo.org/ and fan pages.

  • g0v.tw — Gov Zero
    •

    Based on the spirit of using open source code, with concern for free speech and information openness, this is a platform that provides information services that can be easily used by citizens. 

    The transparency of information can help citizens get a better understanding of how government works and get an understanding of the issues more quickly without monopolization by the media, which is the only way to effectively supervise the government and to ultimately deepen democracy through participation in real action. 

    http://g0v.tw/ replaces the "O" in "gov" with a "zero" to make it "g0v" so that considerations of the role of government can start from zero, while also signifying viewing the world through the zeroes and ones of the digital native generation.

    It is a community that promotes information transparency and that strives to develop information platforms and tools to allow civic participation in society.  It began to be formed in late 2012, and as of early 2015, it had 26 workshops, more than 30 lectures by invitation, more than 100 media reports, and more than 500 contributors across three continents. Its results are always released in the form of open software. 

  • Open Taipei —  Taipei City Government Online Municipal Government Forum
    •

    When the discussion of any issue reaches a certain level of widespread interest (500 approvals) or after the open discussion time for the issue expires, it is reported by the managing department to the relevant department director or the mayor, and then the follow-up direction of policy or measure planning and implementation is announced.

    Dedicated monitors for forums are assigned who are responsible for providing information about the issue under discussion and for providing it to the city government research and examination section. It is then transferred to a special working team for confirmation one week before it is planned to be put on the agenda. Reply messages are sent within two days for specific questions raised by the public discussing the issue that need clarification or responses, based on the principle of level-by-level responsibility by departments.

    Bureaus and offices with issues under discussion should review the online discussions at least twice a day.  If there are 500 approvals for a single issue and it entails a specific request, the managing department is to send an official letter to city government departments, to receive a response within 6 business days.

  • Taipei City Government — Online Municipal Government Forum
    •

    (Website has been shut down as of this writing.)

    6. Currently in progress

  • Public policy e-participation platforms: Service times
    •
  • Public policy e-participation platforms: Establishment purposes
    •
  • Public policy e-participation platforms: Core concepts
    •
  • Public policy e-participation platforms: Introduction
    •

    Participation platform: http://join.gov.tw

    Department director’s mailbox (inquiring with department directors) 10 February 2015

    Major administration planning openness (supervision by the public) 31 March 2105

    Citizen proposal submission (suggestion box) 30 June 2015

    Public policy e-participation platforms: Vast number of visitors

    Public policy e-participation platforms: Policy consultation (comments by the public)

    Completed Consultation on issues (as of 10 February):

    Public policy e-participation platforms: Policy consultation (comments by the public)

    Implementation situation of issue consultation: Opening up consultation on issues (as of 9 June 2015):

    Ministry of the Interior

    Ministry of Finance

    Ministry of Education

    Ministry of Transportation and Communications

    Ministry of Labor

    Ministry of Health and Welfare

    Ministry of Culture

    Environmental Protection Agency

    Mainland Affairs Council

    Council of Agriculture

    Council for Hakka Affairs

    Recent issues in policy consultation

    Public policy e-participation platforms: Policy consultation (comments by the public)

    Situation of current discussions in comments by the public (statistics as of 9 June 2015)

    Public policy e-participation platforms: Major administration plans (supervision by the public) 

    Situation of current discussions on supervision by the public

    Public policy e-participation platforms: Citizen proposal submission (suggestion box) 

    Online proposal procedure consultation process

    Online consultation: 

    Consultation of opinions of ministries and councils of the Executive Yuan 

    Expert and scholar symposium 

    Note: See the attachment for details on the related opinions and adoption situation.

    Public policy e-participation platforms: Citizen proposal submission (suggestion box) 

    (Draft) Key Points of Implementing Public Policy Online Citizen Proposal Submission 

    Five steps of online proposal submission procedure

    Taiwan’s citizens can participate in supporting proposals

    The method of explanation can be convening a press conference, publishing a press release, or another method that promotes the public awareness of it.

    Public policy e-participation platforms: Citizen proposal submission (suggestion box) 

    Principles of public transparency

    Proposal submission and proposal support are suspended during national elections.

    Public policy e-participation platforms: Citizen proposal submission (suggestion box) 

    The length of trial operation of online proposal submission should be six months.

    Public policy e-participation promotion: Department director’s mailbox (inquiring with department directors)

    7. Conclusion

  • The government and the public do not stand in opposition.
    •

    We work hand in hand to make things better.

    Open government, transparent administration, full-citizenry participation.

  • Thank You — Please visit  join.gov.tw 
    •

    There can be no driving force to make things better in Taiwan without your participation!