Comments on: The demise of ICELE http://www.delib.net/dblog/the-demise-of-icele/ Digital democracy, news, thinking, tips & tricks and tech stuff from Delib Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:59:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: links for 2008-06-20 | DavePress http://www.delib.net/dblog/the-demise-of-icele/comment-page-1/#comment-217 links for 2008-06-20 | DavePress Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:33:36 +0000 http://www.delib.co.uk/dblog/the-demise-of-icele/#comment-217 [...] The demise of ICELE | Delib Blog Gez Smith of Delib on The ICELE debacle (tags: icele edemocracy delib slashgov lgedem) [...] [...] The demise of ICELE | Delib Blog Gez Smith of Delib on The ICELE debacle (tags: icele edemocracy delib slashgov lgedem) [...]

]]> By: Pete Thomson http://www.delib.net/dblog/the-demise-of-icele/comment-page-1/#comment-214 Pete Thomson Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:51:52 +0000 http://www.delib.co.uk/dblog/the-demise-of-icele/#comment-214 Gez, on moving the focus away from tools and towards how to use them - back in the early days of the National Project for Local e-Democracy we were very much thinking in those terms. Although that project did develop some innovative tools, there were also a number of pilots using existing tools, where the project output was guidance on how to justify them, choose them and use them. I think the later shift in emphasis towards providing tools had a lot to do with the perceived need for an income stream to achieve sustainability, the assumption being that councils (those that weren't already into this) wouldn't pay for guidance but might pay for tools. The way the market has gone, it looks like many don't see the need to pay for tools either. So the options I can think of for doing something sustainable now are: * see if people will pay for guidance in this area after all (my guess - maybe, but not a lot) * see if the commercial players will fund something providing guidance and promotion to stimulate the market (my guess - looks like a very speculative investment, not very likely to happen) * try to build something that doesn't need an income stream because it relies mainly on voluntary effort rather than paid staff (feels to me like the direction minds are heading just now, but as someone pointed out in another conversation, in the UK we've tended to rely on government in this area rather than activism). Gez, on moving the focus away from tools and towards how to use them – back in the early days of the National Project for Local e-Democracy we were very much thinking in those terms. Although that project did develop some innovative tools, there were also a number of pilots using existing tools, where the project output was guidance on how to justify them, choose them and use them.

I think the later shift in emphasis towards providing tools had a lot to do with the perceived need for an income stream to achieve sustainability, the assumption being that councils (those that weren’t already into this) wouldn’t pay for guidance but might pay for tools. The way the market has gone, it looks like many don’t see the need to pay for tools either.

So the options I can think of for doing something sustainable now are:

* see if people will pay for guidance in this area after all (my guess – maybe, but not a lot)

* see if the commercial players will fund something providing guidance and promotion to stimulate the market (my guess – looks like a very speculative investment, not very likely to happen)

* try to build something that doesn’t need an income stream because it relies mainly on voluntary effort rather than paid staff (feels to me like the direction minds are heading just now, but as someone pointed out in another conversation, in the UK we’ve tended to rely on government in this area rather than activism).

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