Presented by Gregory Asmolov March 29, 2011 [email protected].

Role of ICT In uniting civil society around social issues

Presented by Gregory Asmolov March 29, 2011

[email protected]

ICT enabled mobilization of power:

Outsourcing Crowdsourcing

Bottom up from within the systemOut of the system/ Top down

as a resource of power

Programming power: Construction of meaning for networked activity (what is the problem and how to respond). Switching power: Connecting networks

How the meaning is constructed? By whom? Bottom up or top down?

What are the networks that are engaged in

mobilization?

In time of crisis or challenge for society the construction of meaning to (programming) tend to be more bottom up and switching is able to connect between more various networked segments.

“Networked crowd”

“Fifth estate” concept:

The Internet is a platform for networking individuals in ways that can challenge the influence of other more established bases of institutional authority, and that can be used to increase the accountability of the press, politicians, doctors and academics by offering networked individuals with alternative sources of information and opinion.

Networked Individuals Networked Institutions

William Dutton

Role of crowdsourcing:

TRASNSPERENCY ACCOUNTABILITY

SELF GOVERNANCE

agenda setting/ framing

Balance of power:

Networked citizens

State

• Power to frame situation as crisis that requires engagement• Power to mobilize for engagement

Russian elections

Networked citizens

Wildfires

Russian wildfires

State

Network society

Blogosphere, social networks, websites

Traditional mediaState

5th estate4th estate

Controlled spaceLack of transparencyUnaccountableLimited action

Security, WelfareLaw enforcement, justiceEmergency response

organization Non hierarchical/ networked

TV, radio, printOnline media

Government, parliament, police, courts (etc.)

Increasing transparency, investigating, holding government accountable

Relatively uncontrolled

Institutional response to emergency and limited statehood:

Actors:

Functions:

Reality:

organizationStructure:

Fulfilling the gaps

• The core issue is the capacity of society to self organize and respond to challenges/ crises.• Mobilization is not only engagement of people to participate in addressing the challenge,

but also creation of new tools for power mobilization (innovation).

The self-organization capacity of

society

The nature of challenge

and how it’s framed

1. “Power to” 2. Counter power/ social protest

Functions of power:

Mobilization of network power:

The struggle for “crowd resource”:

• Top down/ bottom up programming• Taking under control existent

initiatives• Collaboration - synergy between

traditional institutions and networked crowds

• Ignoring (alternative modes of governance)

• Restricting – Internet control/ filtering/ DDoS/ prosecution

Scenarios of relationship between traditional institutions and networked citizen based formations:

Mobilization of civil society around social issues:• Programming and mobilizing the network power

around social issues• Supporting creation of new tools and platforms• Supporting skills to use ICT for social: information

literacyState

Network societyState

ProgrammingSupporting

collaboration

switching

Development of capacity to collaborate:New tools for dialogue and new modes of collaboration between traditional institutions and networked citizen based bottom-up structures. Creation of equal partnerships between state and society

State-network relationships:

• Development of mode for dialogue and collaboration frameworks/ platforms

• Exchange of data• Division of responsibilities and modes of mutual activation• Information support• Sharing resources (Grid)• Design of platforms that enable equal participation of network

initiatives and institutions• E-gov strategies as enabling infrastructure for collaboration• Online presence not only of politicians but various officials• Removing legal obstacles for activities of networks without

organizational identity• Mapping potential networked resources/ topics for collaboration for

various sectors of governance and monitoring new initiatives.

E-collaboration forms:

Supporting innovation with open data:

Civil Resilience Network:

National Resilience is based on bottom up (citizens, society, small business( and top-down (authorities, leaders) elements.

Despite the concept that the state and authorities are responsible for emergency response for national crisis, in the time of crisis there is a significant gap between the expectations of citizens and the capacity of the state. State can not provide effective emergency response alone.

Civil Resilience Network – it is a networked infrastructure of individuals and various organizations that are interested in increasing the capacity for response on local/national level and promotion of cooperation between various sectors.

Mega-Society: networked coalition of organizations from various sectors, that are ready to cooperate for addressing challenges, that can’t be addressed with the current capacities.

http://reut-institute.org/en/Publication.aspx?PublicationId=3729

Gdecasino.ru:

You know, this is a problem of the people who work for the government. I would be very sad if every government engagement would require presidential participation. […] I think it's a question of the people growing up, in general. The only thing that I can promise, that I will continue to provide a personal example. But eventually, it is a question of how the ministers and head of departments feel. If they don't want to stay at the dumping ground [to be fired], they should react in this regard.

D.Medvedev

Vertical crowdsourcing:

Crowdsourcing as emergency response:

National emergency

Constant emergency

Daily common emergency

State-network collaboration in risk society.

National emergency:

Networked institutions:Enable collective actions that is focusedon solution of specific problem.

Networked individuals:1. Internet users that have

capacity to participate in collective action

2. Create networked institutions

Networked enabled coalition: (switching power)

Constant emergency:

Lizaalert.org

Platform that distributes a call about missing child and create search groups.

V estate and government collaboration:

It’s very common to have lack of cooperation. In some cases we were asked not to participate: “Why do we need you? Everything is good here. We can do it without volunteers”. In some cases they didn’t let us to enter to the police station and didn’t give us information. In many cases they just want to stay on low profile and avoid real action. Looking for lost people is not on their mission list.

But after 2-3 days of search they get closer, and the cooperation starts. And if we are talking about a region where we already worked, sometimes we get a call with a help request from police.

Daily emergency: Rynda.org

A platform for coordination of mutual aid in daily emergency situations. http://firedepartment.mobi/

Matchmaking

I can help

I need help

Filter-based notification subscription

Personal profiles

For: Individuals, NGOs, Gov. agencies

User’s filters : How to helpWhen to helpWhere to help

Citizens Streetjournal.org

Government

Problems registration

Solutions control

Moderation by community

Defining priorities

Available to everyone

Receiving reports

Defining responsible

Implementation control

Прозрачная и эффективная схема взаимодействия с гражданами по проблемам на территории

Интеграция с системой документооборотаорганов власти Пермского края

From presentation by Alexey Shaposhnikov

Internet and Imitation of Governance:

The Kremlin is “using the Internet to create a parody of a real political process.” Russian officials were using online tools like Twitter to demonstrate they were close to the people on a personal level, while at the same time avoiding real political change.

Luke Allnutt, “Russia's “Youtube democracy” is a Sham”, Christian Science Monitor

Russian regime is focused on the imitation of governance without actually governing the country. Liliya Shevtzova

Technology/ crowdsourcing as a substitute to governance.

When we assume people are principally selfish, we design systems that reward selfish people …

Elinor Ostrom, Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences

“

“Like” society: internal immigration.

Struggle between two social imaginaries in Russian society:

“We can do it” – society

Mobilization of network power:

STATEHOOD

RISK

Crowdsourcing - mobilization of networked power.

1. “Power to” – сrowd-to-crowd emergency response mediated through ICT2. Counter power/ social protest –against traditional institutions3. Power to collaborate – synergy between traditional institutions and networked crowds

High High

Low Low

Peer-to-peer governance

From Client-Server (citizen-government) towards Peer-to-Peer emergency response;

New opportunities for state-society cooperation.

[email protected]

Thank you!