Ascentum

Ascentum is a Canada-based professional services firm that combines a unique technology expertise with specialized management consulting services. Dialogue Circles is Ascentum's intermodal approach to consultation that aims to maximize the synergies between the traditional and online worlds of consultation and dialogue. Dialogue Circles provides clients with the flexibility to hold online or traditional consultation and dialogue. According to Ascentum, many of the most successful consultation and dialogue endeavors now involve a mix of online tools and traditional face-to-face approaches that complement one another.

Resource Link: http://www.ascentum.ca

Building a Digital Community: A Leadership Guidebook

The Governor's e-Communities Task Force.

On Aug. 31, 2000, Governor James S. Gilmore III and Secretary of Technology Donald W. Upson asked the newly established Governor's e-Communities Task Force to develop a template, or guide, for communities wishing to leverage the power of the Internet to improve their competitiveness and enrich the lives of their citizens. The Governor, the Secretary and the Task Force understand that many communities' economic vitality depends on their ability to connect seamlessly both to their communities and to the rest of the world. According to their vision, Virginia communities will create a network of individual community portals that reflect local priorities and maintain common elements, and that connect each community to the state, the nation and the world.

Resource Link: http://www.councils.cit.org/ecommunities/pdf/guidelines.pdf

ByDesign-eLab

byDesign-eLab was founded in 1997 in association with the McLuhan Program at the University of Toronto as an informal think tank and testing ground engaged in research, education and product development focused on new media and policy. The eLab is now a private organization dedicated to realizing significant public interest projects. As such, eLab researches and engages in "humane participant design" of accessible public spaces online to ensure that the economic and social benefits of digital media can be shared through mutual exchange of vital information and resources among networked communities of geography, interest and practice.

Resource Link: http://www.bydesign-elab.net

Capitol Advantage

Capitol Advantage is the nation's pioneer and premier provider of online and off-line grassroots solutions for corporations, nonprofit groups, associations, educational institutions and other organizations. Capitol Advantage affiliated companies, under the leadership of Robert Hansan, have a 20-year track record of helping citizens make their voices heard - from the school house to the White House, from Main Street to Wall Street.

Resource Link: http://www.capitoladvantage.com

Citizenspace

This site provides citizens an opportunity to learn more about how British democracy works, as well as take part in online consultations on a range of policy matters. Developed under the UKOnline initiative of the British government.

Resource Link: http://www.citizenspace.co.uk/index_html

CitizenSpeak

CitizenSpeak is a free email advocacy service for grassroots organizations. Inspired by MoveOn email campaigns, CitizenSpeak provides the same e-advocacy capability at the community level in English and Spanish. CitizenSpeak campaigns are easy to set-up and only require a web-browser and basic web-surfing skills to use. CitizenSpeak launched in 2007 in conjunction with Mobile Active, RingTones08.com - a free site that lets people create and share ringtones about the 2008 election.

Resource Link: http://www.citizenspeak.org

City Scan

City Scan works with residents in urban areas to identify, prioritize and resolve neighborhood problems. City Scan has been working with neighborhood groups in four Connecticut cities to identify problems that city government can fix -- abandoned cars, vacant buildings, potholes, graffiti, and litter. We train youth or adult volunteers to use handheld computers, digital cameras, and GIS mapping software to inventory these street-level conditions.

Resource Link: http://www.city-scan.com

Civic Minded blog

Catch up on the latest in online politics and democracy with the Corante blogging network's Civic Minded group blog. Civic Minded is a guide to the political impact of the Internet, looking at issues ranging from online organizing and campaigning to the big picture of how new technology is changing democratic communities.

Resource Link: http://civicminded.corante.com/

CivicSpace

CivicSpace is a community organizing platform supported by an ecology of users, developers, and vendors. It allows you to build communities online and offline that can communicate effectively, act collectively, and coordinate coherently with a network of other related organizations. CivicSpace enables bottom-up people-powered campaigns to operate on a more level playing field with more traditional top-down organizations, and, similarly, allows top-down organizations to leverage the power of grassroots organizing. Our open source CivicSpace Drupal distribution now powers over 2,000 organization's websites and the top six CivicSpace/Drupal servicing firms employ over 50 staff members.

Resource Link: http://www.civicspacelabs.org

Comment Connection

Comment Connection is a subscription service customized for public participation professionals and the challenges they face in collecting, analyzing and reporting public comment. Comments can be tracked from multiple projects and multiple project phases.

Congress.org

Congress.org, a free public service of Capitol Advantage (a non-partisan company that specializes in facilitating civic participation), is a 'one-stop-shop' where people can identify their Congressional representatives; research Congressional voting records; learn about the issues of the day; and send email directly to Congress. Constituents can even opt to have their email message hand-delivered to their Representative or Senator's office on Capitol Hill--all without ever leaving their computer. During election time, Congress.org provides constituents tools for learning about candidates and makes registering to vote a snap.

Resource Link: http://www.congress.org

DEMO-net

The overarching objective of DEMO-net is to strengthen scientific, technological and social research excellence in eParticipation by integrating the research capacities of individuals and organisations spread across Europe. The intention is to advance the way research is carried out in Europe with respect to quality, efficiency, innovation and impact to overcome the currently fragmented approach to eParticipation in this important European research area. With this overall objective, the network will provide a major contribution to the strategic goals set by the European Council.

Resource Link: http://www.demo-net.org

Democracy On Line: An Evaluation on the National Dialogue on Public Involvement in EPA Decisions

Thomas Beierle. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2002.

This tool is a case study of electronic public participation - dynamics of process, participants attitudes about process, quality of communication and results of process.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/Democracy_On_Line.pdf

Do-Consult (Democracies Online - Online Consultations and Civic Events) Listserv

The Democracies Online family of peer forums.

DO-Consult is a peer-to-peer forum for those involved with government, parliamentary and civic online consultations and events. This forum is facilitated by Alexandra W. Samuel, a Vancouver-based researcher specializing in online citizen engagement. It is part of the Democracies Online family of peer forums organized by Steven Clift.

Resource Link: http://dowire.org

DO-WIRE (email announcement list)

DO-WIRE is a source for what's important and happening with the convergence of democracy and the Internet around the world. DO-WIRE is a free, low volume, moderated blog and e-mail announcement list. Launched in January 1998, DoWire connects thousands of experts, practitioners, journalists, and citizens across nearly 100 countries. Democracy Online covers politics online, new media, e-governance, online advocacy and activism, citizen e-participation and related topics.

Resource Link: http://www.e-democracy.org/do

E-Democracy.Org / Minnesota E-Democracy

Minnesota E-Democracy is a non-partisan citizen-based organization whose mission is to improve participation in democracy in Minnesota through the use of information networks and communication technologies. Minnesota E-Democracy was established in 1994 and created the world's first election-oriented website. They sponsor election-year online partnerships to promote citizen access to election information and interaction. Their year-round focus is on the use of the Internet to improve citizen participation and real world governance through online discussions and information and knowledge exchange.

Resource Link: http://www.e-democracy.org

P2 Software and Technology blog

Beth Offenbacker's blog highlights the use of technology for public participation/public involvement and decisionmaking purposes. Learn about existing tools, reports, emerging trends and a range of other resources on this subject.

Resource Link: http://p2tools.blogspot.com/