Modelling Citizen Engagement - Informing Digital Futures: Strategies for Citizen Engagement - page 109

Local knowledge and experience (e.g. of community interests,
context)
The crucial significance of context (whether geographical, cultural, eco-
nomic, social and political or other factors) for the development of effec-
tive interventions is very clear from all the cases considered.
The aim of the Macatawa case study, for example, was to improve quality
of life and living conditions in their community. A wide range of citizens
of the Macatawa area contributed their local knowledge and experience of
citizenship in the community to identify and specify problems in their
community and region, and then developed action plans to address these.
Similarly, local knowledge and first hand experience of villagers partici-
pating in the Reflect ICTs projects enabled them to specify their individual
information needs and requirements and to share their knowledge of what
technologies would or would not be useful - and above all practicable and
affordable for them.
Values
Understanding what we, as citizens, really value is fundamental to inform-
ing design decisions and shaping digital futures which we perceive to be
desirable. Values are often so deeply embedded in a culture that they are
not easily articulated. To explicitly gain inputs regarding values can be of
enormous significance to the projects and programmes seeking to make
beneficial and acceptable changes in communities. The documented study
of developments in the K-Net project provides us with powerful evidence
of this. The activities and conduct of the indigenous peoples represented
by the Keewaytinook Okimakanak are permeated by their deeply held be-
lief in the importance of respect, for each other, for their community, for
other peoples, for the environment and the need for sustainability. As a re-
sult of developing engagement processes which manifested respect, com-
munity members became engaged in the initiative and worked to identify
and develop new applications of ICT which would serve their communities
and which in turn would embody the values of respect towards citizens.
6.2.2 Transformations
In development projects of all kinds where citizens are active participants,
inputs are synthesised into outputs through transforming experiences of
collaboration, communication, shared learning and envisioning. These
transformation processes are fuelled by harnessing human imagination,
creativity and problem-solving capacities of the participants.