Introduction - Informing Digital Futures: Strategies for Citizen Engagement - page 1

1 Introduction
We have written this topic to begin to fill a significant gap we perceive to
exist between the rhetoric of inclusive, user-centred design of information
and communications technologies (ICTs) on the one hand, and the ideology
of participation and engagement in civil society on the other. The former
has developed from a recognition that effective ICT-based systems, ser-
vices and products result from a central focus upon the characteristics and
needs of their intended users. The latter promotes consultation and debate
with the public in order to achieve consensus on future plans and desirable
outcomes in relation to a wide range of planning and policy issues. In the
UK for example, citizens are familiar with this type of public consultation
on issues such as the location of shopping malls, new housing develop-
ments and road bypass schemes. The early 21 st century is characterized by
the increasing pervasiveness of ICT into all aspects of our lives. Some
individual ICT development projects have adopted a participative approach
and sought to include end users in the design process. What are conspicuous
by their absence are public consultations and discussions in relation to the
scope, shape and implications of new technologies which will nevertheless
impact on our lives. We, as individual citizens, do not have the opportunity
to learn about and discuss emerging technologies, to discover what is
becoming possible in our increasingly 'connected' world, or to consider
the implications and explore what might or might not be desirable - in
other words, to inform and influence our digital futures. Many putative
developments occur in the research labs of the manufacturers and software
providers, shrouded in secrecy to preserve competitive advantage until the
'chosen design outcomes' are launched upon the public.
In both civil society and in the design of ICT systems and services, there
is a growing body of experience and knowledge about what does and does
not work in terms of engaging people in decision-making. Unfortunately,
both practitioners and researchers in these two separate domains operate
largely without reference to each other. The apparently impermeable bound-
ary between these two communities seems extraordinary when both so
intimately and profoundly affect the lives of citizens across the globe. This
is especially true when one (the use of digital technologies) is increasingly
being seen as a means of achieving the other (enhanced social inclusion
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