The Case for Engagement - Informing Digital Futures: Strategies for Citizen Engagement - page 43

Here the aim is that the community should be represented by all voices in
order to reduce misunderstandings and a lack of trust on community is-
sues. Public engagement discussions have enabled people to weigh up a
variety of ideas and listen to each other in an attempt to build common un-
derstanding in their communities. Examples include: the San Jose Unified
School District, where a new Department of Public Engagement was cre-
ated with the specific purpose of organising community forums and other
outreach. Other examples have led to more subtle, but equally significant,
outcomes such as new trust and openness among different sectors of the
community. For example, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, a community forum
on expectations for students led to new alliances between education advo-
cates and clergy, which in turn proved important in planning a forum on

race and education (Public Agenda 2003).

Moreover, from a democratic perspective, it is beneficial to have more
citizens who understand potential choices and are informed about emerg-
ing opportunities and threats in the Information Society. Crises of public
confidence in the way in which the UK Government handled BSE (Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy, or 'mad cow disease') and anxieties about
scientific developments such as GM (genetically modified) crops, led to
the production of a new code of practice for scientific advisory committees
in the UK. This document stressed the need for a more inclusive approach.
A report from the House of Lords on 'science and society' stated that “ to-
day's public expects not merely to know what is going on, but to be con-
sulted; science is beginning to see the wisdom of this, and to move 'out of
the laboratory and into the community' …to engage in dialogue aimed at
mutual understanding ” (Irwin 2001).

3.2.5 Sustainability

Information and communication technologies have much to offer commu-
nity groups and not-for-profit organisations. Yet, as Merkel et al. (2005)
point out, few non-profit organisations are likely to have paid IT staff;
most rely on volunteers with widely different skills and who may only
work with a group for a limited period of time. This situation creates a
number of barriers to the effective use of technology. The people involved
may not have the necessary skills to select and implement appropriate new
technologies to help their organisation and to achieve their objectives. Al-
ternatively, the organisation may have access to people with these skills
who then move on, or who are only available part-time, with the conse-
quence that there may not be skilled individuals available to use or main-
tain the system. The issue of sustainability under such circumstances has