Research: how digital can support participation in government

Research project — overview

In 2017, the Department of Internal Affairs ran a 6-week research project focused on ways that digital can support participation in government.

Insights overview and themes

A more flexible and open government culture and more investment in relationships will support co-creation and co-design with New Zealanders.

Why we did this research

We wanted to see how digital could support participation in government so people, business and communities could have insight into and be involved in government decision making.

What we did

We talked with people in person and did remote online testing. We also reviewed how other countries are engaging with the public.

• Research approach
• Who we talked to
• International research

What else did we learn?

Lessons on inclusion and diversity cover face-to-face interactions, language as a barrier, digital access and literacy and civic education.

• Participants' ideas for participatory democracy

What the research told us

These are the common themes that came through from our interviews with people, agencies and other organisations.

Discovery insights: talking to people, non-government organisations and government

We talked with a range of people and organisations about engagement with government.

• People
• Representatives communities (NGOs)
• Government agencies

Our proposal for change

The Department of Internal Affairs' Government Information Service is recommending, assuming appropriate funding is granted, to take a test and learn approach to implement what has been learnt during the digital democracy discovery process.

Participation principles — draft

We drafted a set of Principles for Participation from our insights. These principles build on the current online engagement guidance.

Organisations that support democratic engagement

These three organisations have developed and challenged methods of engaging people. They are independent from government, but often work with or for agencies, to better improve public services.

Social media — local research

Resources used for the research project

Acknowledgements of support for the research project

Throughout the discovery research we were supported and assisted by a number of organisations. We would like to thank them.