The Role of NGO Actors in the Development of New Technologies for
Citizen Engagement and the way forward...
Michael Szafraniec
CareWays Community
Australia
Unites Nations ,Geneva
13-14 May 2010
Outline
 1.
Definitions
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 2.
NGO’s Role in Development
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 3.
Defining Citizen Engagement
Defining Non-Government Actors
Local, National, Regional and Global Actors
Services, crisis, economic development, social development and social
protection, accountability, independent
Upstream and Downstream
Importance of NGO Actors in Citizen Engagement
Development
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NGO’s have links to citizenry; the private sector and; governments and
authorities
NGO’s are independent of gov, citizens and of themselves governed by
laws enacted by authorities to enable them
NGO’s provide social protection....
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Outline
 4.
Standardising the way forward
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 5.
NGO Perspective – a need for International Standardisation of
Engagement
Importance of Standardised Frameworks for ICT development and data
management
Opportunities to build global Social Data Warehouse based on
standardised inputs and outputs
Creating an Index of Measurement to categorise and measure impacts,
capacity and uptake of new opportunities
Access and Equity an ethical model
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Creating Access and Equity through the development of Engagement
Importance of ICT in enabling all actors to engage
Collection, Collation and Storage of Data and Knowledge Management
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Outline
 6.
Standards; Principles; benchmarks; and resources
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 7.
Social Data Warehouse
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 8.
Standards of engagement
Principles of engagement
Benchmarks
A Knowledge Management System
The way forward an International Action Agenda
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NGO sector is in the unique position to be able to develop,
influence and implement action agenda.
NGO sector is crucial to development of Citizen Engagement and
the use of ICT to enable e-governance
NGO Role to develop resources and training to build government
expertise and citizen capacity
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Outline
8. The way forward an International Action Agenda
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Role of UN EGM as platform and coordination for International
development of Engagement framework including the development
of new technologies
Role of UN EGM as platform and coordination for International
development of ICT applications for engagement and e-governance
Role of UN EGM as platform and coordination for International
development of e-resources and training
Role of UN EGM as platform and coordination for International
development of “Social Data Warehouse” concept
UN adopt International Standardised Framework for the
development of engagement
UN adopt International Development Framework for new
technologies for engagement
Need for International community to commit to standardised
approach to the development of engagement
Need for International Community to commit to measurement and
evaluation of participation trough e-governance
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Definitions
For the purpose of this presentation the following definitions apply;
 Citizen Engagement refers to –the processes of working collaboratively with and through
groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations and
individuals to address issues affecting the well-being of those people.
It is a powerful vehicle for bringing about environmental and behavioural changes that will
improve the health of the community and its members. It often involves partnerships and
coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among
partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and practices. It involves the
following key attributes;
 a focus on designing, developing, establishing, maintaining and evaluating communication
between one or more parties
 processes and practices that enable communities and individuals to participate in the
development of communities and build capacities
 a systematic communication approach focused on process, documentation, measurement and
improvement
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Definitions
 Non Government Organisation.:  "The diversity of NGOs strains any simple definition. They include
many groups and institutions that are entirely or largely
independent of government and that have primarily humanitarian or
cooperative rather than commercial objectives. They are private
agencies in industrial countries that support international
development; groups organized regionally or nationally; and
member-groups in villages. NGOs include charitable and religious
associations that mobilize private funds for development, distribute
food and family planning services and promote community
organization. They also include independent cooperatives,
community associations, water-user societies, women's groups and
pastoral associations. Citizen Groups that raise awareness and
advocate and influence policy are also NGOs"
- World Bank
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NGO’s Role in Development
 The actors within the NGO sector act at all levels of society;
localised communities through to international
organisations
 Thus the sector has actors of all size of enterprise from
small localised operations to global multi-national
organisations
 All NGO’s are connected to the communities in which they
undertake their endeavour and as a result are important
actors in the development and delivery of citizen
engagement
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NGO’s Role in Development
 NGO’s are uniquely positioned being mid stream
actors enabling and undertaking both downstream
and upstream engagement;
 Downstream with citizens and communities in which
they undertake their endeavours
 Upstream with governments and authorities who
provide frameworks and policy instruments that enable
NGO endeavour
 NGO actors are thus well placed to assist in the
development and delivery of both frameworks for
engagement and the technologies that enable it.
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Importance of NGO Actors in
Citizen Engagement development
 NGO’s have links to citizenry; the private sector
and; governments and authorities
 NGO’s act to provide social protection of those they
serve and represent and as such can act to bring
such provisions to the development of technologies
for engagement
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Importance of NGO Actors in
Citizen Engagement development
 NGO actors can also help regulate and measure the
success of engagement provided a system exists to
measure outcomes of engagement
 NGO actors are independent entities that whilst often
advocates for political change are by definition
independent of governments and authorities, which
can ensure equity in the development of engagement
and e-Governance
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Standardising the way forward...
An NGO Perspective
 In order to measure the success and continuously improve
engagement and the technologies that deliver it, there is a
need to undertake a standardised approach to its
development and implementation
 The development of an International Framework will
enable a systematic approach to engagement and will give
rise to the considerations necessary for the development of
engagement and e-governance
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Standardising the way forward...
An NGO Perspective
 The development of an International Framework will deliver agreed
upon functions of measurement and enable the tracking of the
development processes and new technologies
 The development of an International Framework for engagement will
also enable all actors at all levels of society equity in engagement
 This also has a particular significance for the development of new
technologies for engagement to ensure protection and availability of
collected social data.
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Standardising the way forward...
An NGO Perspective
 The management and use of the collected data is
standardised and secured by an agreed upon standard of
data management delivering measures of accountability
and transparency
 The use of this data is available to the International
Community and thus is maintained and kept in a
standardised way utilised and can be monitored by all
actors, including the individual
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Standardising the way forward...
An NGO Perspective
 Opportunities to build global “Social Data
Warehouse” based on standardised inputs and
outputs
 Opportunities to create an Index of Measurement
to categorise and measure impacts, capacity and
uptake of new technologies and opportunities
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Access and Equity
 Community engagement activities are based on developing
trustful relationships between stakeholders and decision
makers, the ethical conduct of engagements is an implicit
commencement point in all phases of and especially in the
use of ICT for engagement
 Creating Access and Equity through the development of
Engagement is fundamental to the successful development
of technologies for engagement
 Technology will enable more marginalised citizens access
and equity of engagement through simple adaptations of
existing ICT software.
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Access and Equity
 A standardised approach to engagement and the development of new
technologies will also create a system based on equity of all actors to
participate
 Access is also created through a standardised approach as the
development of engagement and technologies will be developed in
such a way as to guarantee access through appropriate ethical
measures, regulated by all actors
 A standardised approach to the Collection, Collation and Storage of
data and the Knowledge Management system that supports it, enables
unprecedented access of data to all actors at all levels
 It also provides a system of accountability and transparency that is
regulated and can be measured by all participants
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Standards; Principles; Benchmarks;
and Resources
 Citizen Engagement Standards;
 Community Engagement Standards are the underlying considerations
that must be adhered to in order to undertake a standardised approach
to engagement and the development of new technologies
 These are supported by Engagement Principles and Benchmarks
 Draft Standards
 Leadership
 Inclusiveness
 Ethical and Transparent Engagement
 Enhancement of Actor Participation
 Promotion of Socio-Economic Sustainability
 Capacity to respond to Change
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Draft Standards – an example
 Leadership – the ability to develop and implement
engagement so that all stakeholders are enhanced and not
diminished by the interaction
 Inclusiveness – evidence of engaging with all potential
stakeholders by utilising methodologies and technologies
that dissolve barriers to participation
 Ethical and Transparent Engagement - The conduct of all
engagement activities will need to unequivocally
demonstrate that all information exchanged and all
interactions with communities impacted by the subject of
the engagement are conducted on an ethical basis.
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Draft Standards – an example
 Enhancement of Actor Participation - demonstration that
the engagement has developed the skills of stakeholders in
participatory democratic processes and negotiating for
their own future well being.
 Promotion of Soci0-Economic Sustainability - ensures that
citizens traditional means of livelihood, culture,
environment and sources of economic activity are not
negatively impacted by the engagement
 Capacity to respond to Change – demonstration of
evaluative techniques are utilised and how flexible their
responses are to changing conditions
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Draft Engagement Principles
 Citizen Engagement Principles;
 Organisational Sustainability – Engagement practices reflect
the long term commitment to using standardised model to
develop and deliver engagement; especially the commitment
to data management systems
 Continuous Improvement – Documentation and evaluation
for continuous improvement and good practice
implementation
 Stakeholder Development – Professional development and
learning of social research theory and practices
 Relationships/Partnerships – Fair and inclusive engagement
built on trust and good communication through development
of relationships and partnerships
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Draft Citizen Engagement
Benchmarks
 Citizen Engagement Benchmarks;
 Planning and Design:- commitment to standardise the
process and implementation for the development and
delivery of citizen engagement practices. The planning
and design needs to be performed using stringent social
research methodologies.
 Innovation and Creativity:- commitment to the design
and development of creative and innovative engagement
practices to increase the opportunities for targeted and
inclusive engagement.
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Draft Citizen Engagement
Benchmarks
 Inclusiveness (Access and Equity):- commitment to the
development and delivery of engagement processes and
practices, in an equitable and inclusive manner that
address the diverse needs of the population, whilst
engaging a representative sample
 Communication:- commitment to deliver clear, concise
and consistent information through appropriate
mediums taking into account the range of diverse needs
within the population. Ensure the stakeholders are
informed, involved and encouraged to participate
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Draft Citizen Engagement
Benchmarks
 Documentation:- commitment to a standardised and
complete documentation of all processes and practices
utilised for citizen engagement. To utilise and enhance
appropriate methodologies for the recording and
reporting of engagement data, and a commitment to the
centralised storage and dissemination of information
accessible to the organisation
 Capacity Building:- commitment to the creation of
stakeholder expertise through the development and
training of stakeholders
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Draft Citizen Engagement
Benchmarks
 Assessment and Evaluation:- commitment to
continually review and analyse all processes and
practices to enhance the planning, design and delivery
of community engagement practices
 Improvement:- commitment to the development of
existing processes and practices through effective
research, training, planning, delivery, examination and
responsive action
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Knowledge Management and
Citizen Engagement
 The considerations of knowledge management systems and
the maintenance and security of collected data is
paramount to the success of any engagement and the
success of any technologies developed to enable
engagement
 The importance of assurances about the way in which all
data is collected, collated, stored and used is a key factor in
the development and implementation of engagement
 The Social Data Warehouse is an example of the products
that can be built within a standardised environment that
provides integrity of data and enables all actors to have
equitable access and use of the information that is
collected.
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“Social Data Warehouse”
 Social Data Warehouse:- This is a database of
information that has been collected during
engagement.
 This database operates like a website portal and can be
accessed via data filters that include demographic
information, issues and concerns, reports, learnings ,
evaluations, etc.
 This Social Data Warehouse provides ease of access
and can be utilised by all actors for conceivably all
issues, because the inputs and outputs are
standardised and therefore can be measured
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“Social Data Warehouse”
 This database also holds all the raw data from consultations
and complete reports including strategy developments,
plans, project designs, as well as all the necessary
information about each consultation, providing a
comprehensive knowledge management system
 Internationally developed and supported by the UN the
Social Data Warehouse can empower all actors with
relevant and needed information that can enable and
enhance their own endeavours
 This becomes of utmost importance to the NGO sector as
these are the actors who act for the social protection of the
citizenry
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“Social Data Warehouse”
 This database will also give rise to new unforeseen
developments that can assist in the management of
crisis, enable the under represented to participate in
meaningful ways, and develop new technologies that
ultimately work because they respond to the needs
identified through engagements
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The way forward an International
Action Agenda
 Contribution to the International Action Agenda
 The following is a list of directions that should be
considered in the development of the action agenda on
Citizen Engagement and E-governance;
 NGO sector is in the unique position to be able to develop,
influence and implement International action agenda and
 NGO sector is crucial to development of Citizen Engagement
and the use of ICT to enable e-governance
 There is an important role that NGO actors have to develop
engagement and e-governance resources and training to
build government expertise and citizen capacity
Michael Szafraniec.
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The way forward an International
Action Agenda
 There is a role that the UN WSIS ?? can use as a platform
and for the coordination of International development of
Engagement framework including the development of new
technologies
 There is a role that the UN WSIS ?? can use as a platform
and for the coordination of International development of
ICT applications for engagement and e-governance
 There is a role that the UN WSIS ?? can use as a platform
and for the coordination of International development of
e-resources and training
Michael Szafraniec.
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The way forward an International
Action Agenda
 There is a role that the UN WSIS ?? can use as a platform
and for the coordination of International development of
“Social Data Warehouse” concept
 UN can lead development and adopt International
Standardised Framework for the development of
engagement
 UN can lead development and adopt International
Development Framework for new technologies for
engagement
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The way forward an International
Action Agenda
 For the successful development of engagement and new
technologies there is a need for the International community to
commit to standardised approach to the development of
engagement
 As part of this there is a need for the International Community to
commit to the measurement and evaluation of engagement and egovernance structures, for the continuous improvement and
development of new technologies for engagement
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