We do a lot of presentations to public sector organisations. Unsurprisingly we get asked a lot of the same questions over and over again. Communications professionals more often than not relate back to how an online forum could impact the integrity of their organisational brand. We’ve selected the top six most frequently asked of questions … Continue reading →

Risk perception and demonstrable mitigation strategies are the biggest challenges we face as a new industry. Online consultation has opened up a world of new opportunities for reaching new audiences and enhancing community involvement in public life. However, with new opportunities come new risks. This will be an ongoing series of blog posts. To start … Continue reading →

Thanks to Lisa Schiff of Naracoorte Lucindale Council in SA for pointing this article from the SMH website out to me. Online protest stops trucks Josephine Tovey February 14, 2010 A Facebook campaign that stopped Waverley Council from building a truck depot near Bondi Beach could revolutionise the way people fight unwanted moves by their … Continue reading →

Many thanks to Bernard De Broglio for passing me this link after we met at an event last week discussing online participation for local government with members of the Australian Government Web2 Taskforce. It tells the story of how Birmingham City Council in the UK spent 2.8 million pounds sterling on a website that was … Continue reading →

I am always explaining to risk averse media specialists that the ability of organisations to control the message has gone in these days of interactive media. By way of example I show them sites like Qantas Sucks and Council Gripe. This eveining I came across this wonderful example (thanks to Bob Crawshaw whose Twittering alerted … Continue reading →

Newcastle City Council recently went online to host selective consultations with their community. Their new online engagement site, which they choose to build themselves rather than using a specialist provider, asked users a series of personal questions (presumably to allow sampling) before allowing access to an area where feedback on issues would be sought. As … Continue reading →

Recently I get asked more and more about risk management in the context of online attacks and criticisms from the community. For the past 12 months we have offered clients a web forum linked to a sophisticated reporting tool. For some this is seen as the most proactive way to forestall web attacks from other … Continue reading →

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! We are running a consultation for the Minister for the Hunter about the future of the rail spur into Newcastle. So far the majority of respondents are in favour of the line’s removal – or at least replacement with a lighter form of rail, though it must … Continue reading →

I’ve written on this blog before about the fear of many institutons that they might be hijacked by either an individual or a group using multiple logins to dominate a consultation process. We have always advised clients that this is not a risk so long as the interpretation of the results of a consultation is … Continue reading →