Challenges of Achieving Effective Online Engagement
Having an initiative to engage citizens in a decision making process needs a constructive engagement strategic planning to overcome challenges. Successful implementation of a policy is the outcome of how much effort has been carried out during the process of intervention. Planning, budgeting, deliberation and negotiation all contributes to the outcome of the implemented policy. The main aim of any policy intervention is to improve service delivery and citizens behavior and transforms people’s perception on a certain issue. Thus, it impacts citizens livelihood either in a positive or negative way. Therefore, citizens involvement in any policy intervention is of vital for decision makers to hear their concerns on any planned changes that needs implementation. However, there are major challenges in engaging citizens to participate especially on an online platforms to discuss issues. Participants and stakeholders, digital divides that exists and participants engagement in discussion are the key challenges for an effective online engagement.
1. Participants/Stakeholders
Choosing the right participant to engage in discussing issues online is a major challenge. Dealing with different stakeholders and a wider society full of different people that values their own believes and approach situation differently is a major challenge that needs consideration in an online engagement strategic plan.
Stakeholders are participants who’s involvement in a deliberation process contributes to the outcome of a policy implementation. These includes, individuals, government department & statutory authorities, community leaders and groups and specific decision makers that involves in the implementation process of an intervention. Identifying the stakeholders needs constructive analysis of their needs, benefits, challenges, scope of influence from the project, and how the project will impact them. A proper analysis of stakeholders has to be carried out before engaging them online.
Engaging wrong participants online in a policy-making process will have no or little impact on target groups for policy implementation. The views and concerns raised during the deliberation process are from participants who have different views on issues raised. For instance, if a policy implementation on the reduction on teenage pregnancy is to be implemented in my country (Papua New Guinea), a proper analysis of stakeholder needs to be done to engage them in the deliberation process. This will be a major concern for the authority as the country is multicultural with divers believes and traits that causes citizens to do things according to what they know is right. In the case of this example, safe sex practices will be an area of discussion for the policy implementation. Implementer will have good feedback from participants who come from a culture that openly discuss this. However, more views wont be collected from participants who don’t discuss this issue openly. In such cases, it a challenge for decision makers to get enough feedback and views from participants on the concerned issue.
To overcome such challenges in-order to have an effective online engagement, participants needs to be filtered and grouped based on criteria to discuss certain topics.
2. Digital Divide
A digital divide is any uneven distribution in the access to, use of, or impact of ICT between any number of distinct groups. These groups may be defined based on social, geographical or geopolitical criteria [1]. It is one of the challenge for an effective online engagement that exist in the society. Online engagement as a cost-effective medium in engaging participants online creates barriers for unfortunate citizens to access the internet. For instance, in my country, which is still developing, lack of ICT infrastructures in outer parts from the city is a barrier to internet access. The geographic landscape, road access and funding contributes to less ICT infrastructure resulting in less internet bandwidth. Internet costs and citizen’s socio-economic statues are the existing challenges that widens the gap of internet access between different groups of citizens.
The best alternative to overcome this challenge is to assess the participant‘s access to internet and identify the challenges each has. This will give a strategic approach in overcoming the challenges and engage participate online. Face-to-face could be an alternative but if we are to effectively engage participants online then I would suggest implementer and major stakeholders to provide necessary ICT tools needed by participants. For instance, participants with low socioeconomic statues can be provided with tablets for the duration of the deliberation process. This will again depend on project fund. And its a great challenge for effective online engagement
3. Participants Engagement Online
How can you know your participants schedule and interests on the concern issues? Yes, any project implementation will impact their livelihood either positively or negatively and their voices and concerns need to be heard by decision makers. However, will they be actively participate to elaborate and discuss new concepts and ideas coming from the deliberation process? Will they have enough time to sit behind their screen to give feedback and contribute in the discussion? This is the major challenge to consider when planning for an online deliberation.
Participants knowledge and interests on issues will also determine how active they participate during the deliberation process. Having a vast knowledge on an issue will determine a participants involvement in discussing the issue. Their interests on the concerns topic will motivate them to do research and contribute towards the discussion. Proper survey and analysis needs to be done to involve participants.
The best alternative to overcome such challenges is to come up with an incentive of reward model as we’re seen in the case of Upsouth. This will motivate participants to engage effectively in the discussion knowing that their ideas and feedback will be rewarded. Through this way, participants will be innovative and creative in coming up with ideas and active in discussion.
For an effective online engagement, the challenges are very important to consider in an engagement plan. It may be different depending on the type of proposed initiatives and the impacted citizens. A proper analysis of challenges has to done to avoid project failures.
