The New Local Government Network will discuss Building a new contract between citizen and state? But will citizens be allowed into the debate?

In my Google alerts today, I received exciting details about The New Local Government Network think tank who are running an NLGN lecture at the end of May 2007.

The subject of the NLGN lecture is

'After Devolution: Building a new contract between citizen and state
Keynote Speaker: Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP (6:00 pm)'

Exciting stuff, I thought, I want to get involved. It's my chance to help frame the future of local democracy and e-democracy!

Looking further, I see that

'Places at the event are free [but] operated on a first come first serve basis.'

That's great! All are welcome, providing I get in quickly. It looks truly democratic.

However, sadly I won't be going because the event appears to be taking place in London which is a long way away from rural Somerset, UK. No doubt Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP and many others who attend on behalf the great and good will have their expenses paid. Not me. I'm just a poor member of the public.

However, not to be deterred and still wanting to get involved, I looked around on the NLGN web site for a place to comment and participate. Unfortunately, apart from contact email addresses, there appeared nowhere for me to comment on policy or anything else.

On their web site they say about the NLGN Policy and research Unit

One purpose of our research is to discover and disseminate best practises across the range of challenges faced by local public services and their political leaders. NLGN research team apply this practical knowledge to develop solutions to the key public policy challenges of today and tomorrow.

Surely 'best practise' in the Internet age must involve some form of interface with the concerned public? Yet there appears to be none.

Looking further into the site, I came across information about previous research completed by the NLGN. Yippee, I thought, now I can find out all the great stuff they have discovered from their research. Whoops no, apart from a few articles, I've got to buy books. Another dead end for me, as I have no budget for book buying. If I want to know something these days, I look for it on the Internet. Most things are there, if you look hard enough.

According to the 'About NLGN' section of the web site

NLGN’s work has been recognised by the Prime Minister:

“Modernising local government is vital to the future of our communities. NLGN contributes innovative and thought-provoking ideas to the debate on how we achieve that.” Rt. Hon. Tony Blair MP

So why, I thought, aren't the NLGN using a Wiki or a Corporate Blog? These tools are becoming essential to a growing number of corporate organisations internationally.

A very nice description of corporate blogs and how they can help thinking and decision taking can be found at wikipedia.org

Whether tapping into the collective intelligence of the public will produce better results than the traditional cloistered and conference approach has yet to be proved.

However, for an 'innovative' and 'thought-provoking' corporation, I would have thought a blog or wiki would be a small step to genuinely opening up the issues to public debate.

If 'Building a new contract between citizen and state' is genuinely important to Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP and the NLGN, shouldn't the citizens get a chance to talk about the contract before they sign it?

Bye for now

Rob