This is my democracy
Given the extent and complexity of issues involved in modern society it is quite irrational to expect social leaders to gain enough information, accurate and reliable enough, to make rapid, progressive decisions upon them. The DEMOS project, funded in part by the European Commission, undertook to evaluate a means, using modern Information Communication Technologies (ICT) to improve the entire decision process. However, to understand what was needed, inherent problems had to be identified so that the overall goals could be determined. In part, some of the shortcomings listed go to the heart of the democratic process. One such disadvantage is the lengthy response time of local and regional government bodies to issues. Another is that the overbearing dominance of political and professional interest in the democratic debate often hedge out the people's interest. While these two issues are not the sole entirety of weaknesses in most democratic processes, they do highlight serious drawbacks. DEMOS sought therefore to establish ICT's means to overcome them. As such, it stressed the need for both innovation and sustainability in urban governance. Some of the project's solutions were based on answering particular problems such as democratic deficit, citizen dissatisfaction and policy fragmentation. While Demos concluded that no easy solution would ever arise, it also highlighted critical findings. One such is the need to establish active networks based on the ideal that good governance is based on good partnership. Another is the need for local authorities share power with institutions from commerce, local communities and businesses alike in an egalitarian fashion. Without which the entire democratic process fails. Overall, while responses varied from country to country, each beset with its own unique hurdles and barriers, the project did accumulate significant information that may prove of great value and interest for all concerned. Democracy is about being involved, and DEMOS is about streamlining all interests in an efficient, effective manner so that the correct policy, the best policy can be effected. For more information please click here: http://www.demosproject.org(opens in new window)
