Participation

  • Fire Starter Festival and the power of deliberative democracy

    26th February 2020 by

    Image of Oliver Escobar presenting at the Firestarter event

    ‘Nothing about us without us’ is a mantra I often heard when working at a disability charity. The phrase has been a key part of the disability rights movement. It reflects the belief that decisions should never be made without the involvement of those affected. For many in the world of health and social care,...

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  • A global public engagement talk – while still wearing my slippers

    19th February 2020 by

    Read Niamh Webster’s presentation from Apolitical’ s online workshop on public engagement in policymaking. Imagine giving a presentation to 700 people all over the world while still wearing your slippers. This happened to me recently. No, not a bad dream, just speaking at a global Apolitical online workshop. Sitting at my kitchen table on video...

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  • Latest trends sweeping the globe – deliberative democracy here to stay?

    6th February 2020 by

    Top tips from Korea to Brazil, Japan to France. Reflections on an international week of democratic innovations in Manchester – and the biggest gathering of democracy fanatics I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. Thanks to David Attenborough, citizens’ assemblies hit the headlines a couple weeks ago. Speaking at the UK climate change assembly, Sir...

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  • Our journey through consultations

    13th January 2020 by

    We just published our 500th consultation on Citizen Space. Read on to find out about our journey so far.

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  • UEFA and civil partnerships bills drafted using digital tools

    24th October 2019 by

    What do the UEFA European Championship and civil partnerships have in common? They’re recent bills being debated before becoming law. What’s interesting is that until now, bills have been drafted on paper. These are the first to be written using digital tools. It’s a move towards more open government. Guest blog from Matthew Lynch at...

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  • Citizens’ assemblies and the future of democracy

    18th October 2019 by

    Logo for the Festival of Politics

    “Citizens’ assemblies are about rebuilding the links between the public and the political system.” Those are the words of Dr Jane Suiter at the Scottish Parliament’s Festival of Politics Citizens’ Assemblies event last week.

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  • Five top tips for using social media to engage citizens

    16th October 2019 by

    Picture of cakes with Twitter, Instagram and Facebook logos

    James Coltham, Head of Digital & Content, shares some top tips for how the team are increasing citizen engagement through social media.

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  • A journey to website accessibility

    7th October 2019 by

    We're all striving to make our websites more accessible. With new guidelines coming in soon, we wanted to share the great work being done by Forestry and Land Scotland.

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  • Meet the team

    30th September 2019 by

    Digital engagement logo

    What does the Digital Engagement Team at the Scottish Government do? We want to make it easier for people to get involved in government’s work. We provide the tools and expertise so the government can consult and involve the public using the latest in digital technology. Democracy is at the heart of what we do....

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  • We’re hiring a Digital Engagement Manager

    27th February 2019 by

    We are currently seeking applications for a Digital Engagement Manager within the Digital Communications Division based in Edinburgh. The Digital Engagement Team is a specialist unit, responsible for delivering effective online consultation and helping support and promote digital engagement tools and techniques. Digital Communications team is part of the Communications and Ministerial Support Directorate. You...

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