Power to the Edges: Trends and Opportunities in Online Civic Engagement

By the fall of 2004 there was great buzz in the air about the dramatic influence of the Internet on the Presidential election campaign. Political pundits pondered - are we witnessing the transformation of democracy as we know it, with online voter
registration, online campaign financing and online issue advocacy? Or is technology providing pathways for civic participation but not fundamentally changing the relationship between citizen and civic institutions?

These questions motivated the United States-based Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) to commission this 43-page paper exploring trends and strategies related to the current and future state of online activism, fundraising, and democracy. Produced in partnership with a group working to identify, support, and promote open source technology efforts that provide opportunities for
people to participate in democratic processes - the E-volve Foundation - this paper draws on a review of recent articles, studies, and online discussions, as well as in-depth interviews with 19 leaders in the fields of online technologies, nonprofit capacity building, citizen engagement, and social networks.

Specifically, the paper examines civic engagement, by which the authors mean "activities by which people participate in civic, community and political life and by doing so express their commitment to community." Online citizen engagement, in particular, refers to "the development and use of Internet-based and other digital tools, resources and spaces through which people can learn about and practice civic engagement. The authors stress that "online engagement does not preclude, exclude or even dilute the need for "on land" (or offline) engagement such as house parties and door-to-door canvassing. Rather...traditional forms of engaging citizens remain the most effective for connecting and organizing. The relationship between online and offline citizen engagement requires a constant flow back and forth that balances the need for scale with the need for the intensity and personal connection that comes from in-person gatherings and activities."

That said, the authors do assert that "traditional ways of engaging civically are coming to an end." They point to the December 2004 tsunami as "one of the earliest successful uses of the entire continuum of Internet and other communications tools to respond, to help, to grieve" For example, within 12 hours after the initial earthquake, individuals around the world created SEA-EAT (the South-East Asia Earthquake And Tsunami website and blog) - as well as weblogs such as the Indian Ocean Disaster Relief Portal (Tsunamihelp) in order to coordinate news, information, and reactions. Lessons from this disaster lead the authors to observe that:

• Large numbers of people can be mobilised "within hours - even minutes - to donate, volunteer, protest, call Congress, boycott - all at little or no cost." For instance, within 10 days of the tsunami, the authors report, online contributions from individual Americans matched the US$350 million pledge of their government; total
  online donations worldwide reached $750 million by January 10 2005.
• Individuals are "by-passing the work of established parties and organizations with their self-generated campaigns." The authors share 2 stories from the 2004 U.S. Presidential campaign to illustrate how individuals used the internet to "band together and exercise their civic muscle"...
• Individuals, groups, and organisations are generating their own news without the benefit of mainstream media. For instance, citizen journalists used cell phones and short message service (SMS) to report on the aftermath of the tsunami from places without internet access.

The authors suggest that the current landscape of 3 parallel tracks of internet usage inform the future direction of civic engagement:

1. Nonprofit use - Since nonprofit organisations started actively using the internet in 1994, the estimated overall average rate of internet use among nonprofit
   employees increased from 33% in 2000 to 56% in 2004. "Broadcast fax, online chat and text messaging also showed huge gains."
2. Commercial use - "Internet use has evolved from supporting traditional practices (such as marketing and sales) to the creation of entirely new business models, increasing efficiencies in business development and costs, streamlining logistics, increasing productivity, and saving money."
3. Individuals' use - "Individual Internet usage in the United States has increased significantly since the first commercial web browser came out in 1994. By the middle of 2004, approximately 60 percent of all Americans were connected to the
   Internet....Online shoppers jumped from one million in 2000 to 83 million just four years later."

The authors note that "New models of civic engagement require a different set of benchmarks, skills and training. In fact, the changes have very little to do with technology or the Internet and everything to do with building entirely new organizational cultures." The report concludes with a series of findings and recommendations of the ways that organisations, individuals, and philanthropic groups can help build such cultures to meet the "need to adapt and change to keep pace with the continuing dizzying changes occurring technologically", including:

1. "Nimbly jump on to the fast-moving wave of opportunities that the Internet both delivers and makes possible."
2. Integrate online activities with offline.
3. Leverage extended networks of activists, friends and sympathizers across issues areas.
4. Lead using a new set of facilitative skills."

They end with the message that, "In order for online democracy to flourish and become the backbone for a renaissance in civic participation, philanthropy and nonprofits must also keep pace by investing in networks of organizations and people that can best take advantage of this new environment, while supporting new training, leadership and
planning skills."

Editor's note: One contributor to the Foreword - PACE's Executive Director Jill Blair - indicates that "This is a primer and also a work-in-progress; it is our 1.0 version. We officially and eagerly ask that you, the reader, contribute to creating our second edition, 2.0....You can post your comments by visiting the PACE website or participating in our online discussion hosted by the E-volve Foundation."