Citizen-initiated dialogue can be a vehicle for reducing the disconnect between citizens and government.
DesignFix is a social design program run by Frontend, a UX design firm based in the Republic of Ireland. "It brings student and professional designers together to explore societal issues through the prism of human centered design. DesignFix aims to spark discourse and prompt change on societal issues of international importance."
In 2017 they focused on the international trends in politics; "the polarization of main-stream views, the growth of extremism spurred on by politicized social media and fake news leading to a growing feeling of alienation among many in society. Our goal was to investigate how design and technology can help address these issues and repair the dialog between citizens and government."
"Our political systems are structured to be dictated by four and five year election cycles, but the modern world moves much faster. People can order pizza with one tap on their smartphone, and multinational corporations respond to tweets within the hour, but we do not experience the same connectivity or response rate with government bodies or representatives. This lack of responsiveness means citizens have less agency over, and are more disconnected from, their public institutions."
"While technology has created certain expectations and challenges,
it also harnesses opportunities to engage citizens in ways never before imagined. There is potential to foster direct dialogue between govern- ments and their citizens, augmenting and even circumventing the need for mass media. To date, this dialogue has largely been government initiated and controlled (such as public consultations) and has rarely been effectively used as a platform to connect disenfranchised citizens.
"By inviting citizens to actively participate in the legislative journey we can potentially restore trust in our civic organizations, particularly if the citizens are able to initiate these conversations and view their impact."
Website: Design Principles for Civic Dialog in a Post-Truth Era
White Paper: Civic Engagement