Devolving power and money
Representative democracy took its current forms in the 19th century, with parliaments and assemblies, parties, regular elections and in some countries manifestos and platforms. These models have become inadequate with the growing complexity of government – and representative democracy is increasingly being joined to participatory tools for engaging the public continuously in debate and decisions.
Shadow budgeting processes
Shadow budgeting processes including budgets prepared by civil society. The Canadian Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) has been running since 1994 and is a joint initiative of...
Read moreGrant allocation through public voting
Grant allocation through public voting, such as the ITV/Big Lottery Fund competition ‘The People’s 50 Million’. Another example is ‘Help A London Park’, an initiative launched...
Read moreParliamentary structures to develop citizen ideas
Parliamentary structures to develop citizen ideas, like Korea’s Tribunis Plebis, a committee of senior legislators committed to putting citizen ideas into legislation....
Read moreOpen forms of consultation and participation
Open forms of consultation and participation such as the Peer to Patent Project in the US, which enables citizens to review and give advice on patent...
Read moreOpen spaces to hold members of executive government to account
Open spaces to hold members of executive government to account. President Obama’s online town halls let the public vote on which of the 106,000 questions submitted...
Read moreAudit and inspection regimes
Audit and inspection regimes which overtly assess and support innovation (the recent UK National Audit Office report on innovation was a major step forward in rethinking...
Read moreCross government innovation metrics
Cross government innovation metrics, such as the Government Innovation Index developed by the Government of South Korea to measure current levels of innovation, and the results...
Read moreOpt out rights for communities
Opt out rights for communities to design and run their own services in place of existing state, regional or national bureaucracies. These can be a powerful...
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