Experience and Future Plans in Creating an Interactive Public Policy in Lithuania

1. ISSS / LORIS 2003 ConferencePrague & Hradec Kralove Experience and Future Plans in CreatinganInteractive Public Policy in Lithuania Assoc. Prof. dr. Nerute Kligiene, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics Vilnius, LITHUANIA, 2003

2. PLAN OF THIS LECTURE • The aims & main facts of e-consultation held in Lithuania • Target audience, the advertising campaign • How it works, lessons learnt • Analysis of statistical data • Conclusions

3. 2 THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INTERACTIVE PUBLIC POLICY IN LITHUANIA • 2001the first project initiated and supported by the Open Society Fund-Lithuania (the curator -Ministry of Economy LR)for online consultation on A Long-Term Strategy for Lithuanian Economic Development in 2001-2015 • 2003 the new activities - to implement the public consultation in other governmental institutions: LR Ministries of Education and Science,Social Security Monitoring of a Long-Term State Development Strategy, Reformation of Educational System, Pensions and Social Security and other.

4. ONLINE Consultation have two-fold GOALS: ØTo create online consultation example for governmental institutions, encourage civic participation, to gain an experience and skill in e-democracy implementation ØTo improve and to speed a development of Lithuania in most strategicalareas THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INTERACTIVE POLICY IN LITHUANIA

5. MAIN FACTS ABOUT A STRATEGY PROJECT • The strategy was prepared by the experts in 14groups of specific strategies, such asEconomic Integration, Environmental Protection, Agriculture, Communications and Informatics and other • Coordinated by the Ministry of Economy of Lithuania • Started in November 2001, ended in April 2002 • A Strategy has become a part of the Lithuanian StateDevelopment Strategy (approved by Lithuanian Parliament, November 2002)

6. THE AIMS OF CONSULTATION • To involve citizens into solving important questions • To determine the level of knowledgeand understanding in the community of the questions being considered • To get proposals,remarks – to improve a Strategy • To find alternative solutions to urgent problems • A long-term goal was to promote e-democracy and to develop a core democratic values: • To built trust in the transparency of government actions • To strengthen a connection between citizens and decision-making

7. TARGET AUDIENCE • The experts, not included into groups of those, creating a Strategy • Interest groups (NGO, various associations) • The academic community • Political parties • Citizens, people concerned about the future of Lithuania

8. THE IMPORTANT FEATURES • Consultation was performed in each of the 14 specific strategies separately • Various channels (radio, press, Internet, letters to persons, organizations, political parties) were used for info spread • Electronic community consultation put into practice on a special interactive website http://www.svarstome.lt • The modified information system2003 applied to consultation on other than economic development problems

9. HOW IT WORKS?–CONSULTATION The target audience is constantly informed about online consultation, Internet users have an opportunity: • To download any document of a Strategy, project • To know who its authors are • To express opinions about any document online/e-mail • To answer interactively the questions posed by experts • To get acquainted with the ideasof other participants online in this discussion

10. HOW IT WORKS? – CONCLUDING STEPS • Experts have to • Carefully and open-minded analyse responses • Summarize results of consultationwith an account of the • views expressed • reasons for decisions finally taken • Submit the consultation results and improved Project for Internet publishing

12. THE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN Various channels were used for information spread: • Mass media: Internet portals (4 times), press (3 adv.), radio (3 times) • Personal letters to other experts, MP of LR (207 letters) • Letters to organizations: NGO, political parties (67 letters) • E-mailed information to persons, organizations (648 e-mails) • Banners: to the websites of all Lithuanian universities (12) • Links: the website of the LP, some LR Gov. institutions • Numerous calls to specialists, other means of info spread All together the spread of information reaches 922 units sent expediently in one month (besides mass media)

13. AN EXAMPLE OF OTHER MEANS USED The card, used for the advertising campaign. Translation of the text: • “Are you concerned about the future of Lithuania? Then http://www.svarstome.lt is a website for you!”

14. SOME STATISTICS OF WEBSITE The first round: December 22nd 2001 - January 31st 2002 THE EFFORTS 922 units of information sent (in addition to the info in mass media, info cards) THE RESULTS OF ONE MONTH: • 6,230visitors, 210 postings, 157 different respondents • The number of unique visitors 2,617, while 3,613visited website more than one time • The rate of visitors’ activity was rather low – only 3% of visitors become respondents

15. Not all topics in Strategy had active discussions and got numerous postings Many of experts confirm that the received postings and online consultation were useful to improve the Strategy At first not all governmental institutions were willing to cooperate in online consultation Many of respondents were rather pessimistic about possible results their contribution THE EXPERIENCE

16. Enables to know the online opinions of: Other experts Various interest groups from the general public Provides the modern tool of ICT to experts enablingonline access to the DB of website, protected by Psw for: Editing or addinga new information in their own area To move a posting from the website publication area if necessary OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPERTS

17. There were 210 postings from 157 different respondents during one month period It is useful to compare the resulting 210 postings with the efforts done: 922 units of information sent expediently and the 6,230 visits received ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST ROUND STATISTICAL DATA

18. ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST ROUND STATISTICAL DATA

19. VISITORS (up to the end of January 2003): 23 390 visitors, 10 420 unique visitors 330 postings in strategy (now closed) 103 707 hits all together. This interactive website had active period: attracting actively users - during online consultation process, and passive – rising awareness about agreed results of strategy project of Lithuanian economics. THE LATEST STATISTICAL DATA

20. THE LESSONS LEARNT – THE WEAKNESSES OF OUR PROJECT • Timing of consultation was too short, not sufficient time left for improving a Strategy • Commitment of experts to prepare additional materials, to ask public opinion in so short time was not sufficient • A series of questions what have to stimulate debate don’t proved itself to be very effective • New online consultation 2003 – an attempt to improve actions

21. UNEXPECTED SUCCESS • Citizens took a challengeto express their opinions even in such area as long-term strategy for economic development • Moderation process was almost unnecessary: only one posting has to be moved because of violation of the User Agreement (during several months!) • LR Ministry of Economics, what has been rather critical to ICT use in the first project, now is willing to cooperate in the Monitoring ofLithuanian State Development Strategy

22. WHAT SHOULD BE KEPT? The important things to be kept in the future: • The commitmentof the the Governmental institutions(special means foreseen to increase their interest) • The discussion - open and uncensored, and the results of the participation immediatelyseen online • The advertising campaign is important, it should be made more intensive

23. CONCLUSIONS • Such kind of consultation have to be oriented to highly qualified professionals and requires a lot of commitment from all participating people • The advertising campaign was more effective whenfocused on personal addressing • The experts have a big additional load and need in advance to be supported and trained in this new area • The community took a challenge to participate in online consultation • The consultationwas successful in spite of complicated topics of consultation as it was A Long-Term Economic Development Strategy • The support of LR Government was necessary and leaded to success

24. ORGANIZATIONS BEHIND THIS PROJECT • The project was initiated and supported by the Open Society Fund-Lithuania • A traditional way of creating and discussing on Strategy was organized by The Ministry of Economy of Lithuania, 2003 other governmental institutions involved • Project team is based at the Lithuanian Computer Society and specialists from: • The Institute of Mathematics and Informatics (IMI) • The Lithuanian University of Law • The Institute of Economics, Lithuanian Academy of Sciences

25. THE CONTACT INFORMATION The coordinator and the project leader is dr. Nerute Kligiene (IMI) Address for contacts issvarstom@ktl.mii.ltor N. Kligiene, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, A. Gostauto 12, LT-2600, Vilnius, Lithuania. Phone: (370 5) 660386, Fax: (370 5) 619905 THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION !