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What makes Internet communication effective in informing policy?

Learn about the effectiveness of internet communication in informing policy through the Commission for Africa e-consultations hosted by ODI. This discussion involved multiple African research and non-state organizations, with a focus on financing for development, governance, peace and security, and human development. The e-forum structure, moderation, and multi-language participation were crucial aspects of the successful discussion. The input provided valuable insights and helped legitimize the project for the Commission for Africa.

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What makes Internet communication effective in informing policy?

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  1. What makes Internet communication effective in informing policy? Commission for Africa e-consultations hosted by ODI in two phases – • preliminary phase in July 2004 with some 65 African research and non-state organisations. • main phase November-December 2004 - 203 participants registered, including 104 located in the UK, and 69 in twenty-one African countries. In all some 276 postings were made.

  2. The discussion was managed for the Commission by a team from the Overseas Development Institute, co-ordinated by David Sunderland and made up by Ed Anderson, Daniel Demie, John Lakeman, Peter Gee, Chris Taylor, Victoria Wheeler and Steve Wiggins. • It was hosted on the ODI website using the widely-used Discus web discussion board software which although not quite state of the art had been used several times before in ODI and could be set up quickly and cheaply. • The discus pages were configured to have a Commission for Africa ‘look and feel’. But the e-forum board pages were supplemented by regular web summaries produced by the moderators of the three topics: Financing for development and opportunities for economic growth ; Governance, peace and security; and Human development, culture and participation

  3. Important aspects • Discussing and reformulating the e-forum structure with the CFA before the final framework was established.  It was important we had time to do this both to establish the right questions and the right 'user-friendliness'. • Equally it was important to advertise the forums as widely as possible in the weeks before they started to get the most participation possible. • Having three moderators providing summaries every day or so, on top of the existing structure of threads, was helpful to provide coherence and flow to the e-forums. • Having a final summary (both in full - 40 page- and summarised version) meant that we could wrap up the discussion well. • Undertaking such a discussion in more than one language would have entailed a lot more expense, but to do so would have been more inclusive.

  4. But how effective was it? • There were 25,795 visits to the e-forum, with 12,595 unique visitors – more than 400 visitors each day. • But how useful was the input into the CFA discussions?  • Were the CFA simply keen to have it just as a 'talking shop'.  • It receives a mention in the final report, but only as a footnoted event • In terms of the network functions identified earlier, this exercise may have helped to convene a virtual network, and to amplify issues and analysis. • For the CFA it helped to provide legitimacy for its project.

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