LocalEyes - The VOICE

We will create a consultation tool, called the “VOICE” that will dramatically improve the communication infrastructure in any community or social network.

We will pilot this new technology in 5 areas throughout the UK that have active “Transition Town” groups. Over 30 Transition Towns and environmental groups have expressed a keen interest in piloting LocalEyes in their areas. The pilots will most likely be located in Totnes, IvyBridge, Torbay, Glastonbury & Bro Gwaun (Pembrokeshire).

Once the pilots are complete, the benefits of the software proven and the kinks ironed out, this consultation tool will be promoted to hundreds of other areas throughout the UK, firstly via other groups in Transition Network (of which there are 7/800 groups) and then through other established networks.

The consultation tool can be applied to various different sectors:
“Kids VOICE”: for ages 7 to 10
“Teenage VOICE”: for ages 11 to 18
“Community VOICE”: for geographical communities (there are 9763 “wards” in the UK)
“District VOICE”: for geographical districts (there are 434 districts in the UK)
“County VOICE”: for geographical counties (there are 117 in the UK)
“Group VOICE”: for any social group
“Business VOICE”: for any business

2 small pilots have been successfully completed so far. The reports of which can be viewed here:
Kids VOICE: http://www.localeyes.org/docs/2008/Broad%20Haven%20Primary%20School.doc
Community VOICE: http://www.localeyes.org/docs/2008/the_Havens_community.doc

These new communication tools will have 2 fundamental functions:
1. To Empower People: enabling a dialogue between any governing bodies and their members, empowering people and engaging people in the decision making processes.
2. To Identify Demand: enabling a community (geographic or social interest) to be self organising, identifying areas of common interest and demand for services

The “Empowerment” tool will be applied to:
1. Primary & Secondary Schools: enabling consultation between students and head teachers/schools councils, between parents and schools and between the youth and their community/town councils
2. Community, Districts & County Councils: enabling consultation between residents and their governing councils
3. Social Groups: enabling consultation between group members and the group leaders. (more applicable to large groups i.e. churches, W.I., Residents Associations, U3A etc)
4. Businesses: enabling a dialogue between customers and the business or staff and the management

The “Demand Identifier” tool will:
Enable trigger levels to be set for any project/initiative.What are Trigger Levels?
A trigger level is the number of people or votes a project needs to make it worthwhile and get it off the ground. Examples:
15 people to create a new football team
50 people to set up a new organic food box delivery
1500 people to warrant erecting a local wind turbine
5000 people to tackle a policy at the local council.

In short, trigger levels enable people to identify demand for an initiative, a product or a service before initiating supply, minimising effort and maximising the chances of success for the new project

[When BT launched their broadband service in Pembrokeshire, they used this trigger level method to great effect. BT only turned on the broadband service in each community once 60% of residents had ticked the box on the BT website, confirming that they would purchase the service.]

What will it look like?
Imagine...
… the voting technology seen on X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing grounded into the community enabling the residents or members of social groups to vote on local topics, involving them in the decision making processes and facilitating consultation with governing bodies.
… the voting technology seen on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, working in our local village/town halls, where people gather on a regular basis (i.e. quarterly) to discuss and debate and then vote on local issues in a collective space

Mobile Voting:
We will prove these democratic and engagement processes using the latest in mobile voting technologies. Partnerships with projects like http://www.qmob.co.uk/ need to be explored.

The VOICE: Spotlight & Conveyor belt
People will have the option of signing up to the VOICE newsletter (the conveyor belt) that will put the spotlight on 1 community and 1 district topic every 1 or 2 weeks. This way, by signing up to the VOICE, individuals will be introduced to potentially hundreds of local initiatives each year, but crucially, these will be received in a digestible manor. See screenshot: http://www.localeyes.org/beta07/newsletter_community.asp
This process has the added benefits that:
· Local people will be focusing on one/two project collectively, enhancing the likelihood for stimulating debate and further engagement with the initiative.
· Social groups will be working together and benefiting from each others networks. This conveyor belt concept will enable collaborative working in the social sector.
See diagram: http://www.localeyes.org/docs/16f.spotlight.localeyes.community.level.gif

The Process:
Anyone in a community will be able to suggest a topic.
These topics are then rated by the community.
The highest rated and most popular topics are then allocated a date and slot on the VOICE (conveyor belt).
The results of these consultations are published
Action points are then created based on the results.
See screenshot (Rating topics): http://www.localeyes.org/beta07/voice/voice_search_rate_topics.asp

Video: All topics are split into arguments “for” and “against”. Individuals, groups or councils will be able to post arguments in video format making the experience of voting on topics much more engaging. See screenshot: http://www.localeyes.org/beta07/voice/voice_current_topic_detail.asp Collaboration with companies like WebsEdgeTV, http://www.websedgetv.com who create video content for district councils needs to be explored further. They have confirmed that most of their clients (between 1/200 district councils) have been requesting digital public consultation tools. They approached LocalEyes at the 2Gether08 conference this year with a view to selling our service to their client base.
Future Potential:
Working with a media partner such as CH4 or BBC, a digital TV channel could be created called “VOICE TV” that would enable people to vote over either the web or via their TV using the “red” interactive button.

Mapping:
All the topics on the system will be both postcode and community (ward) orientated enabling visual mapping to be integrated:
See screenshot: http://www.localeyes.org/beta07/voice/communities_profile_homepage.asp