‘Do something about it’ website

What NEED does this meet?

The intention of this project is that it would remove the barriers for people to act on aspects of public life they wanted to change. From people curious about a planning application down the road to those who’ve just seen a documentary about a global issue like AIDs and want to help, it would serve as a human ‘coin-sorter’, taking in large volumes of people and pointing them in the most efficient direction to fulfil their aims.

The premise is simple: the majority of people in the majority of situations would not know how to make a contribution to public life. This will continue until people know that there is always one port-of-call for the information they need.

What is the APPROACH?

In essence, the plan would be to build a website along the lines of existing ‘My Society’ projects, but with a much broader remit i.e. encouraging people to participate in public life in all kinds of ways.

There are many possible ways of sorting information – but only one element is, I think, absolutely neccessary. That would be to divide information along the lines or strategies on which people are observed to act. The front-page of the web-site would therefore have to grab people based on those distinctions e.g. having clear routes covering; for example:
– people who want to write a letter or make their opinions known;
– people who would like to be prompted or consulted in future;
– those who wish to change their habits or personal consumption patterns;
– those who can give one-off free time to a cause;
– those who can give regular free time to a cause ;
– those who have the energy or skills to start something new

Beyond that core structure, the project could be as big or as small as resources dictate. As a smaller initiative it could provide basic information on each route – a single webpage perhaps taking your postcode and then presenting you with links to the key organisations (e.g. your local volunteer bureau). It would rely on people using search engines to look for terms such as ‘write a letter’, or on usual publicity routes.

At the other end of the scale it could act as a massive umbrella group for charities and voluntary groups in the UK, by providing a publicly advertised ‘one stop shop’ service for anyone wishing to get involved in any aspect of public life. Obviously this is highly ambitious, but the project could deliver real benefits as a small initiative, and bloom into something that more and more people would hear about.

What are the BENEFITS to people?

The aim to broaden and deepen participation in public life beyond those who are already well-informed. Furthermore it would stop wasted efforts by putting people in contact with the information they need, rather than leaving it to chance.

It would also serve to remove excuses to act. People often moan about a problem to each other, but they very rarely say ‘you should do this’, or ‘I’ll do something about that’.

What is the COMPETITION?

There is no organisation currently providing a similar service that is well-known. My instincts are that people who do more than moan might choose one of two common strategies a) writing to their MP or councillor or b) writing to the local press.

This only brings results in some situations. If someone is concerned about global warming then contacting their MP is ideal when a new piece of legislation is being scrutinised; however MPs do not have the resources to suggest practical life-style changes the person might make, groups they might volunteer with, or projects they could support. All that information is out there, but it is not well connected. It is not a case of damming the river, but one of following the flow of the water and gently re-directing it in some places!

What BUDGETS & LOGISTICS are required?

Potentially very cheap or very expensive. A system that simply provides basic information and links on each action-strategy could be done using some of the existing My Society technology and a moderate amount of web-developer time.

If the initial site proved potentially useful, then it could well attract funding to expand significantly. Ultimately a ‘dosomethingaboutit.org.uk’ website could become the source of information people think of first whenever they want to contribute to public life but are unclear as to how!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 30th, 2006 at 2:30pm and is filed under Proposals 2006. Follow responses to this entry (RSS2 feed). Both comments and pings are currently closed.