Under the Local Government Public Involvement in Health Act (2007), local authorities and their elected councillors now have a duty to involve and engage with residents on matters of local importance.The statutory “Duty to Involve” is one of several government initiatives designed to empower and involve local people. These initiatives aim to:
- involve local people in decision and policy making; and
- make councils and other public services more transparent and accountable to the electorate and tax payers.
In a bid to employ technology in the pursuit of better engagement with the community, I've signed up to the Votivation website. I must admit I'm still getting my head around how to use it properly, but participants can set up online polls and petitions, and submit (*ahem*) 'opinions'.
And Votivation called this afternoon to say they're upgrading my account as I'm an "early adopter" - woo-hoo!* You can view my Votivation page here.
*what this actually means, I couldn't say. I hope they call me back soon to talk me through it.
