A LOT OF INTEREST, LITTLE PARTICIPATION

In Spain only 12% of citizens report playing truly active roles in their neighborhoods, municipalities, or country. However, young people, in general, have become essential players through social media, supporting causes and social movements, or expressing their discontent with measures that have been implemented. With citizens having so many concerns and needs, it’s paradoxical that they don’t transmit them to their political representatives, which points to a serious communication problem in our democracy.

This situation is not isolated. Instead, it’s a general trend in most European countries, where worrisome data can be seen regarding citizens’ relationships with those holding political power. The divide between representatives and those they represent continues to be seen as a major concern in opinion polls, and it’s clear that this reality poses a problem in terms of our countries’ democratic quality, threatening public representation and the activities of our public institutions.

The political climate is increasingly distancing citizens from their representatives. Thus, it’s necessary to innovate and be pioneers, proposing new ways for citizens to get involved and for us to build bridges between governments and their people. This 2023 will be intense in terms of elections, beginning with voting for our municipal and regional governments, continuing with the general election, and then ending with the European one – all in a little over a year. This is a time during which the future representatives and governors of our territories must listen, dialogue, and involve citizens in the designs of their programs and projects.

A STAGE ON WHICH TO RAISE ONE’S VOICE

But, don’t our politicians already do this? Aren’t they supposed to listen to the public? Although it’s true that politicians and the government, in general, serve society and are in constant contact with citizens, sometimes it’s necessary to create forums designed to facilitate conversations, opinions, and ideas to help reach consensus. A lack of social consensus is one of the biggest flaws in our modern democracies, and Osoigo was created to solve this very problem.

At Osoigo, we specialize in developing digital spaces through software and making participatory processes more dynamic so that citizens can listen, express opinions, and propose solutions in different environments. We work with the government and with private entities, solving social and/or sector-based challenges. In addition, we implement our own public innovation projects, proposing new forms of governance and participation in different regions.

Osoigo’s mission is clear: to bring citizens closer to their political representatives. Our team works daily to make this happen, made up of programmers and project managers specialized in public policies, communication, and marketing.

EVERYONE ROWING IN THE SAME DIRECTION

The first team to act, our techies, is in charge of the design and implementation of the participatory software. This is technology that we’ve been building and promoting with thousands of users in recent years, guiding it towards mass interaction and conversations through participatory tools such as surveys, votes, forums, and citizen initiatives. We have the chassis, the engine, and the wheels of the train.

After our techies, our project managers are the next to come on the scene. These are people who specialize in managing and leading participatory processes; they are our true social artisans. They are people who understand the social architecture of every environment and territory in which they must work, analyzing the conversations and interests of their target audiences, designing participatory processes, and pumping life into all the processes. They’re the ones who lay the rails and light up the train’s path.

And, last but not least, we add the Communication and Marketing team into the mix. They’re in charge of planning the launch of the online portals and participation processes, attracting the public, and generating traction or participation in our creations. They are the call to action, the ones that make people fall in love with the purpose of the projects we carry out, narrating their purposes along the way.  And, to conclude with our train metaphor, they’re the ones who get the train going and make it speed up until it reaches cruising speed towards its destination.

The secret? There is none. Listening, empathizing, and proposing participatory processes in which citizens might have an interest and reason to participate.

WHAT’S ALL THIS FOR?

At Osoigo, we can’t conceive of a participatory process without a real transformation. We want to create forums for dialogue, generate opinions, and solve real challenges. To do this, we need institutions, universities, companies, and other entities committed to the challenges and results that are decided through the processes in which we involve society. We don’t want to ask for people’s time or ideas to participate in a project if it’s not going to yield any benefits affecting their lives. We need less soft participation and more hard participation, and institutions that are committed to conversations and solutions provided by those who live around them.

This is why we always start at the end: the results expected. What expectations does the government/institution have of this project? How much are we willing to listen, commit, and implement the results that come about? Depending on the answers to these questions, one process or another will be assessed and designed, beginning to reach milestones and complete tasks. This retro-timing design process leads us to come up with the phases, guidelines, and rules of the game so that both the public and the different institutions begin to work with all the information needed, and in a committed way, all while remaining transparent from day one.

OSOIGO: WE REALLY LISTEN TO YOU

Of course, one of the ways to gain the public’s trust and get it interested in institutions is by offering them safe spaces (we are banking on hybrid ones: digital and physical) where they can see real commitment and feel a sense of ownership in the conversations had and the decisions made. To accomplish this, it’s essential to put citizens at the center of everything, from technological design to process content. How? For example, the social design of the technology must be clear, accessible, and aimed at generating consensus and ideas, without turning them down; and at discussion, without any insults.

Regarding content, participatory processes must be “sexy;” that is, of interest to society, and they should go hand in hand with the buzz on the street. To engage citizens in issues that are more of interest to the institution, rather than focusing on the people’s conversations and realities, would be to work in vain. We could continue talking about this a lot more, but we’ll leave that for a face-to-face meeting if you want to get to know us better.

The revolution of democratic participation has begun… are you ready to board the train?