California Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched a new deliberative democracy program intended to bring Californians together to engage, interact, and share ideas to help shape government services and collectively create policy solutions.
The new program, Engaged California, will bring together community voices and viewpoints supported by digital platforms. The governor’s office said this will empower Californians to help inform policy decisions and program design.
The governor’s office is launching a pilot of Engaged California as part of its response to the Los Angeles Firestorm. Engaged California will be used to help community members directly influence and inform the ongoing Los Angeles firestorm rebuilding and recovery.
“Government works better when we build it together – and this means making it easier for everyone to be involved. After years of development, I am excited to launch this new pilot program to help create a town hall for the modern era – where Californians share their perspectives, concerns, and ideas geared toward finding real solutions,” said Gov. Newsom. “We’re starting this effort by more directly involving Californians in the LA firestorm response and recovery. As we recover, reimagine, and rebuild Los Angeles, we will do it together.”
In a press release, the governor’s office explained that Engaged California is different from a poll or town hall and is not designed to mimic social media. “The platform is the intersection between technology, democracy, and state government,” the press release said. “The end goal is to encourage more discussions as a new way to find common ground, a process known internationally as deliberative democracy.”
The Government Operations Agency, the California Office of Data and Innovation (ODI), in partnership with Carnegie California, the West Coast office and program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, are leading the development of this program and its supporting deliberative engagement tools. The state is also partnering with the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and community organizations to help ensure the program is accessible for community members who may be harder to reach.
“The launch of this program and our first deliberation will help us hear from the people we serve,” said California Office of Data and Innovation Director Jeffery Marino. “Far from just a technical tool, this is an innovative approach to foster greater collaboration and co-creation between the people of California and their government.”
The state said it modeled the program after successful digital democracy efforts in Taiwan, which used digital tools to help increase consensus-building and build governance powered by the people.
