€1m-plus fund for ideas to move Ireland forward

by Richard Fahey on 21/02/2010


Earlier this week, President Mary McAleese launched a search to find two “game-changing” ideas that will help secure prosperity and jobs for Ireland.

The initiative comes in the form of a competition – Your Country, Your Call – that is offering two winners a cash prize of €100,000 each and up to €500,000 for implementation of their ideas.

The initiative describes itself as “a competition to ignite imaginations and inspire thinking.”

The goal is to pick two truly transformational proposals so big that, when implemented, could secure prosperity and jobs for Ireland. Proposals that could help change the way we do things, allow businesses to grow, employment to be created and prosperity to flourish.

[...] Your Country, Your Call is all about Ireland. It’s about helping to create sustainable employment and prosperity, whilst at the same time generating hope, confidence, and positive thinking.

Economic gloom

On launching the initiative President McAleese said the mood of the country was currently one of pessimism and deep disappointment. Unemployment in Ireland currently stands at nearly 13%, the highest in more than 15 years. This, along with a recent budget of severe cuts to public services, has led to deep public anger and resentment with the state of the economy.

The President, however, said Ireland had “formidable brain power” and, if utilised, the country could go forward again:

We need fresh thinking and action to shake off these doldrums and get us into forward gear. Ireland has formidable brainpower and a determination forged and tested over many generations. Your Country, Your Call is a challenge to this generation to come up with workable proposals capable of helping to put Ireland back firmly on its two feet.

[...] It is hoped that Your Country, Your Call will become a “mind meitheal,” which will generate interest and debate in families, workplaces, clubs, organisations, institutions, schools, colleges, communities, promoting positive thinking, faith hope and confidence in our country’s future.

[...] Your Country, Your Call is essentially an act of faith in our brain-power and our ability to create an exciting and realizable landscape of opportunity for our country and our people. It is now officially open for your proposals. So get talking, thinking and proposing.

President McAleese, who is patron of the initiative, said the winning projects might involve new ways of doing everyday things or might identify a completely new industry or service. They could be in any area, from education and sport to science and tourism, from agriculture and religion to arts and industry.

Process

Those interested have until April 30th to lodge their idea through the website YourCountryYourCall.

The thousands of ideas expected will be sifted throughout the summer. These will be distilled down to the 20 most viable which will be considered at the semi-final stage of the competition. These finalists will be assigned a coach for a 6-week period, who will work to help them develop their proposals.

Following the 6 week coaching period, each semi-finalist will be interviewed. Out of these interviews 5 finalists will be chosen to participate in a two-day event that will conclude with awards being presented by President McAleese.

Ideas

In the first two days after the site was launched it received over 40,000 hits. More than 1,700 users have registered, submitting some 650 ideas, nearly 900 comments and over 2,600 votes. The current most popular idea, with over 230 votes,  surrounds the creation of a Talent Tank where businesses can get in touch with people who have the skills they need and will work for free to showcase their talents.

Other ideas which have received popular support include: how the Health service can save money, the creation of an Irish sea Tunnel and the development of the railways. Some ideas, however, such as relocating the Vatican to Cavan look less certain of achieving popular support.

Competition backing

The competition is being governed by a charity, An Smaoineamh Mór, who will oversee the idea process and also coordinate the development of the two winning ideas.

The initiative is being largely supported by “corporate entities” and a “small amount” from government. An Smaoineamh Mór, chairman Dr Laurence Crowley said the identity of those who are providing the funds – capped at €150,000 – would be revealed in due course, but that €2 million of the estimated €2.5m required had already been secured.

Cisco and other IT companies based in Ireland are expected to be supporters of the imitative.

Get Thinking!

A television advertising campaign began this weekend to encourage people all over Ireland to enter the competition. It features prominent Irish personalities such as singer Christy Moore, writer Cecelia Ahern and broadcaster Olivia O’Leary.

Summary

While the use of Idea platforms has been widely used within corporations and other countries – witness the Open Government movement in the US – such a campaign soliciting ideas from citizens is relatively new in Ireland. While we’ve had the Ideas Campaign, it did not offer a prize fund, nor significant development opportunities for proposals.

The fact that this initiative has an engaged and powerful patron, along with significant financial resources, suggests it will be able to engage people in a way other requests for ideas on economic renewal have not.

While the process conforms to suggestions from experts on how to solicit ideas and engage the public, more transparency is needed on how ideas will be brought forward to solutions. Innovation platforms need to have 3 distinct phases. Citizen involvement in each phase – other than in the Participation stage – is not outlined, nor is the relevance of the voting mechanism i.e. we don’t know if the ideas with the highest number of votes automatically go through to the semi-finals, or if there is a judging panel involved. Having citizen involvement throughout the engagement and implementation phases could be a significant tool in successfully implementing the winning ideas.

Overall the initiative is a welcome and positive development. I’ve already submitted an idea and hope to help develop others on the site. The competition is not just restricted to Irish people, but is open to anyone who has suggestions on how to create sustainable employment and prosperity for Ireland.

It’s time to get thinking. Over to you – Is leatsa e.

For more check:

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David Cameron on the age of ‘people power’

by Richard Fahey on 20/02/2010

Conservative Party leader David Cameron addressed the TED conference in California earlier this month, with a speech focused on Information Technology and behavioural economics.

In the speech, he outlined two principles of Conservative philosophy and how these can address a new era, where governments have less power (and less money) and people empowered by technology have more:

  • Power to the People - ‘if you give people more power and control over their lives, give them more choice, then you can empower them to create a better society’.
  • Understanding of People - ‘we believe in going with the grain of human nature…treat people as they are, rather than how you would like them to be’.

Power to People: Transparency

Cameron explained how complete transparency can make a huge difference. He noted the example of Missouri’s Accountability Portal, which allows citizens to search details of all state spending by category, contract, agency and vendor. Through this, citizens can hold their elected representative more accountable for spending, and ensure greater value for money through visibility of current expenditure:

We’re now living in a post-bureaucratic age, where genuine people-power is possible…This can make an enormous difference in Transparency, Choice and Accountability.

He explained how if the Conservatives win the next election, they will make details of all spending over £25,000 available online. They’ll also make contracts available online, including the terms and conditions. The aim is to enable the public to root out wasteful spending and poorly negotiated contracts, and open up the procurement system to more small businesses. (see Conservative draft Transparency plan below)

Power to People: Choice

Cameron explained how the consumer revolution, which allows us to compare products and buy virtually everything online, has hardly touched public services such as education, healthcare or policing. Through making information such as ‘what operations work out properly, what records doctors have, the cleanliness of hospitals’ easily available online, the public can make more informed decisions about the public services they choose and the value for money these provide.

Power to People: Accountability

Citizens should be able to see what crimes have been committed, where, when and by whom. Providing this data on maps – such as Chicago’s Crime map – means citizens can hold the Police to account.

By making performance and spending data available for
public scrutiny, government can engage citizens and other stakeholders in thinking about organizations’ performance. Through involving citizens in establishing, implementing and evaluating measures of performance, government can foster a broader awareness and sense of ownership among citizens.

Understanding people

Cameron explained how the Conservatives were working with, and being advised by, behavioural economists such as Cass Sunstein (author of Nudge) and Richard Thaler. He explained how ideas and trends within behavioural economics, could be used as the basis for smarter policy and more effective adherence to government objectives.

As an example, he explained how the best way to get people to become more energy efficient was to compare their energy spending against that of their energy conscious neighbors. He underlined how that sort of behavioural economics can transform people’s behavior in a way that government ‘badgering’ cannot.

Towards the end of the talk he quoted Robert F. Kennedy’s observation on Gross National Product:

Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.

He finished with the view that Robert Kennedy’s dream can be more easily realised by taking advantage of advances in Information Technology, and the changes in behavioural economics.

Related:

  • Conservative’s Transparency plan
  • [Video] on Missouri’s Accountability Portal
  • The Guardian’s blog of Cameron’s TED talk

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Ideas on Modernizing Government

14 February 2010

Last month, the White House held a Forum on the theme of Modernizing Government. The event was an opportunity to bring private sector and federal Government leaders together in a discussion about using technology to streamline Government operations, improve customer service, and maximize returns on information technology investments.
The idea was to gain an insight [...]

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Power 2010: Vote for Deliberative polling

7 February 2010

With only two weeks left to vote in the POWER 2010 campaign, the top ideas have already amassed considerable support, with the introduction of a proportional voting system expected to top the poll.
There is, however, an idea that has considerable advantages and breaks new ground in how we think about major decisions facing local and [...]

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Human nature and political debate

6 February 2010

The RSA recently posted video of Matthew Taylor’s lecture on how brain and behaviour research is increasingly being incorporated into political and policy debate.
A section of the debate is animated below:

His lecture explores what’s wrong with our democracy and what needs to be done. Extracts of the speech are outlined below:
Democracy can only be successful [...]

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