Better Reykjavik
Better Reykjavik is an online platform run by the City of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, in collaboration with the Citizens Foundation, with the aim of reflecting citizens' opinions in policy making.
It was announced just prior to the 2010 municipal elections and adopted by the political party "Best Party". The platform serves as a crowdsourcing venue for citizens to solicit solutions to urban challenges and has multiple democratic functions, including policy-making and participatory budgeting.
Notably, there are more than 120,000 users, which equates to more than half of Reykjavik's population; as of 2017, more than 5,800 ideas had been submitted and more than 1,000 were formally reviewed. Currently, 10-15 proposals are still considered and voted on monthly by the City Council. (Note: Reflecting Citizens' Voices in Policy Design. Technology for Making Democracy Work｜Shigeta Togashi)
When creating a Japanese version of JOIN, the following points can be learned from Better Reykjavik's design
- Promoting citizen participation: A user-friendly interface and clear feedback features encourage active citizen participation.
- Transparency: We earn the public's trust by disclosing the progress of proposals and the review process.
- Multifunctionality: integrates multiple functions, such as policy making, participatory budgeting, and agenda setting, to reflect the diverse views of citizens.
Considering these factors, the design of the Japanese version of JOIN will create a platform to effectively reflect citizens' voices in policy.
Better Reykjavik is based on Your Priorities, an open source software developed by the Citizens Foundation, an Icelandic citizens' organization. (NESTA: [Better Reykjavik | Nesta https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/10-people-centred-smart-city-initiatives/better-reykjavik/?utm_ source=chatgpt.com]) Design features include the following
- Unique debate system: has a mechanism that allows citizens to post suggestions and opinions, and other users to express their approval or disapproval.
- Crowdsourcing and prioritization of content: the ability to collect suggestions from citizens and prioritize them according to importance.
- Multimedia Content Submission: The system has the ability for users to submit not only text, but also multimedia content such as images and videos.
- Use of AI: AI technology is being used to improve the user experience and the quality of posted content.
- Better Reykjavik - Citizens Foundation
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