Sean Kershaw's Weblog
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January 24, 2008
A new model for civic policy-making: Part III
I had the opportunity to talk to a graduate class at Hamline last night -- taught by Dr. Wallace Swan. Great group of students. I talked about this emerging model of a "civic policy agenda", using the analogy of how making a phone call has changed dramatically in the past 75 years.
Imagine the difference between Ernestine (the Lily Tomlin character) and what I call "Generation Text". Ernestine was at the top of a big hierarchy and controlled everything. All calls went through Ernestine. Imagine the lack of control created by text messaging. (Texting has been a huge part of social movements like the "Orange Revolution (?) in the Ukraine.) This analogy occurred to me when I was speaking to another graduate class and noticed several people texting while I was talking. (So much for my speaking skills.)
I think the old and new models for policy making are as different as making a call with Ernestine and texting. (See Extended Entry for more...)
Who is a policy-maker: In the old/Ernestine model, it was arguable the "rich white guys". A limited number of people with positional power. In the new model everyone is a policy-maker -- or has the capacity to be a policy-maker. We're lucky here because our "white guys" in Minnesota were such amazing leaders. Our challenge now is to build this capacity more broadly.
Where does policy happen: In the Ernestine model, policy largely happened at the Legislature, and at places of privilege like the Minneapolis Club (and the Citizens League of old). In the new model policy happens in all institutions. For example, businesses have a huge role in "education policy".
How does policy happen: The Ernestine model relied on hierarchy, like I said, and regulation. We've moved to a model based on the internet: a network with few points of fundamental control. We've moved from government to governance. From experts to expertise. From hierarchy to networks. This means that the collective daily decision-making skills of people in the places they spend time matter more than ever.
I could keep going, but this is the start of the new "civic policy agenda" that I tried to describe in my December 2007 Viewpoint.
Posted by Sean Kershaw at January 24, 2008 5:30 AM