Civic engagement through digital technology: the EPISODE project

In this video, Dr Darren Reed discusses the EPISODE project which aims to improve civic engagement with an open data archive.

Environmental Policy In Simulation, Open Data, and Engagement (EPISODE) is a project designed to engage York’s citizens more fully with the City of York Council’s Open Data initiative, through the creation of playful data interfaces. It is being developed by sociologists and game designers in collaboration with the City of York Council.

At present relatively few of York’s citizens are aware of the Open Data Platform’s existence, and of those who are, few have the requisite technical skills and knowledge to meaningfully engage with this data. The EPISODE project is using the Digital Creativity Lab’s knowledge of games and gamification to develop ways to help people engage with this data in a playful and fun way, learning about data and hopefully developing more of an interest in policy. The project aims to:

• Boost civic engagement in Council decision making
• Encourage York citizens to learn about and get involved with the city
• Become a York Open Data citizen

What are the features of EPISODE?

There are three features of EPISODE which have been designed based on the AIDA model (Attention Interest Desire Action):

1. The first feature is a large information screen that will be in the centre of York and will present information from the archive in a playful and engaging way; for example, the correlation between ducks in an area and the crime rate.
2. A second screen will also be available which people can use to interact with the data and present it on the large screen. By manipulating the data in fun ways, people should begin to appreciate the accessibility of the data.
3. The third element is a smartphone application that takes all those other elements, so people can grab information and can combine it in interesting ways, but they can also then use that information and share it with others. So for example, it could be something quite serious: combining information about the number of potholes in their street with council tax rates to understand how much they pay the council for the maintenance of the roads. And maybe by combining that information they could then make a case for the council to spend more money on road maintenance. They could also use it as the basis for political campaigns: perhaps if there is a community group which is particularly concerned about pollution, they could grab the relevant information, share it with others, and use it in a productive way.

The EPISODE project will offer an innovative and unusual new solution to this problem of engagement and interest. The project will create a game that makes the examination of this data playful and fun, as well as removing the technical expertise barriers to engaging with it. In the process, it will open up York’s Open Data Platform to a far greater range of potential users.

The Digital Creative Labs have created a video talking through the features of the EPISODE project which you might find interesting additional viewing.