Syllabus

• Week 1

  Can social media be a force for good?

  • Welcome to Transforming Citizen Participation

    Social media offers greater connectivity and, in theory, greater transparency. But there are costs. In this course, we’ll look at how the rise of social media has transformed the way public servants and governments operate.

  • Welcome to Week 1

    This week, we'll explore three questions: 1. What are the main motivations for the use of social media? 2. How is it changing the nature of policy and the way we consume news? 3. How is it disrupting governments behaviour?

  • Harnessing social media

    The way people consume news and current affairs has changed radically in recent years, fuelled in large part by the emergence of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

  • Citizen Power

    Whereas once activism was defined by vigorous campaigning, social media has made it possible for an electronic, lower-cost form of participation that has become known as 'clicktivism'.

  • Week 1 Summary

    Let's recap what we have covered this week.

• Week 2

  Is anybody there?

  • Welcome to Week 2

    Have you ever created or signed a petition for change? Did your petition get the outcome you wanted? This week we're exploring the power that citizens have in an increasingly digital world.

  • #sociallistening

    Combining social media with the ten-yearly census and traditional household surveys offers the government new opportunities to monitor the views of its citizens.

  • Frontline delivery

    The presence of public servants on social media sites has introduced a kind of 'digital frontline'.

  • Improved relationships?

    The use of social media accounts by frontline public servants offers an opportunity to give a “behind the badge” perspective. Is this a good thing?

  • Week 2 Summary

    Let's recap what we have covered this week.

• Week 3

  Push, pull or collaborate?

  • Welcome to Week 3

    Welcome to Week 3! This week we turn our attention to the ways in which social media is used by leaders and public servants.

  • Real-world social media strategies

    Some strategies have been highly effective at disseminating information or fostering a sense of community, but others have been less so. We’ll explore both in more detail this week.

  • Maijer and Thaen’s Strategy

    Maijer and Thaens (2013) suggest there are four types of strategy that large public organisations might focus their resources on.

  • Implementation

    Examples of how we use social media monitoring software to help us.

  • Week 3 Summary

    Let's recap what we have covered this week.

• Week 4

  Trust them to tweet?

  • Welcome to Week 4

    Welcome to Week 4! This week we'll be examining a deceptively simple question. Should public officials be allowed to use social media?

  • Social media ownership

    Should public servants and leaders be free to express their personal opinions on social media?

  • Case Study: Advocates for agents using social media

    In the next few steps we will look at a Case Study with Chief Inspector Kerry Blakeman.

  • Social Media and Senior Leadership

    Here we'll take a closer look at world leaders' use of the social media platform Twitter.

  • Week 4 Summary

    Let's recap what we have covered this week.

  • Wrapping up

    Congratulations on reaching the end of Transforming Citizen Participation. Here we'll summarise the course with your course leader.

Who will you learn with?