December 2013 NUI Galway Project Helps Europeans to Understand Europe

 EU initiative, Puzzled by Policy, provides a  free, interactive platform for understanding public attitudes to key policy issues

An NUI Galway project, led by INSIGHT will offer Europeans the opportunity to understand key EU policies and issues. The project, an EU Commission eGovernment project aims to give Europeans a voice in policy creation.

Developed by leading IT companies, public authorities, universities and NGOs from across Europe, Puzzled by Policy aims to consult with people in a way that is both fun and engaging.

It combines innovative online tools with traditional face-to-face consultation techniques to ensure accessibility, transparancy and inclusion, transforming the way in which those who shape European policy listen to and get feedback from the public. 

Developed over the last 3 years, Puzzled by Policy is a unique combination of online and offline engagement. The online platform, which is freely available to utilise, download and install, makes it easy for any organisation to begin talking with people about the issues that affect them most.

Deirdre Lee, Project Co-ordinator from INISIGHT@NUI Galway, says “Puzzled by Policy has demonstrated that new web technologies can improve our democratic systems and can help produce more effective government policy, through open and transparent processes.”

“Such innovative technologies are imperative for supporting Irish government initiatives such as the eGovernment Strategy, Open Data Initiative and Open Government Partnership, and was used as part of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Ireland consultation process to define Ireland’s first OGP National Action Plan” she said.

Policy Profiler offers a unique way for citizens to understand where their views lie on the political specturm.

The uDebate eParticipation platform enables people to freely discuss and exchange ideas. Consultation initiators (government, NGOs, research institutes, thinktanks, etc.) can access all this information in a summarised, visual form to help them understand exactly where public opinion lies on key issues.

Ten policy-makers from regional, national and European governments engaged in the Puzzled by Policy process, as did over a hundred NGOs from Spain, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Ireland. Since its inception, the Puzzled by Policy platform has had over 200,000 page views with 6,600 people actively participating.

Puzzled by Policy will be presented at a number of major international events over the coming weeks, including the European Commission and EESC’s ‘European Integration Forum’, the Council of Europe’s ‘World Forum for Democracy’ and the Assembly of European Regions’ ‘Building Inclusive Societies Conference’.

For more information on adopting Puzzled by Policy visit http://puzzledbypolicy.moonfruit.com/ or www.puzzledbypolicy.eu, or contact Deirdre Lee, the project coordinator, at NUI Galway at 091 495336 or email deirdre.lee@deri.org.

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