IDEAS FOR CAMDEN
COMMUNITY ISSUES MARKETPLACE
alt.economy
What is it?
A more democratic way of voting for issues you feel strongly about within the community.
Why is it useful?
Our current voting system is binary – yes or no – which doesn't allow people to express how strongly they feel about issues in their community. Instead, we could create a “marketplace” where citizens were awarded credits and given the opportunity to place multiple credits on problems they most care about.
Alternative voting mechanisms – for example quadratic voting – could contribute to a more democratic decision making process. These processes could then determine which civic issues to tackle, with issue resolutions carried out in the open.
Alternative voting mechanisms – for example quadratic voting – could contribute to a more democratic decision making process. These processes could then determine which civic issues to tackle, with issue resolutions carried out in the open.
Who would need to be involved?
- Camden Council
- Camden residents
- Voting technology experts
- Policy makers
- Public service providers
Where do we start?
- Work with Camden Council and Camden Citizens’ Assembly to map existing mechanisms for proposing, voting for and funding community improvements.
- Research and analyse alternative democratic voting mechanisms and propose how they could be implemented as an “Issues Marketplace”.
- Host a design workshop with citizens, policy makers, voting technology experts with local government to design and develop proposal.
- Co-develop a paper prototype “Issues Marketplace”.
- Identify how proposal could be trialled within Camden.
Some thoughts…
- How do you mitigate the impact of collusion if quadratic voting is adopted?
- How would the issues be proposed and legitimised in the first place?
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