STATEMENT OF GRANT PURPOSE

Aaron B. Helton, United States, Computer Sciences

A Study of E-Democracy in the UK

I plan to study the emergence of e-democracy systems in the UK over the past fifteen years.
These are initiatives by which governments make systems and services accessible, both to
private citizens and to one another. Some of the goals of e-democracy and are openness and
transparency, as well as providing citizens a direct voice in how their government works. Over
the past fifteen years, the Internet has transformed the old models of information and
entertainment publishing and distribution, so I pose these questions: Can it similarly transform
institutions of democracy? Can governments operate with such transparency? And if so, what
are the cultural, political, legal, and technological requirements that support such
transformations? Are there any particular approaches that are especially well suited for
government use? For example, while a number of Congressional watch sites have emerged in
the United States over the last five years, they are largely external to Congress and all rely on the
same source: the THOMAS system at the Library of Congress. If the US Congress's record in
voluntary openness seems a little meager, consider the fact that the Executive Branch exists with
little public scrutiny, and many of its departments operate irrespective of the other departments,
even when collaboration would be in the collective best interest (the FBI and CIA, for example,
rarely shared information before 9/11, and even though they have taken some steps to remedy
this, cultural differences between the organizations minimize such contact today). Contrast this
with efforts in the UK to add transparency to the Prime Minister's office, namely via the newly
launched Number10.gov.uk site, and the number of sites that track the UK Parliament and
expose government services to the public in Internet accessible ways. My investigation will
center on why there is such a difference between the US and the UK with regard to these
systems.
I developed an interest in e-democracy as a result of my own uses of the Internet, both as a
consumer and a producer of online content. As a consumer of information, I recognize the need
for high quality, trustworthy sources, and as a producer of content (I publish and maintain my
own blog, and I am aggressive about maintaining a consistent appearance across my public
digital dossier), I am fully aware of the ease with which such information can be made available,
whether that information is reliable or not. For instance, social bookmarking sites like
Digg.com, Slashdot, and Reddit propagate popular information quickly, and thousands of people
will read and discuss this information regardless of its source; quite often, that information is
inaccurate, misleading, or false, but if no official or reliable sources exist, consumers of
information are left with few alternatives. As Internet technologies have become more
sophisticated, allowing real time two-way communication between content producers and
consumers, there are a number of areas where adoption of such tools is still inadequate, leaving
consumers frustrated and willing to trust the most dubious Internet sources for lack of real,
trustworthy sources. Thus there is a great need for governments to embrace the openness and
transparency that e-democracy can provide, but they will need to understand how to do so safely
and efficiently. I believe that the Internet is a tool that is best suited to enable this kind of
transparency, and that the UK has a good track record for providing a set of best practices that
could be applicable to the US.
My approach for this study will rely heavily on my extensive technological background as
well as my US military background. As a technologist with over a decade of experience, I have
Aaron B. Helton, United States, Computer Sciences

a firm grasp of the complex interplay between the systems that support e-democracy. I learned
much of this by continually experimenting with new technologies, from ordinary use to support
and development of new systems. In particular, I have had a great deal of experience
implementing social networking tools inside a company to facilitate collaboration and serve as
an authoritative source for certain kinds of information. Additionally, my six years as an
information technologist for the US Army equipped me with a sensitivity to the levels of security
that are required when exposing government services to the public over the Internet. I spent a
great deal of time developing, revising, implementing, and reviewing information security plans,
and so I have a full general understanding of how governments approach security in online
systems. For instance, military security considers threats from both internal and external
sources, and each type of security measure is given equal footing. This is appropriate in a
civilian setting as well, since a great potential exists by which negligent or malicious actions
might expose personal data or leave it otherwise vulnerable to exposure. Consider, for example,
the US Department of Veterans Affairs and its recent loss of a laptop containing sensitive
information about military veterans. This danger of accidental disclosure is one that must be
addressed when considering these systems, and the US military has procedures that help to
mitigate or eliminate it. Therefore my military background will provide me with a good
understanding not only of WHAT security measures to take, but also WHY. From this platform,
I will be able to get a clearer sense of the remaining factors at play in the UK's particular
approach to e-democracy, whether they stem from cultural, political, or legal issues.
The outcome of my study of the UK's approach to e-democracy will be a series of articles,
published in a journal or elsewhere, on a set of best practices that the US can follow when
considering such initiatives. As I expect there to be a number of cultural factors involved in the
difference between each country's acceptance of e-democracy, I also hope to foster an exchange
of ideas that can bridge the cultural differences by highlighting cultural similarities between the
US and the UK. After completing this research, I plan to apply it toward a DPhil. at the Oxford.
To that end, I have been in contact and plan to work closely with Dr. Ian Brown at the Oxford
Internet Institute, whose work in e-democracy parallels my own (for instance, he served as an
observer at the London elections in May of 2008).
My studies will begin in October 2009 and continue through June 2010 at Oxford University.
The Oxford Internet Institute is home to an extensive Internet studies library as well as
prominent research in e-democracy. I plan to pursue coursework that will deepen my
understanding of the legal, political, and cultural aspects of this research. While much of my
time will be spent at Oxford, I also plan to get a sense through interviews with UK citizens about
their own perceptions of e-democracy, and I will reinforce this with a series of surveys that will
help to provide a more quantitative analysis of UK citizens' attitudes toward such tools. Next, I
plan to get a sense, through interviews and surveys, of the UK government's views on e-
democracy, possibly utilizing surveys there as well. And finally, I plan to take advantage of
Oxford's reputation as a gathering place for great minds, many of whom will be focused on these
very topics. Oxford conducts and hosts numerous conferences and events each year that attract
people from all over the world to discuss a wide range of topics, and if past events and upcoming
events are any indication, I will be able to build a solid research framework on a very rich
tapestry of perspectives.