Upcoming FDA Project in Lethbridge, Alberta

"Lethbridge Public Empowerment" project Project Information: Project Title: Lethbridge Public Empowerment Project Location: Local: Lethbridge: whole city (citizen panels) Project Summary:Summary of Lethbridge Public Empowerment Project: Project to act as a bridge between the people of Lethbridge and municipal political representatives. Determine the basic overall priorities of Lethbridge (in terms of municipal policies and expenditure), and use those priorities as a basis to evaluate the expenditures and policies of the candidates in the 2010 Lethbridge municipal election. (1 citizen panel, reflecting a cross-section of Lethbridge, will be formed to access and assess public opinion about Lethbridge's priorities. Other means to access public opinion, including online survey and door to door survey. 2 other citizen panels will be formed (independent of each other) to evaluate the candidates in the 2010 Lethbridge municipal election. The panels will use the established priorities as a basis to evaluate the candidates. Main feature of the project: Democratic Dialogue and Constitutional Processes Marginalized or Vulnerable Groups: Addressing the needs of marginalized or vulnerable groups is a key objective of the project. The needs of marginalized groups are critical to the project, because those needs will help form the basic, overall priorities of Lethbridge citizens. To not include a segment of the Lethbridge public in the project would weaken the credibility of the results. The more, diverse participation in the project, the more credible the project will be, and consequently the more impact the project will have. Hence, the FDA has a significant interest in including all segments of the Lethbridge public in the project. Project Description: Problem being addressed: Lethbridge suffers from extremely low voter turnout, as illustrated by the 22% voter turnout in the 2007 Lethbridge municipal election. The purpose of the project is to bridge the disconnection between the Lethbridge people and the municipal government. The connection of the people and government is a fundamental tenet of democracy, through the principle of government of, by and for the people. Without that connection, democracy is undermined. Objectives/Purpose: Promote greater inclusion of the Lethbridge public in the political process. Encourage increased political empowerment of the Lethbridge public. Help inform the Lethbridge public about democracy and their political representatives. Create greater public accountability of political representatives. Key Activities: 1. Formation of a citizen panel, comprised of a cross-section of Lethbridge--in terms of age, gender, occupation, and ethnicity. 2. 10 public forums held through Lethbridge. (The citizen panel will host the events.) 3. Door to door survey (in addition to public forums) to access marginalized groups. 4. Evaluation of the public input by the citizen panel. Produce a report on the Lethbridge's public priorities (in terms of government policies and expenditure.) 5. Formation of 2 other citizen panels. These citizen panels will evaluate, rank, and grade the 2010 Lethbridge political candidates based on the established priorities of the Lethbridge people. Produce a report. 6. Release the evaluation report to the public, media, and government. Outputs/Deliverable Products: 1. Extensive data on the Lethbridge public's priorities. 2. Report on the basic, overall priorities of the Lethbridge people. 3. Report on the candidates in the 2010 Lethbridge municipal election, in the context of the basic, overall priorities of the Lethbridge public. 4. A website which contains all the reports and public data, barring confidentiality and/or anonymity agreements. Results/Outcomes: Increased involvement of the Lethbridge people in the political process. Establish new public mechanisms to hold political representatives accountable. Increased democratic empowerment of the people of Lethbridge. Increased connection between the Lethbridge people and the Lethbridge government. Increased public accountability of political representatives. More informed Lethbridge voters. Increased Lethbridge voter turnout. Overall improvement of democracy in Lethbridge. Monitoring and Evaluation: Measurement will be by comparative analysis techniques and survey/interview. The project will measure public participation in the political process and changes in government policies and expenditures. The FDA will be responsible for measuring. Innovation: The project is innovative, because it is using evaluation as a means to improve and strengthen democracy. Also, the project utilizes innovative democratic mechanisms to empower and include the people, and hold political representatives accountable. Sustainability: The achievements will be maintained by performing subsequent evaluation reports on the next Lethbridge municipal election and reassessment of the Lethbridge public's basic priorities. The FDA needs your helo to advance democracy! The FDA needs to raise $10,000 CAN for this project. If you believe in the "Lethbridge Public Empowerment" project, and importance of advancing and improving democracy in Lethbridge, please donate to support this project: In the 2007, the FDA evaluated, ranked, and graded the Aldermen candidates running the 2007 Lethbridge municipal election. The FDA's goal for the 2010 Lethbridge election, is to build off its efforts in 2007. 2007 Lethbridge Report | Home | About the FDA | Donate to the FDA | FDA Membership | Affiliated Organization | Contact the FDA |