[This is a mockup page - NOT LIVE!]

Step 1: Log in     (Create a new account)

Step 2: Choose an office-holder

Use the search box to find an office holder, or choose a government below and find the responsible politician from a listing of ministers or other roles. If you have one, you can also select a favourite from the box on the right.

Search for office-holder

OR

Choose a government, then follow the prompts:
Commonwealth
ACT   NT   NSW   QLD   SA   TAS   VIC   WA
Local Government

[Each of the Fed & state govt links opens up a new box with choices including the ministers of that govt. Local govt probably opens up a complete new page tab.]

Step 3: Ask your question!

Office-holder:


Type your question:

Comment or background

Summary (mandatory - 50 characters max)

Tags (or categories) for your question

Tag No	Tag name
Tag 1
Tag 2
Tag 3
Tag 4
Tag 5

Tags give an idea of the larger topic or category that your question can be part of. For example, a question about the possible effect of withdrawing promised tax cuts on inflation might use the following tags:

1. Economy
2. Tax
3. Inflation
4. Election promises
5. Political integrity

 

[This is a mockup page - NOT LIVE!]

Good questions for Julia Gillard (sample only)

Questions in the table below are ranked based on ratings for clarity and relevance of RQ members so far. (Clear questions get a high rating for clarity, and low if it’s vague or hard to understand.) The two right hand columns show the number of comments and answers for each question.

You can add your ratings too. Simply click on a score in the <blue 7 part slider> in the clarity or relevance column.

First select the question then:
Add a question,  View comments/ Add comment,  New question based on selected,  Report issue to moderator   View answers/ Add an answer
Just select the question in the tickbox in the left column and click on the button you need. You will be able to add a new comment from the page showing existing comments.

Questions listing for Julia Gillard

	Question	Author	Date	Clarity	Relevance	Comments	Answers	Tag 1	Tag 2
	How are negotiations with the mining industry on the "mining super profits" tax being conducted?	Fred	4 Feb	9	9	2	0	Economics	Tax
	When will you hold the next election?	Susan	1 Feb	6	8	0	0	Politics	Politics
	Don't we already have enough of a consensus on climate change to take serious action?	Bill	8 Feb	8	4	0	0	Environment	Public participation
	What did you have for breakfast?	Annie	3 Feb	9	1	0	0	Food

 

 

 

[This is a mockup page - NOT LIVE!]

The table shows the number of questions asked of each office-holder, the number of comments made, the number of answers available, and the average scores on their answers. It then combines these results into a total score. It also shows their role and the most frequent category shown in questions to them.

Click a column heading to sort by that column. You can sort by office-holder (alphabetically), by any of the scores (eg most columns), constituency or category.

Name	Position	Party	Constit	Questions	Comments	Answers	Average answers	Total score	Top Tags
Edna Everage	Star	None	World	35	18,987	35	10	350	Fashion, new shows
Kevin Rudd	Prime Minister	ALP	Fed	26	1,352	19	6	114	G20, CPRS
Wayne Swan	Treasurer	ALP	Fed	21	1	7	4	28	Stimulus, debt, budget
Malcolm Turnbull	Opposition Leader	Lib	Fed	25	903	15	4	60	CPRS, debt, jobs
Warren Truss	National Party Leader	NAT	Fed	9	88	7	4	28	CPRS
Nathan Rees	NSW Premier	ALP	NSW	13	109	4	4	16	Party politics
Anna Bligh	QLD Premier	ALP	QLD	12	99	7	4	28	Corruption, Traveston Dam
Bob Brown	Greens Leader	Green	Fed	10	57	9	6	54	Climate

This page will host a conventional forum with discussion using normal forum threads and practices.

Q: How is this different from other democracy sites?

A: Real Questions is different in that it allows people to ask specific questions which are all tracked separately. In this sense, it creates specific content which is collated and evaluated by other users to give an indication of the relative levels of public concern on different topics. By having each question addressed to a specific politician, it provides a means of accountability to a particular politician when the questions show a clear direction of concern on a particular issue. Although the scope of Real Questions includes a forum, it instead focuses on allowing users to ask specific questions and respond to others' questions. Here is one overview of e-democracy sites.

In addition, Real Questions allows the details to be tabulated and aggregated into trend data. This includes numbers of questions to each politician, average ratings on questions (and answers if they are given), the number of comments on questions and answers, and average scores of politicians. This data can then be used to compare performance of politicians and provide insights across a wide range of topics. One example of that is shown on the ratings page.

Q: How do users evaluate other users’ questions?

A: Users rate other users' questions on two dimensions: clarity and political relevance. So a question like, “What did you have for breakfast today?” would get a high score for clarity, because it is very specific. However, that would obviously get a really low score for political relevance. When the questions are sorted, the clearest and most relevant questions go to the top.

Why don’t the questions have more space for explanation?

The questions allow 255 characters each for the question and the background, which is enough for a succinct question, and even links if need be. The questions are not designed to be a forum; they are designed to capture key concerns.

Q: Do you expect that politicians will actually answer the questions?

A: Having the politicians actually answer would be icing on the cake, but that's obviously not reliable! The key thing is to have a collectively developed set of what people think are the key questions. The questions directed to each politician will obviously evolve over time. They will also improve as users see how they can create new questions which improve in various ways on the existing ones, to be clearer and better targeted.

Q: But do you actually want answers?

A: Yes, we will actually be asking for answers. Emails will go to politicians, asking them to answer the list of current questions to them. All answers will be posted on the website, so that users can see it and rate them for clarity and relevance, just like the questions. This will feed into the score of each politician.

Q: What about answers which might already exist?

A: If we don't have an answer directly from a politician, and somebody sees a direct answer already available (such as in an article online) we will try to link to that, and then use the same rating process.

Q: Isn’t it likely that some people will “game” the site to bias the questions toward a particular party or viewpoint?

A: While the site will be available for anonymous browsing, only registered users who are real people will be able contribute to the site. The site will then reflect their opinions. Obviously, we want that membership to be as broad as possible!

(Please send any additional questions via the feedback page.)

Who is “Real Questions”?

Real Questions is a non-profit organisation, legally registered as a company limited by guarantee in March 2010; the ABN is 43 142 636 093. It was started by Charles and David Jago, who have a background of involvement in public participation and facilitation. Initial funding (mostly for legal costs) has been paid by Charles Jago.

There are currently three people on the board: Charles, David and Jack Jago. Within the coming year, we intend that Real Questions will be led by a board of respected, transparently independent group of men and women from a range of occupational and political backgrounds, Australian states and age groups. It will include people with experience in social &/or political participation, media, politics (as former elected representatives, ideally covering multiple levels of government) as well as business and project management. Real Questions will operate substantially as a virtual organisation.

The main form of revenue for the venture is expected to be website advertising, supported by some individual donations. No corporate donations will be accepted. However, grants from non-corporate organisations such as foundations may be accepted where the board believes that they do not compromise the independence of Real Questions.

Note: Charles Jago is a member of the Greens, but Real Questions is not associated with the Greens in any way. As stated above, it is anticipated that the board for Real Questions will also include people from other perspectives. Real Questions will remain strongly independent.

Newsletters

January 2010 newsletter

 

We are all volunteers!

Real Questions has no paid staff, and is entirely operated by volunteers. The project will rely entirely on volunteers for the short and medium term.

Acknowledgements

Web development of our prototype is currently under way with our four fantastic volunteers in Sydney:

• Ross Arnold
• Jim Donovan
• Janice Ng
• Erle Pereira

Volunteers needed!

We currently need people with the following skills:

• Web designer, with a focus on developing the user interface: the role is about designing and improving the website, to enable users to make sense of the massive amount of information there in an intuitive way.
• Marketing & promotion with a strong online focus: clearly, we need to work out the most effective ways to promote Real Questions to users who could use it to make a difference. The site is aimed across all age groups, political persuasions, levels of computing skill, and whatever else might be important. The first step is to expand and develop on the current marketing plan, to prepare a campaign for launch, and to design suitable materials. Skills in online marketing will be a useful starting point. This role will work with the rest of the team to ensure that the site supports the campaign, and that the message is effectively targeted.

To respond, please send an email to the address below, or call one of the contact numbers. Please be patient, as at the moment this is being managed by a volunteer with limited time!

Next Steps

At present, the following stages of evolution are planned.

1. Preparation: secure trademark rights and domain names; prepare basic website; plan for future phases.
2. Project Announcement (Website v 0.2): a public (essentially static) website describing the project and inviting participation, while the next step of the website is prepared. This will seek involvement in the next steps. This is the current phase.
   
3. Simple working prototype (Website v 0.3) A simple prototype of the participation website is being developed. This will allow early development issues to be identified and managed, assist in working through the design, and provide a basis for generating further interest. It will also allow the site to be tested to measure the interest and needs of various types of users (men/women, different age groups, or users with different approaches to politics, etc.)
   
4. Public Beta (Website v 0.5): in addition to the public website about the project, a public beta of the underlying participation website will be accessible. People who log in will be able to submit questions on a trial basis. This will obviously evolve!
   
5. Launch version (Website v 1.0): the site will have all key planned features, at a level of maturity to sustain ongoing interest and participation.

Contact

Charles Jago
1/159 Concord Road, North Strathfield NSW 2137 Australia
0403 902 613
02 8765 9380 (61 2 8765 9380)

 

This page will eventually feature a form for feedback. Until then, please send an email to