How can MPs best spend £10,000 on communications? Let's play with that.

The New Media Awards discussion earlier this week about how MPs might use their new £10,000 communication allowances threw up two issues: first how MPs might decide what to do with the money in their constituencies, and second whether some of the £6 million might be best spent on some shared tools.

As Tom Marchbanks reports, I was on a panel with Derek Wyatt, who as a very online MP is an expert on the first point, and Tom Steinberg, who advocates some collaborative tools development, and through MySociety has an admirable track record of delivering them.
Derek explained that there was some considerable confusion about how the money could be spent in ways that informed the public about Parliamentary matters, but doesn't benefit the MP in their political role. An advisory booklet has been issued by Parliamentary officials without any consultation, or apparently much understanding of the issues. Tom suggested  how a set of shared tools could work - but didn't seem too hopeful anyone would take the lead in making it happen.
My points were drawn from more general experience of public engagement and communication systems. This shows people have different preferences  - whether phone, e-mail, print, face-to-face. No one tools suits all. Conversations and stories are more effective than slogans, pamphlets and posters - whether online or off. Trust and relationship is as important as content. Systems work best if co-designed by those involved. So is it crazy to suggest that MPs might invite constituent and other interests to get together and discuss how to create a communications system that works for all? Under the rules they would be doing this as the elected representative for all constituents, so hopefully it could be a non-Party event.

At the national level, are there enough collaborative MPs around to get together on what shared tools would be useful?
I ventured to suggest that a revised version of the workshop games that Drew Mackie and I have developed might be useful ... describe the situation, identify who are the key interests, choose activities and tools from a pack of cards, tell the story of how the system will work. We recently played a social media/public engagement game with officials at the Department of Justice, and it worked really well.
After the discussion we retired to the Middle Temple gardens outside our venue - La Grande Marque - where I continued to badger New Statesman staff and proprietor Spencer Neal with the idea of running a game/workshop session to design a typical local communication system and/or one that MPs could share. Derek chairs the All Party Internet Group, Tom and his chums know all the tools, I would gladly design the game... so all it needs is a convenor to invite enough people to try it out. Seems to me a neat way in which the Statesman or other media organisation could help explore how to make something good happen, as well as writing about new media and rewarding existing projects. I don't think we reached any conclusion ... which is the way it should be on such a convivial occasion.
I love the way blogging offers the chance to re-open a conversation, hopefully a bit more coherently.

Previously here:
Voter apathy? Try TheirSpaces.
MPs get £10,000 each for improved communication: responses mixed
PM (and District Councils) take to YouTube
Government explores going where people are ... online at least

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