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Friday, January 7, 2011

A Wikipedia for Legislation and Public Policymaking?

I received an e-mail recently from an Andrew Schwartz who thought our readers might be interested in a project that he and others have started. It is sort of a Wikipedia for legislation and policymaking that citizens can construct together. What do you think of this idea?


Here is more from his e-mail:


WriteTheBillWiki.com is a site created by a group at Harvard that provides a user-friendly platform for public policymaking--it’s like a Wikipedia for legislation. Anyone can jot down some ideas, write a section of proposed legislation, or edit what has been written by others. If the issues you care about are not already featured on the site, you just add them. WTB is all about collaboration and moving the conversation forward!

WriteTheBillWiki.com is launching a 3-day editing blitz on education legislation, starting at 8:00pm tonight. We’re bringing together policy experts, legal scholars, teachers, students, community activists, and everyday citizens to draft pieces of REAL legislation. Over the next 3 days, we’re going to tackle topics like:


• Teacher evaluation and merit pay
• School vouchers
• Charter schools
• And any other issue you feel compelled to add

Once our 3-day blitz is over, our goal is to have REAL legislation that’s ready to be introduced by the new Congress.

PS - if you’d like to find out more, please check out the site
http://writethebill.wikispaces.com/
or our quick (2 minute) video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYfe0zJ5gIc

1 comment:

Nathan R. Sutton said...

I think this is a great idea in an age of easy access to information and is especially pertinent at a time when congress may be heading toward a gridlock of government. If citizens are able to work through legislative issues together, they will be empowered with competent and articulate input for legislators in D.C. It is a great example of access to and processing of information for citizens and has the potential to move an otherwise sluggish (and sometimes combative) governing body.