The BBC is ending its development of online ‘e-democracy’ tools with the closure of its Action Network set for 30 April.
Action Network (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/ ), which started life five years ago as ‘BBC iCan’ (see http://fastlink.headstar.com/ican1 ), was designed to foster participation in local causes and neighbourhood activities through user-generated local networks. Members could register support for or opposition to campaigns; start their own campaigns; post local notices; or write articles, guides or case studies. Some guidance and advice was also provided centrally by the BBC.
At the time of its launch, the MP Tom Watson – now Cabinet Office minister with responsibility for e-democracy – said the service was “exactly what a publicly funded, publicly accountable corporation should be spending our money on”.
However, in a statement on the closure the BBC said the recent proliferation of websites and web-based tools offering alternative solutions and innovations have surpassed its own efforts and capabilities. The corporation says much of the editorial material developed by Action Network will continue to be made available elsewhere on its website, and recommends that for local democratic activity online users make use of resources such as Facebook (http://www.facebook.com), GroupsNearYou (http://www.groupsnearyou.com) and E-petitions (http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/).
Some press reports and analysts have been linking the demise of Action Network to the planned launch of a new, highly localised, customisable news and information service online by the BBC. However, a spokesperson for the corporation told E-Government Bulletin this week that the new local services were not intended to replace Action Network, and their launch was not related to its closure. The plans would make use of ‘geo-tagging’ and map-based navigation to create service customised by postcode, similar to but more powerful than the BBC’s current ‘Where I Live’ news interface.
These plans are still in their early stages, but are expected to go before the BBC Trust for approval this summer, the spokesperson said. If approved, the service is likely to take at least another year to launch.
