Deliberative community networks for local governance

This paper describes Deliberative Community Networks (DCNs) as the evolution of the community networks of the 1990s. DCNs attempt to overcome the limitations of 'traditional' community networks for involving citizens in decision-making processes. DCNs are designed to support local government actually committed to participatory policymaking. The paper outlines the design principles and logical architecture of the software platform we are developing. It describes the features of five deliberation modules and how the participatory process-building module structures deliberative work flow.