Oregon’s Kitchen Table website to encourage public discourse among state residents
There’s a seat at the virtual kitchen table waiting for you.
Last month, PSU’s College of Urban and Public Affairs teamed up with elected officials and community organizations to launch Oregon’s Kitchen Table, a public policy project that uses a simple online platform to involve a greater cross-section of Oregonians in the discussion of issues that matter to them. The project is based around the simple idea of coming to the table in the spirit of open discourse.
“We want to create a civic appetite,” said Wendy Willis, project manager of the website and director of the Policy Consensus Initiative. “We want to make it easy for people from all walks of life, including students, to participate.”
The website, which wrapped up its first public consultation June 22, allowed people from all across Oregon to fill out a carefully designed survey asking them to prioritize and detail the issues they found most pressing, from education to energy to the economy.
The survey, which verified that participants were Oregon residents but protected their anonymity and confidentiality, was designed to be intuitive, in-depth and non-partisan.
The results of the online survey will be sent to Governor John Kitzhaber’s office, which was involved in generating the questions in the first consultation, to help inform the 2013–15 budget and the state’s 10-year plan.
The first goal of the project is to put high-quality public research in the hands of public officials, who help draft policy questions that the public weighs in on, explained Willis. The project also aims to help the governor’s office and Oregonians feel more connected as they discuss the issues at stake.
According to a statement made by Phil Keisling, director of the Center of Public Service at PSU and a former secretary of state, 40 percent of 1.2 million Oregon citizens between the ages of 18 and 40 were not registered to vote as of the 2010 primary. With the low numbers of voters in the 18 to 40 age group, and even fewer participating through other means of civil discourse, a rupture between the government and the public was clear.
“We hear people saying that the system local, regional and state governments use to involve the public in decision making, such as public hearings, is broken. They tell us they don’t have the time to attend,” said Adam Davis, PSU alumnus and founding partner of DMH Research. Davis is an opinion research consultant who is assisting with the project.
“They want government to use technology to make it easier for them to participate in planning and policy-making at a time that is convenient for them. At the same time, governments want to hear from more of a cross section of the public. They too see the system as broken—either no one shows up at meetings or it is the same folks all the time,” Davis said.
The website’s social media friendly features and ease of access were potential factors to get students, among other constituencies, easily involved in the project.
“Students may have demanding schedules and, while they might not ordinarily be able to attend meetings, they can use this tool at any time, whether it is 6 p.m. or 2 a.m.,” Willis said.
“We strongly encourage students to enroll in Oregon’s Kitchen Table at www.oregonskitchentable.org. They’ll be able to participate in shaping Oregon’s future,” Davis said.
In the future, students interested in public policy and research methodology may be able to participate in the development of the project.
“I think that the Oregon kitchen project is a great idea because I believe it contributes to sustaining a healthy democratic government. Many times it can be difficult to find mechanisms that connect the constituency with their elected official, but this project is great in that, on a certain level, it does just that. It is literally democracy at work,” said Nikki Bedi, a political science senior who is involved with PSU’s New Leadership Oregon group.
Although the first survey is now closed, Oregonians will have many more opportunities to voice their opinions and talk about the issues that matter to them.
The organization hopes to get a greater sample of opinions to create a more representative result, and also hopes to add in-person consultations to balance the online component.
As the project develops, the website will allow Oregonians to respond to questions that elected officials pose in a more back-and-forth dialogue, Willis explained. The online tool could be expanded to include spaces for public discussion, live chats and even art contests.
“Future projects will ask panel members about other issues affecting Oregon’s future—ranging from the cost of higher education to growth management. Oregon’s Kitchen Table also hopes to provide public education on important issues and be more engaging and interactive in the future,” Davis said.
“The wonderful thing is that it’s such a simple platform that it could be expanded toward all sorts of things,” Willis said.
