On The Fence : Design & Democracy Project

Abstract

On the Fence is a web tool designed to assist young undecided and first-time voters to make informed electoral choices and transform disengaged youth into active civic participants. Users indicate how they feel about a selection of issues statements, to find out which parties or candidates most closely reflect their values. On The Fence is: Social and shareable: sparks conversations about politics Approachable: playful and easy to understand Adaptable and scalable: responsive to culture and context Educational: introduces youth to issues Collaborative: connects to other voter engagement initiatives Responsive: accessible from any device Super smart: innovative algorithm uses expert political analysis responsive to political positioning. Voter participation has been declining in the Western world, particularly amongst young people who don’t see politics as addressing issues they care about and struggle to cut through party-political tribalism, rhetoric and spin. Voter participation has been declining in the Western world, particularly amongst young people who don’t see politics as addressing issues they care about and struggle to cut through party-political tribalism, rhetoric and spin. But young people are far from apathetic: they volunteer, campaign online, want to make a difference and make values-based choices. Young people want non-partisan information about their political options and the confidence that their vote aligns with their values. On the Fence is a proven concept; in New Zealand’s 2014 General Election it was successful in encouraging 30,000 non-voting 18-34 year olds to vote, representing 7% of the total eligible youth population, at a cost of $1.13USD per voter. The New Zealand experience has yielded a wealth of data, insights and user feedback that will contribute to further development of On The Fence in an international context. We have assembled a team of expert designers, web developers, and researchers, and are partnering with Stanford University as we look to scale up for the US. On The Fence is a product of the Design & Democracy Project, a research unit at Massey University’s College of Creative Arts (New Zealand) with a track-record of enhancing the role that design and design thinking has to play in 21st century citizenship. The team is built around a core group of researchers, advisors and mentors from the University. We work in partnership with industry, Government, and the social sector to harness the technology that has made it easier than ever to access information, connect, and communicate ideas, in order to re-engage citizens with the political process. For the On The Fence initiative, the Design & Democracy Project is working in partnership with Springload, a pioneering New Zealand web design and user experience agency equipped to deliver mission-critical projects at scale. The Project is situated within Massey University’s Open Lab, a space established to harness and develop the design expertise of students and graduates via active collaboration between academia and business.