Diversity Matters, Even at a Distance: Evaluating the Impact of Computer-Mediated Communication on Civil Society Participation in the World Summit on the Information Society

Published in Information Technologies and International Development (Volume 1, Issue 3-4), this 26-page study is part of a larger research programme called "From Pawns to Partners," which has been supported by grants from Syracuse University and the Advanced Studies Centre of the International Institute at the University of Michigan, as well as Microsoft Research and Hewlett-Packard. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2004 International Communication Association. The study explores the computer-mediated communication (CMC) practices of the trans-national civil society organisations involved in the United Nations (UN)-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

Abstract
"This study explores the computer-mediated communication (CMC) practices of the transnational civil society organizations involved in the United Nations sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Informed by international regime theory, this study asks four specific research questions. (1) To what degree did civil society use CMC to organize its work and participate in WSIS? (2) How did the civil society use CMC? What barriers did it face, and how did it overcome those barriers? (3) To what extent do these CMC practices reveal the existence of policy networks and their linkages with epistemic communities? (4) What was the effect of civil society's use of CMC? Using both quantitative and qualitative data from an international survey and archival research, the study finds that e-mail lists are the primary CMC tools used within the sector, although attempts have been made to introduce more sophisticated applications to aid collaboration. Within the civil society sector we find strong evidence of a readiness to collaborate along several dimensions, including high levels of cognitive and affective trust. The study finds significant civil society participation in global policy networks, with numerous explicit linkages to epistemic communities. Finally, we find that civil society has been active in nearly all of the WSIS policy processes, and developed a coherent, socially-oriented policy contribution, but has had limited overall influence on the final conference outcomes. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for the global governance of cyber infrastructure and the Information Society, and provides recommendations for the second phase of the WSIS scheduled for November 2005 in Tunisia."

The paper recommends that a significant effort on the part of the organisers should be made to ensure that multiple mechanisms of virtual participation are available to all aspects of the WSIS Phase II preparatory processes and to the Tunis Summit itself. These "virtual" mechanisms must go beyond additional mailing lists and websites with information. These CMC tools should be highly interactive, featuring rich media and including voice, video, whiteboards, slides, websites, and other digital media. They should include a focus on enhancing the connections between three aspects of distributed policy collaboration: (1) person-to-person communication, (2) people-to-resources and other forms of organically organised digital repositories, and (3) people-to-facilities, meaning synchronous access to the physical spaces of these preparatory meetings.

The paper also suggests that since Phase II of WSIS is focusing on thematic issues, a significant effort should be invested in human capacity-building around these issues. Building the capacity for delegations around the world to understand many of the complex thematic issues that are emerging - such as global internet governance - to assess how these issues impact them and to develop policy positions on them will be critical. Further, training among the WSIS civil society about how to engage in multilateral diplomacy and to engage productively with governments and with private sector delegates would be invaluable. Here again, embracing the many lessons learned about how to build human capacity in a geographically distributed manner is crucial to the success of these capacity-building efforts.

Finally, this paper suggests that the WSIS civil society should engage in the difficult work of dealing with the questions of representation, legitimacy, and structures within the sector. This work includes developing the mechanisms for involving remote and diverse participation, creating structures that are as open and transparent as possible, taking steps to eliminate the cliquishness and secrecy (perceived or otherwise), developing coherent and consistent mechanisms for integrating and involving new people into the process, and evolving clear steps for decision making.

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