Oasis de l'imagination de 10 millions de personnes
Policy Background and Goals
In order to solve this intrinsic problem of citizen participation, the SMG introduced the Oasis of 10 Million Imagination policy that enables citizens express their opinions of policy suggestions and ideas to the city government. After introducing the policy, citizens of Seoul can now make suggestions and recommendations regarding a wide range of city policies, and they are assured that their opinions and suggestions will be seriously considered during the decision-making process.
Figure 2-31. Oasis of 10 Million Imagination: An OverviewSource. Seoul Metropolitan Government. (2014). Digital Seoul e-Government |
- Reduced Policy Suggestion Cost for Anyone
- Active Utilization of Citizens’ Policy Creativity
- A More Convenient Platform With Respect To Policy Suggestions From the Citizens’ Point of View
- To promote Increased Mutual Understanding of Public Policy Between Citizens and Government
- To produce Citizen-centered Public Policy
Seoul City Special Operations Strategy
• User Interface design for enhanced usability
UI has been designed to maximize user-friendliness by reducing any inherent weakness and degradation in service due to the high risk of falling into a text-based board type website. It mainly focused on improving readability of the suggestion and status search list, and the page was designed for easy supplemental functions, such as suggestion adding and voting.
• Strengthen response level through use of experts and administration evaluations.
The level of the answers for selected opinions was improved due to the opinion and consulting on the suggestions by the administration experts and civilian administrative assessors. If the department staff have time constraints and are unable to answer, assessors can perform an ancillary role to complement the response.
• Ensure citizen participation through the operation of mileage membership
As it is a service that cannot be operated without being based on the participation of citizens, the main focus is to derive continuous, active citizen participation. Through the use of the existing Seoul mileage system, mileage is paid to users who login and use ‘Oasis of 10 Million Imagination’. Since objective incentive is paid according to the activity, the service will be established as a place for regular visits and activities instead of just a one-off visit.
Major Expectations
• Administration built together by citizens and city.
• Reduction of citizen complaints and dissatisfaction through the active collection of citizen opinions.
• Open administration achieved through making public the proposal, review, and adoption of policies.
• No more suspension or difficulty in finding information on a certain policy when the person in charge is absent or changed.
Law Provisions
• National Proposal Regulation (Presidential Decree)
Performance and Outcome
1. High Rate of Use by the Citizens
- Total Number of Proposals Accepted: 165,824 (As of Dec. 2016)
- Number of Selected Proposals: 841 cases (0.50%)
Table 2-4. Oasis of 10 Million Imagination: Proposals from the Citizen
TOTAL | 2006-2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
RECEIVED | 165,824 | 136,379 | 7,610 | 8,031 | 6,650 | 4,742 | 2,659 |
ACCEPTED | 841 | 324 | 125 | 116 | 119 | 97 | 60 |
RATE (%) | 0.50 | 0.23 | 1.64 | 1.43 | 1.78 | 2.04 | 2.25 |
Source. Seoul Metropolitan Government. (2014). Digital Seoul e-Government |
2. Considerable Citizen Participation in Terms of Policy Suggestion
- Number of Subscribers → Approximately 71,000 citizens
- Average Daily Visits → Approximately 227 citizens
- Number of Received Policy Proposals from Citizens → Approximately 166,000 cases
- Number of Accepted Policies in Actual Policy Process → Total 841 policies
Table 2-5. Oasis of 10 Million Imagination: CasesSource. Seoul Metropolitan Government. (2016). Oasis Operation Report |
• High Citizen Usage Rate
+ Number of members: 70,379 people
+ Number of users: Monthly average number of suggestions, 669 cases (Average daily visits – 227 people)
• High number of adoptions - Administration management to actively reflect citizen opinion
Total 152,000 opinions received, monthly average of 669 cases proposed, number of cases adopted – 565 cases
• Received 2009 UN Public Service Awards
Policy Details
Figure 2-32. Oasis of 10 Million Imagination: A Summary of PerformanceSource. Seoul Metropolitan Government. (2014). Digital Seoul e-Government |
More specifically, in terms of the policy suggestion process, Oasis is basically dependent upon citizens’ imaginative policy ideas on Seoul’s public policy. Once the ideas and policy suggestions have been submitted to Oasis, other citizens can also participate by voting on which suggestions are the best ideas and which are worthy of serious consideration. Once this is complete, SMG officials can review the few selected ideas and decide whether they will translate a suggested idea into an actual administration policy.
Major Functions
Submitting Policy Ideas & Proposals
Policy Proposals on fixed themes from each department of SMG: Citizens can subscribe to a proposal from a set of policy subjects designated by different departments in a specific period.
Developing Suggested Proposals for Policy Implementation through the Citizen Evaluator and the Policy Professional
Sharing Status and detailed Contents of the Selected Proposals through Social Media
If it is either an unrealistic or impracticable policy, the SMG officers in charge would provide explanations as to why it was not accepted based on reasonable criteria of validity, effectiveness, budget and regulating ordinances.
Citizens’ Vote for Best Proposal
Details and Composition
Proposal Evaluation Teams
Table 2-6. Oasis of 10 Million Imagination: Proposals from the CitizenSource. Seoul Metropolitan Government. (2016). Oasis 10 Million Imagination Operation Report. |
Oasis: Policy Proposal Process
Figure 2-33. Oasis of 10 Million Imagination: Proposals Adoption Process |
Oasis Web Site Composition
Figure. 2-34. Oasis of 10 Million Imagination: Web Site Composition |
Case of Tokyo, Japan
Figure 2-35. Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japan Website: The Main Page in EnglishRetrieved from http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/index.htm |
e-Government Profile: Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Source: Holzer & Manoharan, 2016)
One of the Top 20 Cities in Digital Governance from 2005 to 2009
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15th in 2015 Digital Gov. Ranking
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7th in 2005 and 2007
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5th in 2009 Digital Gov. Ranking of Asian Cities
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11th in Service Measurement (2009)
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19th in Citizen Participation Measurement (2009)
Figure 2-36 illustrates the Suggestion Page for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. In this case, all information is provided in foreign languages, including English, Chinese and Korean. The site provides added convenience to non-natives as the Suggestion application forms are also in English.
Figure 2-36. Tokyo Metropolitan Government: Suggestion Page for GovernmentRetrieved from http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/index.htm |
This web page allows citizens of Tokyo to send opinions and policy suggestions. Once completed, all submissions are forwarded automatically to appropriate departments for review and consideration. All departments in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government are linked to this single web page, so citizens no longer need to go through the complicated organizational chart to figure out the responsible office and get the appropriate contact number. Nevertheless, in terms of the transparency and convenience, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government could provide notices in real-time, letting citizens know how their submitted suggestions are being processed to ensure transparency.
Figure 2-37. A List of Annual & Monthly Reports of Tokyo Citizens’ VoiceRetrieved from http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/index.htm |
Figure 2-38. Annual and Monthly Report of Tokyo Citizens’ VoiceRetrieved from http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/index.htm |