UW graduate student Erik Andrejko has gotten some much-deserved publicity for his innovative ThemeSeekr software. This program was developed in response to the UW Accreditation Project's significant success in eliciting tens of thousands of suggestions during its process... they needed a way to manage, track, and sort the information, so Erik wrote the software. Now, it appears to be getting used in a variety of contexts, including a project with (our own) Deb Gurke and the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. As Erik put it in the interview:
“I think of this as public engagement software. As people participate in the collaborative process, they get unique insights into the data, rather than a computer telling you what the data says. A lot of things would be lost without the human interaction with this product.”
Let's keep that cross-fertilization going, folks!
Harry
Thanks for helping me better understand public engagement Harry and the importance of the process as a journey of discovery.
ReplyDeleteErik
I am going to post a comment on all of your blogs!
ReplyDeleteThe slideshow is great!
Love Maya
EngagementHQ is being used by health services in Australia/New Zealand, The USA, Canada and the UK for everything from participation planning, to consumer engagement, peer support, strategic planning, health literacy, peer learning, and peer support.
ReplyDeleteOnline Public Engagement Software