Digital consultations to inform Local Digital Strategies

The Department of Rural and Community Development directed all Councils to develop and implement a local Digital Strategy to ensure citizens, businesses and communities maximise the benefits of highspeed broadband. Longford County Council used digital tools such as Mentimeter and Survey123 for ArcGIS to consult with its citizens in the development of this Strategy and overcome challenges of inclusion, participation and engagement i.e due to a lack of digital infrastructure. Initially the Council consulted with citizens using Survey123 for ArcGIS then Mentimeter was used with stakeholders at digital engagement workshops. Stakeholders used their smartphones to complete Mentimeter surveys/polls,sharing their opinions & questions while also spatially identifying areas in need of services via ArcGIS. As surveys/ polls could be completed anonymously participation and engagement at these events was high. The GP achieves its objectives by engaging with citizens using digital measures so that data collection and analysis are carried out efficiently and effectively, providing useful insights in real-time and helping policymakers to identify trends and prioritise issues. This practice is implemented by bringing stakeholders together at digital consultation engagement workshops and using the poll/survey results to set the scene for the remainder of the workshop, creating further dialogue between stakeholders. The main beneficiaries are citizens, non-profit organisations and businesses.