Call for Proposals: Public Involvement in Health and Social Care Research

From INVOLVE:

INVOLVE 2012 Conference
"The eighth biennial INVOLVE conference is being held at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham, on 13 and 14 November 2012. The conference will bring together members of the public, service users, researchers, research commissioners and representatives of voluntary sector organisations, who share a common interest in public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research.

The conference call for presentations is now open. We are inviting presentations on public involvement in health and social care research that will encourage critical thinking and discussion on the following:
•    how people are involved in research
•    learning and support
•    researching impact
•    future directions

Presentations may take the form of posters, workshops, papers, film, sound recordings, performances and other approaches, and speed sessions.

For further information and to complete the call for presentations application form, visit www.invo.org.uk/involve2012.

Closing date for applying to do a presentation: Monday 26 March 2012"

Call for chapter proposals: Sustainable eParticipation

A message from Rolf Leuhrs from Pep-Net:

"In the past 5-10 years, eParticipation has emerged as a novel theoretical and practical domain, and it will further characterize the policy agendas of most industrialized and developing countries in the near future.

However, documented practice shows mixed results from eParticipation initiatives, and concerns about sustainability-related matters (the likelihood that an expensive trial program will become “embedded” as a stable practice in the institutional setup of the concerned public sector organization) have started to emerge.

This is why Francesco Molinari and I are launching the initiative of this collective book to be published in 2012 by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.).

The book should provide relevant theoretical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings in the area of eParticipation. It is aimed to promote awareness and further debate on the scope and limitations of citizen engagement supported by ICT in modern democracies. It will also offer operational guidelines and lessons learned from past experiences to the benefit of government executives wanting to engage in eParticipation trials.

Specifically, the book is designed to deliver:

• a collection of European and international best practice of sustainable eParticipation
• a set of evaluation exercises to be used as guidelines for political understanding and future action
• an overview of existing methods, tools and ICT solutions available as a result of prior experiments
• an initial assessment of the “market potential” of the above. 

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before July 30, 2011, a 2-3 page chapter proposal clearly explaining the scope and contents of their proposed chapter.

For more information regarding this call, please visit http://supart.org/"

Call for Proposals: Interactive Games, Mobile Apps for Public Engmt

One-day Online Conference

Thursday, April 7, 2011

call for proposals

Today there is a proliferation of interactive games and mobile applications ("apps") that support public engagement.

Online interactive games (such as "Virtual Mine", Participatory Chinatown and others) educate people about issues or challenges in ways that can add value to public engagement. These experiences deepen and broaden how people understand and talk together about the issues that are important to them, and they also have the potential for changing how people interpret other perspectives.

Mobile "apps" provide a means for collecting information and for interacting with stakeholders on a 'real time' basis. From reporting problems (such as "SeeClickFix") to Twyford's new Facilitation First Aid app, texting to support stakeholder information gathering and other uses too, mobile technology is being used both in the developed and developing world to effectively engage people.

Yet there is little discussion about how we consider and choose among these two kinds of tools when creating an engagement strategy, and as well little discussion about how they are effectively being used by organizations today for engagement purposes.

o How are interactive games and mobile apps are being used today for engagement? What's on the horizon?

o What criteria do we use to review and evaluate interactive games and/or mobile apps?

o How have other organizations and communities used them for the best effect?

o How do we best integrate them with other engagement tools and approaches?

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Proposals are sought for presentations at this one-day online conference in four subject areas:

1. State of the Practice
►New interactive games and/or mobile apps primarily designed for engagement or that can be used for engagement purposes
►Emerging trends in technology for engagement, with emphasis on interactive games and/or mobile apps
►Research on existing use of interactive games and/or mobile apps for engagement

2. Effective Use of Interactive Games and Mobile Apps
►Case studies that showcase creative or unique uses for interactive games and mobile apps today
►Evaluating potential interactive games/mobile apps: Benefits, costs, risks and implications of interactive games and/or mobile apps for engagement
►What 'lessons learned' can we gain from others who have used -- or are using -- games/mobile apps today?
►Tools and approaches for measuring and tracking the effectiveness of interactive games and/or mobile apps

3. Bridging the Broad and Narrow Reach of Technology
►Approaches that incorporate interactive games and/or mobile apps with other tools and technologies (e.g., GIS, social media, etc.) in order to serve diverse audiences of people all across the digital divide
►Collaborative projects that engage with diverse stakeholders in the design or deployment of interactive games and/or mobile apps for engagement

4. Interactive Games and Mobile Apps for Action
►Case studies that demonstrate how interactive games and/or mobile apps are being used to spur stakeholder action
►Strategies for designing interactive games and/or mobile apps in order to spur action

Presenter requirements

►High-speed internet
►A telephone
►Attend presentation training session (1 hour max)

As a Presenter, you'll receive training on our meeting platform and complimentary conference registration.

Questions?  Contact:

Beth Offenbacker
Chief Learning Officer
PublicDecisions
beth@publicdecisions.com
571 303 9208 (US)

Conference co-sponsored by PublicDecisions and Learning Times