It is both an exciting and daunting time of huge change in our democracy, our population and our government. Transparency has been more and more in the news as our new president transitioned into office about 50 days ago. The latest controversy is over earmarks in the budget and how we spend the public treasure during a recession. Half way through the “all-important” first 100 days we have seen several important changes in the way our democracy and our government interface with the bottom line – the people.

President Obama signed an Executive Order on Ethics in the Executive Office on his first full day in office. The new WhiteHouse.gov site is far more engaging than its predecessor, reflecting many of the features of the Change.gov site that so many people went to in the transition so they could communicate with their new president. We see our president addressing us on YouTube and Members of Congress tweeting about legislation from the floors of the House and Senate. The Office of Public Liaison is still under development but if it follows the model of the Obama campaign and Change.gov we’ll see some impressive and useful tools for the public to engage with its president.

Still, we have a very long way to go before we achieve Democracy 2.0. As we battle the economic forces that challenge everyone of us to build a future we will want we must look at the way we build our democracy today for that to happen. If “democracy is an unfinished project”, as the first line of the Democracy 2.0 Declaration reads, then we are on a path towards a better society.

We are somewhere between 1.0 and 2.0. No one change will make it happen. No one law or executive order, or Supreme Court ruling can, or ever will, change a democracy. It has to come from the people, the demos. It’s simply that the people have to organize to support or oppose the policies put forth by their elected representatives. We must all “be the leaders of today” and develop new ways of solving our public problems. The government usually responds to innovations, although it can also foster it – as with the creation of the Internet.

Mobilize.org has seen how citizens can create tools to “transform communication,” break “down traditional barriers and open doors for inclusiveness and equality” using the simplest of concepts. Ideas like GoVoteAbsentee.org take public information and make it available to the public so it’s not just easy to find but more useful to the individual. We hope to see more and more social entrepreneurs taking the lead on improving and upgrading our democracy. The government is moving in the right direction. We look forward to seeing more collaborative partnerships between government innovators and the public on the ground who yearn to be leaders to take us all to the next level.


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Ian Storrar is the Chief Operating Officer at Mobilize.org, where he is responsible for its program and internal operations. From 2005 to 2008, Ian worked at Common Cause, latterly as Director of Youth and Volunteer Programs. He was responsible for Common Cause’s outreach to engage young people from all walks of life in civic participation and democracy reform.