Would you use the InVolved website to feed into policy?

Italia

Check out the prototype/ designs for InVolved here!

We are really keen to hear your thoughts about InVolved, which is a website designed by a youth steering group to help young people tell the government what they think of new policies.  

You can find out more in this thread here. 

How InVolved works

• You create your own profile on the website and select topics which interest you.
  
• Through this profile you will see clear and easy to understand summaries of different government policies open for your feedback.   This way you will be able to understand the topic and see how the policy is related to you.
  
• After answering questions on a topic, you can go to topic specific blog pages where you can share your own thoughts in more detail and read other opinion pieces.
  
• As you use the website, you will receive reward badges to track your progress.
• You will also get updates on the policy as it goes through the different stages, this way you will be able to see how your feedback has been used. 

We are really keen to hear what you think of this website as an idea for getting more young people involved in the policy making process. 

What do you think of this prototype as an idea for taking part in policy making?

We are keen to know what blogs you already read.  We would love to see a list of your favourite blogs – post them here. And tell us why you read them.

If you want to say more about this then please fill out our survey here.

Also if anything isn't clear then please feel free to ask questions. @htwohig2412 is around to help answer questions too.

Can't wait to hear your thoughts,

Italia

Former Member

Hey all! As @Italia said I've been working with The Mix and British Youth Council on this project and it is really exciting. I know how valuable your feedback is to us and I'm really excited to hear what everybody thinks of this! 😊

Former Member

Hey, this looks so interesting! Tbh I didn't even know they did public policy consultations. The link above is a pretty engaging format and something I'd definitely want to get involved in - I think it could actually help get more young people engaged in politics too.  

As for blogs, I don't really use them... The Mix is the only forum website I use at the moment but I also used to get Ipsos I-say surveys to do which were quite fun (monetary reward for completing surveys about new products etc) - I wonder if you could tie profile completion/contribution in to a prize draw or something so it could be even more attractive?? 

Also a tiny comment on the first page of prototype - the title 'what are you an expert in?' kind of turned me off because I wouldn't say I'm an expert in anything - 'what are you interested in?' might be a bit more friendly!! Apart from that it looks pretty appealing

Interested to see if/when this lands please do keep us updated.

- Lucy

Former Member

Hey @Lucy307

Glad to hear that you feel as though the prototype looks engaging! Funnily enough I've completed Ipsos I-say surveys before too, mostly for the gift card rewards tbh. We discussed incentives loads - really like your idea of some sort of prize draw for updating profile details!

I've had some similar feedback on the 'what are you an expert in' from others I've spoken with - that's another really valuable insight so thank you! We'll definitely keep you posted as things progress - we're getting together again in May to put some of the feedback into action so will keep you posted on how that goes! Thanks a million.   

Millie2787

This Looks Like  a really good idea and from the perspective of someone with a Learning Difficultly it doesn't look to complicated to navigate and all the Information seems to be clear and from what i can see on the document it looks like its quite short , snappy and to the point because for me theirs  nothing worse than having to scroll through tones and tones of information to find what your interested in which i guess is where the option to choose the topics your interested in comes into play.

Maybe Instead of 'what are you an expert in you could have something Like what are you interested in or what are you passionate about because the word expert could maybe put people off selecting ones that there passionate or interested in because they don't think there an 'expert'.

I don't really read blogs only because i struggle with reading large amounts of writing and a lot of the time they can be super long , so i guess for me to like a blog it would kind off have to be small amounts of whatever there writing about at a times broke up by pictures Etc , there is one i used to read that was formatted like that though i cant fine the link lol

Former Member

Millie2787 said:

This Looks Like  a really good idea and from the perspective of someone with a Learning Difficultly it doesn't look to complicated to navigate and all the Information seems to be clear and from what i can see on the document it looks like its quite short , snappy and to the point because for me theirs  nothing worse than having to scroll through tones and tones of information to find what your interested in which i guess is where the option to choose the topics your interested in comes into play.

Hey @Millie2787 - glad to hear you like the look of it. Simple and to the point is what we were going for, so that it's accessible to everyone. Glad you think that we hit the mark there.

Millie2787 said:

Maybe Instead of 'what are you an expert in you could have something Like what are you interested in or what are you passionate about because the word expert could maybe put people off selecting ones that there passionate or interested in because they don't think there an expert.

Really like that suggestion as to how we could reword that section to make it more appealing - thanks!

Millie2787 said:

I don't really read blogs only because i struggle with reading large amounts of writing and a lot of the time they can be super long , so i guess for me to like a blog it would kind off have to be small amounts of whatever there writing about at a times broke up by pictures Etc , there is one i used to read that was formatted like that though i cant fine the link lol

Great ideas there. We've maybe not worded that section the best by calling it a blog - we were thinking more of a forum type space where people could share views with each other.
Optional question - would you want to be able to share thoughts in words, or do you prefer to share in a different format (e.g. a recording of your voice, uploading an image, having a paint/draw function), or to not share them at all?

Thanks a bunch!

Millie2787

htwohig2412 said:

Millie2787 said:

This Looks Like  a really good idea and from the perspective of someone with a Learning Difficultly it doesn't look to complicated to navigate and all the Information seems to be clear and from what i can see on the document it looks like its quite short , snappy and to the point because for me theirs  nothing worse than having to scroll through tones and tones of information to find what your interested in which i guess is where the option to choose the topics your interested in comes into play.

Hey @Millie2787 - glad to hear you like the look of it. Simple and to the point is what we were going for, so that it's accessible to everyone. Glad you think that we hit the mark there.

Millie2787 said:

Maybe Instead of 'what are you an expert in you could have something Like what are you interested in or what are you passionate about because the word expert could maybe put people off selecting ones that there passionate or interested in because they don't think there an expert.

Really like that suggestion as to how we could reword that section to make it more appealing - thanks!

Millie2787 said:

I don't really read blogs only because i struggle with reading large amounts of writing and a lot of the time they can be super long , so i guess for me to like a blog it would kind off have to be small amounts of whatever there writing about at a times broke up by pictures Etc , there is one i used to read that was formatted like that though i cant fine the link lol

Great ideas there. We've maybe not worded that section the best by calling it a blog - we were thinking more of a forum type space where people could share views with each other.
Optional question - would you want to be able to share thoughts in words, or do you prefer to share in a different format (e.g. a recording of your voice, uploading an image, having a paint/draw function), or to not share them at all?

Thanks a bunch!

Hey @htwohig2412 I think it could be nice for the Option to Add text but also some different formats to allow everyone to access it Becuase some people may find it easier to write what they think , others may find it easier to draw and some people like to draw what they mean and then add some text to explain what’s going on if that makes sense 

Former Member

Millie2787 said:

Hey @htwohig2412 I think it could be nice for the Option to Add text but also some different formats to allow everyone to access it Becuase some people may find it easier to write what they think , others may find it easier to draw and some people like to draw what they mean and then add some text to explain what’s going on if that makes sense 

Love the idea of combining different formats! Cheers 😊

Jellyelephant

i like the idea but when i went on the link  i dont get it im dumb lol 

Former Member

Jellyelephant said:

i like the idea but when i went on the link  i dont get it im dumb lol 

Hey @Jellyelephant! Glad to hear you like the idea.

Don't worry if it's not clear - that's our fault not yours! That's really useful for us going forward - if you're struggling to understand it then others will be too. Hopefully the below will clear things up:

WHAT IS IT?
InVolved is a website that allows young people to engage with consultations more easily. (A consultation is just a way to find out what people think)

HOW COULD IT WORK?
Young people create their profile and select their own interests. Young people see summaries of various policies open for consultation. After answering questions on a consultation, users can access topic specific blog pages where they can share their views with others. Users recieve reward badges to encourage interaction and receive a notification when the policy is made.

WHAT IS THE LINK?
The link above opens a PDF. This shows you some ideas of what the websites sign up, profile, question and blog pages could look like.

Any questions feel free to ask, and opinions always welcome! 😊

Italia

Heya, 

Thanks for all your thoughts on this website idea!  It was really helpful to hear.  All your thoughts have been heard and you can read about the next steps in @htwohig2412's post! 

I also wanted to share with you what everyone else thought of the website.  We asked quite a few people across different channels what they thought, and attached is a summary of what young people thought in general.

Let me know if you have any questions