Ideas for a new civic reputation system for the rising of digital civics: digital badges and their role in democratic process

For several years governments invested significant resources in the digital management of democratic processes. Furthermore, e-government has moved
away from the digitalization of document processes and decision-making within
the administration towards a new model that involves citizens in the co production and sharing of information. These processes require management of a large amounts of information, which raise questions about the protection of individuals and social control. Reputation could be the answer to many problems. People understand that the way they behave online will impact their ability to maintain an online presence as well as perform all sorts of transactions in the future. In the same way, citizens who help their local community would being recognized for the role they play in generating different kinds of wealth for society. A reliable system of “civic reputation” is needed to foster collaboration but also for protecting individuals and avoid social control. In the past year, a plethora of reputation systems have been launched to serve as the connective tissue of reputation and trust across the web. But no one has risen as standard for use in e-government process. This uncertainty prompts a number of key questions: it is possible to rank trustworthiness in the digital public sphere for e-democracy processes? Will a single system of reputation work across multiple platforms? And what procedures are in place to ensure the accuracy of the reputation, the ability to address mistakes and the necessary acknowledgments to reward who is actively involved in civic engagement? This paper analyzes innovative practices in the evaluation of “civic reputation” to support the participation of citizens in a reshaped public sphere, and suggests digital badges and a new badging framework as a solution to these problems.