e-Cognocracy and the design of public policies

• The paper presents a methodology for the design of public policies based on e-Cognocracy.
• The methodology uses ICT as the communication support and AHP as the methodological support.
• The approach facilitates discussion and co-decisions between citizens and politicians.
• E-Cognocracy generates a process of continuing education through individual and social learning.
• E-Cognocracy has been applied to a situation concerning the design of cultural and sporting policies.

Designing public policies using information technology as a communication support system is one of the most important current issues in the public policy making field. This work presents a methodology for the design and selection of public policies based on the cognitive democratic model known as e-Cognocracy. In addition to facilitating debate between representatives and the represented (deliberative democracy), this model allows for co-decision making between citizens and politicians. Furthermore, and of even greater importance, e-Cognocracy generates a process of continuing education that is concordant to the lifelong process of living systems (cognitive process). The methodology contemplates multiple rounds (usually two) when incorporating the preferences of the actors implicated in decision making and takes advantage of the creative capacity of human beings when solving complex problems. At the same time, the methodology permits the evaluation of both the individual and social learning that is derived from the scientific resolution of the problem and the democratisation of the knowledge that is extracted. This methodology was applied to a real-life experience in the Spanish municipality of Cadrete.