Community Networks as lead users in online public services design.

Abstract

Computer professionals are used to conceive people who use the applications they develop as users, or, in the best case, as consumers. People are owner of a fundamental sovereignty right which allows them to play an active role in designing the computer-based systems shaping their working and social life. This role cannot be played in isolation: a community which converges over a shared understanding is a precious asset for designing computer-based systems and online services. The net makes this change feasible, and both the private and the public sector can effectively exploit these new perspectives.