The arc of the lawmaking process begins with defining which problems to tackle. Getting diverse input both from those with lived experience and from those with credentialed expertise helps lawmakers learn about how the public experiences problems. This is especially important for those who are most disadvantaged and may otherwise lack ways of informing the lawmaking process. Many countries already have a well-established petitioning process for ordinary people to articulate problems. Brought online, however, problem definition is an opportunity for the public to contribute expertise and information at scale and increase the likelihood of developing solutions that actually work. Engagement opportunities in this stage allow residents to identify issues of concern and to prioritize them. For example, in Taiwan hundreds of thousands are participating in a process that translates broad issues into specific and actionable problems using the vTaiwan process. At this stage, online participation gives lawmakers the potential to improve the quantity and quality of of the information used in the legislative process.
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