democratic participation online

Pat Kane flagged up the "CanadaJam" event that's looming in January in one of his recent blog entries. Essentially, its about taking IBM's online brainstorming and policy making "jam" technique and extending it into the realm of political debate. Incorporating wiki type approaches and online discussion postings, with a lot of analysis, the scheme is an attempt to stimulate national debate on key topics of public concern. The World Urban Forum was informed by such an event and you can learn more about that at HabitatJam which managed 25,000 participants! The CanadaJam document explains the process.

Sounds fascinating - does it always work? How are the practical aspects handled? Fancy one for the future of education? I note that the costs are (Canadian)$2 million for the event in January.