There is an ongoing shift in power. Widespread social unrest and a growing divide between political leaders and the citizens they serve have devolved into shouting matches on both sides. Social media is now anchored in democracy, which represents the voice of the people and civil society. Governments struggle to manage online discussions, create effective communications strategies, and broadcast narratives that resonate with their constituents. As a result, people have lost confidence in government institutions and no longer trust elected officials.
Ineffective governance undermines political stability, economic development and citizen security. It erodes people’s trust in public officials and governing institutions and prevents states from providing quality services or ensuring law and order. It increases a population’s vulnerability to Social Risk factors that include corruption, unemployment, poverty, and lack of transparency, economic opportunity or upward mobility. But most importantly, it creates conditions for social unrest, criminal activity, extremism, and violence.
“Failure to understand Social Risk factors prevents meaningful dialogue, heightens social tensions, negatively impacts political leaders’ ability to govern effectively, and further alienates citizens, resulting in both online and in-person anger, hostility, protest and civil unrest.”
One of the primary factors associated with poor governance is the lack of understanding between political leaders and citizens. Oftentimes, government officials do not recognize or fully understand the underlying social tensions and grievances that exist within societies. Constituents’ complaints over Social Risk factors are heard but not understood. Meanwhile, public sentiment concerning these important social issues has evolved. They are no longer viewed as inevitable societal misfortunes, but as governmental failures and more importantly attacks on individual dignity and human rights.
ENODO helps foster meaningful dialogue between government officials and populations to build trust and improve governance. Our population-centric approach and data analysis platform identify social tensions, pinpoint grievances concerning key topics of interest, and transform them into actionable insights. ENODO provides near real-time monitoring and evaluation of public sentiment that create communications and engagement strategies that shape public perception and empower governing officials to engage as stewards of the population. We deliver a road-map to better navigate complex social environments and stakeholder relationships through culturally attuned, targeted narratives. Ongoing analysis continuously refines the strategies to proactively reduce social tension and promote effective governance that:
- Improves citizen satisfaction, restores hope, and re-establishes credibility
- Generates enduring relations and collaboration between elected officials and citizens
- Strengthens professional competence of public officials and promotes ethical values
- Pinpoints Social Risk factors; predicts unrest and designs strategies to mitigate threats
- Encourages economic growth, local and foreign investment, human capital development, and public service delivery