Participating remotely

Party events and activities are often in the evenings, which can exclude people, particularly those with caring responsibilities or people on lower incomes who rely on public transport. Where possible you should hold your events in central locations which are easily accessed by public transport and try to hold events at a variety of times, not just in the evenings. You should also consider not always holding your events in venues which some of your members might be uncomfortable in, such as always in a church.

When people are not able to attend a meeting, you could consider making adjustments to help people participate remotely. This might be through digital methods to facilitate discussions including:

• Filming or live streaming your events
• Using social media to facilitate a Q and A
• Setting up an online discussion facility on your website
• Allowing people to Skype into meetings

If you have a digital skills gap, ask your members if they can help. You might be surprised at who volunteers their time. Digital methods can be particularly useful for local parties in rural areas where members might live large distances from each other.

You could also consider allowing people to remotely participate in formal decision making in the party. This could include actions such as allowing people to vote on decisions by post or by proxy. Enabling a greater number of people to be actively involved in your party will be beneficial for you. It will increase your reach and might create new links between you and members of the local community. Make sure minutes and key decisions are available online, via post, or email for people.

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