Open Up

All too often, media coverage does more to obscure the issues behind policy debates than illuminate them. Issues are presented as a morass of claim and counter claim with none of the context, reasoning or background which might help the public to to reach their own informed position.

Open up is a way of providing people with a way in to the discussion of difficult issues – a map to the arguments, facts and values which underpin complex issues like climate change or inequality. Using sophisticated graphical layouts, Open Up diagrams help by illustrating the relationships between the different points made in the debate, helping users to assess their relevance and power. By offering interactive elements, whether they’re sophisticated online forms, or simple pen and paper tickboxes, the maps encourage users to think critically about the arguments and consider their own position. Open up does not intend to encompass an issue, but rather to offer a starting point to understanding the parameters of a debate.

Open Up can function in either printed form or online. The initial Open Up maps (created with funding from the Wellcome Trust) are printed leaflets which initially present the reader with stories of individuals affected by the issues. When unfolded the leaflets revealed the entire argument map. On the map itself, the issues are divided into four topics, each with a question. Within each topic arguments are presented in conflicting pairs. Readers are encouraged to interact with the arguments, marking those they agree with and those they don’t, and indicating on various scales what they feel about the topics and about the overall issue.

Future Open Up maps will take advantage of new technologies to incorporate a greater degree of interactivity as well as offering users the opportunity to compare and discuss their views.