Science and technology finally got its day, with two fringe events giving the nerd core a chance to work out how we can avoid this kind of (quite valid) coverage. I’ve high hopes that we can begin to overhaul some fairly ancient and shaky policy, not least because we got such strong and wide agreement that policy should be – golly – based on scientific evidence, as should decisions about NHS treatments. But never mind that “on the back foot” stuff, I’m most excited about the possibility of putting out some really strong messages around science and technology that should resonate strongly with scientists, technologists and the general public.

Keeping the NHS public, in the face of money-wasting PFI schemes; reforming the national curriculum to improve teaching of basic scientific and statistical methods, in the face of popular public science scares and hoaxes; using public funds to promote and expand the place of open access publishing, in the face of threats to public-interest research.

Just some random ideas there… we seem to have a great team working on this now so I’m feeling a good deal less embarassed than I was when the science bloggers pulled some of our policy apart back in May.

On another positive note the Campaign in a Box resources I’ve put together with help from Kate Hand, Sam Smith and Hannah Goudge went down a storm. All the copies that Jon Nott and I managed to bring were picked off the stall within a couple of hours, leaving some slightly sad black & white display copies. Members can grab them from the soon-to-be-overhauled members’ web site, but I am pondering putting them somewhere more public and making a bit of a splash. All rather depends on what the new Campaigns Coordinator and his Campaigns Committee want to do with them, as I might end up making this a solo effort whilst they stick to the “man the barricades” stuff.

I’m now left waiting on the internal elections results with some trepidation, hoping (with some confidence) that the Party pulls together around our 09/10 aim of returning the first Green MP to Parliament!

If Jason and Rupert replace Tracy I really hope they continue her very strong work on building up that “glossy” stuff they don’t seem to like. The election broadcast video won us amazing plaudits from the media; mailing lists, twitter and blogs were flooded with positive comments from friends and onlookers. It’s easy to say “we will focus on everything” but much harder to square that with a very limited budget.

It is also a shame when candidates make thinly veiled attacks against standing GPEx members without just naming them and giving them a fair hearing. Staffing decisions are always complicated, and encompass personal as well as professional issues. Working with very small budgets that fluctuate rapidly around elections, with a party office struggling under the weight of many historic shortcomings, is always going to be tough. If Tracy puts in more than her 17 volunteer hours per week we should thank her, not complain!

It’s easy to criticise from the outside. I was very critical of People & Planet‘s office when running to be on their Management Committee. But two years working with fellow committee members and staff gave me a bit more respect for the office and humility in my critique.

Some party activists are making a lot of noise about more transparent communication. Iit’s tricky to balance rapid communications with the need to ensure, for example, that everyone is happy with the minutes from a meeting. Reporting before the minutes are agreed is a great way to start rumours and promote factional rifts. That said, I hope more candidates make use of Twitter and blogs round the year to involve members in developing ideas and resources.

I really hope that the next GPEx can find the time to be praoctive about three key issues: more online community building to support our target constituencies’ campaigns; getting relevant, punchy messages into the public eye without resorting to gimmicks that can backfire; and improving the standard of our policy in certain key areas like health.

Finally, on a personal note, why am I not standing? I was co-opted into the role of Campaigns Coordinator for the national Executive of the Green Party (England & Wales) earlier this year. It has been a really fascinating experience, both in participating in GPEx meetings and in shaping a campaigning strategy for the party. I’m not running to continue in the role because I’ll soon be working at the GLA for our two Green Assembly members, and wouldn’t be able to devote enough time to campaigns without breaking GLA rules or giving up any personal life fun!

I hope to carry on developing resources that help local parties run effective, focused campaigns. I’ll be happy to support the new Campaigns Coordinator, who can then focus on making our national coordination about a bit more than the occasional demo in central London.