The Central Ohio Regional Issues Forum (CORIF), hosted by E-Democracy.Org, went live on April 16, 2008.  This is a great opportunity for people's issues to be noticed by the media, elected officials and other decision-makers!

Members can use this online forum to discuss topics such as transportation, land use, economic development, energy, government, or current events and issues. Registered members can contribute to the discussions, but anyone can log on to the site and read what is being discussed.  To register, send an with your real name and email address.  You can also register by creating an account online and join CORIF from there. forum is set up like a listserv—members can send and receive posts. To avoid clogging your inbox, you can choose other ways of accessing the information, such as receiving a digest, a webfeed, or reading online.

Members guide the topics, although they will be asked to keep them regional in scope and to stay focused on issues and ideas. For a list of forum rules, including what may and may not be discussed, Click Here.

A discussion about common issues will benefit from diversity of opinions, backgrounds and roles within the community.  With participation from all sectors of the community—citizens, media, elected officials, etc.—CORIF will be a place to identify common concerns, clarify and educate about complex issues, connect with elected officials, and disseminate concerns via regional media sources.

E-Democracy.Org is a non-partisan, citizen-based, non-profit organization.  Established in 1994, the organization strives to improve citizen participation in democracies and communities through the power of information and communication technologies. E-Democracy.Org hosts online issues forums that strive for ideological and advocacy neutrality—the goal is to provide a safe, open and inclusive space for members of the community to engage in dialogue and seek innovative solutions and prospects for change.

Local organizations, including the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission, the OSU College of Law, 1,000 Friends of Central Ohio, WOSU, and Simply Living have engaged in the visioning process for CORIF, and will continue to meet to identify strengths and weaknesses of the forum as it progresses.