A ‘wiki’ is body of writing or information that is recognised and maintained by a particular Internet-based community. It is also the name for software that allows users to create, edit and organise web page content using any web browser. A wiki site is a virtual forum within which people can work together. Various levels of access and editing controls can be installed and any changes can be reversed to prevent sabotage.

Wikis were invented around 1995, but the underlying concepts are not new; the Oxford English Dictionary adopted a similar collaborative approach but used very different technology.  Open source peer production is a proven method for creating quality information goods, such as Linux (a computer operating system), Slashdot (a current affairs website) and Wikipedia (an encyclopaedia).  Recent improvements and lower costs have encouraged the spread of Wiki projects.

Wiki’s work well when projects can be broken down into manageable parts and when content can be developed through a bottom-up process of peer review.  This approach is suitable for our project - the democratic environment and inputs provided by a wiki should help us build the consensus we need to establish an industry standard. 

Open source collaboration is likely to collect a greater amount and range of inputs compared to a conventional standards writing process, as well as reducing the cost of production.

Links:

Article by I&dEA on the use of wikis in Local Government

PropertiWiki