E Participation

An increasing number of governments worldwide understand the importance of electronic participation (eParticipation) i.e. the importance of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to more actively engage citizens in democratic processes. As a result, the number of eParticipation projects and relevant tools is rapidly growing. This makes the need for recording and reviewing such projects and tools both timely and critical. In this paper we present a framework for assessing eParticipation projects and tools. The proposed framework is based on distinguishing between participation areas and ICT support for these areas and suggests assessment to be performed using specific templates that are developed for this purpose. We further apply this framework in order to assess 19 relevant European Commission co-funded research projects. The preliminary results suggest that research in the domain of eParticipation is at its early stages. More specifically, the results suggest that projects focus on the more elementary eParticipation areas, such as information provision and opinion polling, while there is a trend for using multiple access channels, e.g. mobile technologies.

1 As information and communication technologies (ICTs) have diffused throughout the customary forms of works and services, various models, theories and approaches have emerged and been developed to measure how and to what extent people accept technologically transformed products and services in the e-government domain. Despite the existence of applicable models regarding the acceptance and diffusion of e-government and e-participation, the current literature has failed to fully cover citizens' expectations due to factors affecting complex and organic bonds between states and citizens (i.e. trust). This study aims to discuss whether and how trust serves as an intermediary function with regard to technology acceptance models on e-government in general but e-participation in particular. This review finds (1) that it is necessary to develop a comprehensive approach for a trust-building environment regarding e-participation and (2) that trust in e-participation can be consolidated through interrelation among and within parties. CCS CONCEPTS • Applied computing → Computers in other domains → Computing in government → E-government KEYWORDS Trust Model, e-Participation, Literature Review ACM Reference format: Burcu Demirdoven, Ecem Buse Sevinc Cubuk, Naci Karkin. 2020. Establishing relational trust in e-Participation: a systematic literature review to propose a model. In

The objective of this policy paper is to help governments foster citizen participation. Therefore,
it addresses the following issues:
• How can citizens be motivated to participate?
• What can be done to reduce abandonment rates?
• Are there any differences between offline and online participation regarding enrolment and abandonment?
In order to answer these questions and provide policy recommendations, the authors rely on two case studies of Spanish cities allowing both online and offline participation.
Fostering citizen participation requires governments:
• To clearly define the objective of their participative projects;
• To provide citizens with relevant and understandable information at all stages;
• To design projects in such a way as to reduce the time citizen participation consumes;
• To enroll civil society organizations first because citizens who are already engaged are more likely to maintain participation over time;
• To adequately transmit positive and tangible benefits to participants.
The policy paper also shows that
• Online and offline participants usually have different socio-demographic profiles and drop-out rates;
• e-Participation tools allow reaching a larger audience, but involve a higher drop-out rate. Accordingly, some sporadic face-to-face meetings or phone calls should be considered to maintain loyalty.

Information and communication technology (ICT) can make rapid changes in government processes, especially in developing countries. Basis of ICT development is composed of ICT infrastructure, ICT hardware, software & information system, human resource, ICT Security. ICT strategies and ICT plans should be evaluated to align with organization visions and missions in order to achieve effective use of ICT in their businesses.
This study carries out a framework to check the e-readiness of the 5 ministries of Nepal. This study will identify the status of the ministries to obtain benefits which raises from information and communication technologies. It will help to assist government of Nepal to gauge how ready the ministries are to participate in ICT activities such as e-government in terms of six main ICT factors, software and information system, ICT
Hardware, Network system, ICT Plans and policies, ICT security and Human Resource.

Literature has shown that countries such as Brazil and India have successfully implemented electronic voting systems and other countries are at various piloting stages to address many challenges associated with manual paper based system such ascosts of physical ballot paper and other overheads, electoral delays, distribution of electoral materials, and general lack of confidence in the electoral process. It is in this context that this study explores how South African can leverage the opportunities that e-voting presents. Manual voting is often tedious, non-secure, and time-consuming, which leads us to think about using electronic facilities to make the process more efficient. This study proposes that the adoption of electronic voting technologies could perhaps mitigate some of these issues and challengesin the process improving the electoral process. The study used an on-line questionnaire which was administered to a broader group of voters and an in-depth semi-structured interview with the Independent Electoral Commission officials. The analysis is based on thematic analysis and diffusion of innovations theory is adopted as a theoretical lens of analysis. The findings reveal that relative advantage, compatibility and complexity would determine the intentions of South African voters and the Electoral Management Bodies (IEC) to adopt e-voting technologies. Moreover, the findings also reveal several other factorsthat could influence the adoption process. The study is limited to only voters in Cape Town and these voters were expected to have some access to the internet. The sample size limits the generalizability of the findings of this study.

ICT communications have not been either a complete boon or an unmitigated bane for antigovernment activists in South Korea.
The internet and social media have made it easier for government to respond to its critics.
More people are becoming aware of legal and internet architectural frameworks through experience.
Pervasive self-censorship as the result of government censorship.
Chilling effect.
Information and dialog necessary for democratic governance impeded.

ÖZET Demokrasi geleneği yerelde kazanılan ve yerelden ulusala aktarılan bir gelenektir. Bu anlamda yerel yönetimler ve demokrasi arasında incelenmesi gereken özel bir ilişki olduğu bilinmektedir. Bu ilişki uzun yıllardır birçok uzman tarafından farklı yönlerden incelenmiş ve analiz edilmiştir. Bu kapsamda çalışmada Türkiye’de gelişmekte olan bir olgu olan e-katılım olgusu yerel anlamda demokrasinin bir kaynağı olarak incelenmektedir. Zira katılım demokrasinin işlemesi için hayati bir öneme sahiptir. Günümüz şartlarında yönetim anlayışının bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerinde yaşanan gelişmelere ayak uydurması ve zamanı yakalaması ihtiyacından dolayı da e-katılım uygulamaları da öne çıkan bir konu olmuştur. Çalışma öncelikle yerel yönetimler ile demokrasi arasındaki ilişkiden, bu ilişki sonucunda ortaya çıkmış olan yerel demokrasi, demokratik yerel yönetim ve yerel özerklik kavramlarından ve katılım kavramlarından bahsederek konunun gelişimine yönelik gerekli ön bilgiyi aktarmaktadır. Daha sonrasında e-katılım kavramının tanımlanması ve açıklanması ile birlikte yerelde e-katılımın önemi, etkileri ve uygulama alanları üzerine bir tartışma ortaya koymaktadır. Türkiye’de henüz gelişmekte olan ve uygulama alanı dar olan e-katılım olgusunun açıklanması, yaratacağı faydanın ifade edilmesi ve uygulama önerileri verilmesi ile çalışma sonuçlandırılmaktadır. Çalışma e-katılım uygulamalarının yerel anlamda öneminin ortaya konulması ile yerelden başlanarak Türkiye’de e-katılım uygulama alanının genişletilmesi için bir kaynak oluşturması amacıyla hazırlanmıştır. Nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden uygulamalı değerlendirme ve politik araştırma yöntemi kullanılarak e-katılımın yerelde demokrasi anlayışının geliştirilmesinde oynayabileceği roller analiz edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda e-katılım unsurlarına sahip olan ve e-katılım uygulamalarını başarıyla hayata geçiren yerel yönetimlerde; daha geniş bir sivil katılıma ulaşma yolunda önemli adımlar atılmış olacağı, daha demokratik bir yapıya sahip olunacağı, demokrasi ve yerel yönetim ilişkisinin sağlamlaşacağı ve demokrasi kültürünün yeni boyutlar kazanacağı sonuçlarına ulaşılmıştır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Demokrasi, Yerel Yönetimler, katılım, e-katılım, yerel e-katılım DEMOCRACY IN THE LOCAL AND LOCAL E-PARTICIPATION ABSTRACT The understanding of democracy is a tradition gained locally and transferred from local to national. In this sense, it is known that there is a special relationship between local governments and democracy. This relationship has been examined and analyzed by many experts for many years. E-participation is a developing phenomenon in Turkey and in this context, it is examined in this study as a source of democracy in the local sense. Because participation is a vital component for functioning of democracy. In today's conditions, because of the need to catch up with the developments in information and communication technologies and to catch up with time, e-participation applications have become a prominent issue. The study primarily deals with the relationship between local administrations and democracy, then the concepts of local democracy, democratic local government and local autonomy which emerged as a result of this relationship, and the concept of participation. Then, with the definition and explanation of the concept of e-participation, a discussion on the importance, impacts, and application areas of e-participation in the local level is presented. The study is finalized with the explanation of the benefits that will be created by e-participation as a developing phenomenon in Turkey and the application suggestions of e-participation. The study is prepared for creating a source for the expansion of e-participation applications in Turkey beginning from the local level to the whole by emphasizing the importance of the implementation of e-participation at the local levels. It has been tried to analyze the roles that e-participation can play in developing the democracy in local level by using practical evaluation and political research method from qualitative research methods. As a result of the research, it is reached that in local administrations which have e-participation elements and implement e-participation applications successfully; important steps will be taken to reach a broader civic participation, a more democratic structure will be achieved, the relationship between democracy and local government will be strengthened, and democracy culture will gain new dimensions.* Arş. Gör., Necmettin Erbakan Üniversitesi,

In this article we seek to revisit what the term ‘technopolitical’ means for democratic politics in our age. We begin by tracing how the term was used and then transformed through various and conflicting adaptations of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) in governmental and civil organizations and grassroots movements. Two main streams can be distinguished in academic literature: studies about internet-enhanced politics (labelled as e- government) and politics 2.0 that imply the facilitation of existing practices such as e-voting, e-campaigning and e-petitioning. The second stream of the internet-enabled perspective builds on the idea that ICTs are essential for the organization of transformative, contentious politics, citizen participation and deliberative processes. Under a range of labels, studies have often used ideas of the technopolitical in an undefined or underspecified manner for describing the influence of digital technologies on their scope of investigation. After critically reviewing and categorizing the main concepts used in the literature to describe ICT-based political performances, we construct a conceptual model of technopolitics oriented at two contra-rotating developments: Centralization vs. Decentralization. Within a schema consisting of the five dimensions of context, scale and direction, purpose, synchronization and actors we will clarify these developments and structure informal and formal ways of political practices. We explain the dimensions using real-world examples to illustrate the unique characteristics of each technopolitical action field and the power dynamics that influence them.