Abstract
Implementation of an e-participation system in a low-income region with poor infrastructure, limited access to ICT and low awareness of civic rights and responsibilities, is challenging and requires thorough understanding of the contextual conditions and requirements. Present study provides a qualitative analysis of the implementation phase of an e-participation platform mapping the specific factors that play key roles in defining the access to and the use of the system by the citizens. Social and political context as well as the design and management of the platform are found to be the two crucial dimensions defining successful use of a platform.
Highlights
Evolving collaborative digital technologies pave the way for interesting societal experimentation in the area of e-democracy/e-participation
The e-participation system MML was examined to understand how citizens could be enabled to use such a system and what factors affect citizens engagement in an e-participation system
The staff of Toro Development Network (ToroDev) and the journalists interviewed were based in Fort Portal, the capital of the Kabarole district
Summary
Evolving collaborative digital technologies pave the way for interesting societal experimentation in the area of e-democracy/e-participation. Techno-optimism has often characterised many of these projects even though results may have turned out to be meagre in terms of increased citizen participation in governmental decision making. This study shows that even if citizens are enabled to use an e-participation system, only a small segment of the population may be interested in getting engaged in a citizen dialogue through the system. For these reasons, it is important to deepen our knowledge on how to increase both the quality and quantity of e-participation, through building structures that combine the old and new ways of citizen participation and eventually strengthen democratic practices in societies. 2) What factors influence citizensengagement in governance issues when implementing an eparticipation system?
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