E-participation Applications Research Articles

E-PARTICIPATION IN URBAN PLANNING: ISTANBUL SENIN APPLICATION

In parallel with the developments in information and communication technologies, traditional participation in urban planning processes is gradually evolving into e- participation applications. For the effective use of e-participation applications, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness and quality of the applications in terms of participation mechanisms, design, interaction, structure, transparency, and security of processes. The aim of the study is to examine Istanbul Senin application in terms of e-participation, to investigate the use of this application by the citizens and to offer suggestions for its improvement.The study seeks answers to the questions of what the positive and negative aspects of the Istanbul Senin application are in the context of e-participation and how it is used by citizens. The study was designed in two stages. First, Istanbul Senin application was analyzed in line with the criteria for evaluation of e-participation platforms. Second, a survey was conducted to examine the use of this application. The sample group was determined on a voluntary basis and a sample of 100 participants was determined within a reasonable margin of error (10%), taking time and cost into account. Accordingly, issues such as informing and raising awareness of the citizens about the importance of participatory processes, increasing the familiarity of the application, improving the design and increasing the ease of use, improving the way of interaction have been emphasized for the Istanbul Senin application.

Hierarchical Clustering of the European Countries from the Perspective of E-government, E-participation, and Human Development

Abstract The information society offers governments the opportunity to work closer with citizens and companies, to respond better to their requirements, and to create the conditions for the functioning of a modern, efficient, and democratic public administration. Due to the development of the information society, e-governance and e-participation appeared and developed, through which the communication of governments with stakeholders became more straightforward and less expensive. This research aims to identify and analyse comparatively how the telecommunications infrastructure and Internet users influenced the expansion and diversification of e- government and e-participation that contributed to the human development index in the EU states in 2010-2022. In the longitudinal data analysis, we apply fixed and random estimators to see the most critical determinants of the human development index. In the second part, we cluster the 27 EU countries in four clusters by Ward’s hierarchical algorithm. The hierarchical clustering emphasised that there is still a digital divide among EU countries. The digital divide occurs because of the lack of Internet access of the population from marginalised communities of European countries, resulting in socio-economic disparities. Therefore, some EU states should have initiatives to bridge the gap to digital technologies. The research results are essential for those governments coordinating the policies and the entire process of integrating information technologies and dedicated e-government and e-participation applications in central and local administration.

A Qualitative Research On the Evaluation of Corporate Feedback Practices in Municipalities as a Citizen Participation Practice

The using of the Internet since the beginning of the 2000s has led to an increase in scientific interest in e-participation applications, which are defined as online participation. Feedback applications are areas of receiving comments from users, listening to complaints or presenting suggestions on process design regarding available services. Here, “Write to us”, “Online Chat”, “Like or Dislike Buttons” and “Comment sites” are applications designed to get feedback. It is important how these applications work and how obtained data is stored and interpreted in terms of determining the level of interaction between the municipality and the citizen. 
 In the study, first of all, citizen participation and e-participation, one of the participation methods, will be explained conceptually. In the study, feedback applications on the websites of 11 District Municipalities, including Tekirdağ Metropolitan Municipality, and communication lines used for feedback will be examined; interviews will be held with the administrative staff who collect and report the feedback, it will be evaluated in which aspects the feedbacks are reflected in the applications. In the study, feedback applications were tested and the work of the information processing units was observed on site, especially as a participant observer. Accessibility of feedback applications, ease of use, response times of municipalities were determined and advantageous aspects for participation were listed.

Explaining Citizens’ E-Participation Usage

Information and communications technology (ICT) not only improves public service delivery but also enables governments to better engage citizens, called “e-participation.” Although efforts have been taken to promote citizen participation online, e-participation utilization remains at a low level. To better understand this phenomenon, scholars have explored the factors affecting citizens’ e-participation usage, such as sociodemographic characteristics, Internet usage, political perceptions, off-line political activities, and so forth. However, the role of e-participation applications’ functionality has been overlooked. Using data from the 2012 European Union (EU) eGovernment survey, this study found that functionality is positively associated with citizens’ e-participation usage and high-level functionality motivates citizens to use e-participation more.

Promoting electronic participation systems in the Balkans: the case of national press agencies

While e-participation systems are being deployed in many European member states, their operation in converging regions is still a problem. Socio-economic conditions, familiarisation with new democratic processes and low penetration of information technology still pose barriers for these e-participation applications and their successful deployment calls for joint participation and cooperation of citizens and organisational bodies in order to form a unified framework consisting of guidelines and common codes of ethics. This paper presents a case study of the establishment of an e-participation platform based on the cooperation of national news agencies in the converging regions of the Balkans.

Towards an evaluation framework for eParticipation

PurposeThe paper seeks to demonstrate the use of a range of perspectives and methods to evaluate eParticipation initiatives. It aims to argue that there is a need for coherent evaluation frameworks employing such perspectives and methods, the better to understand current eParticipation applications and learn from these experiences.Design/methodology/approachA case study of eParticipation evaluation for four local authority led projects from the “top down” stream of the UK Local e‐Democracy National Project is presented.FindingsApplying the eParticipation framework resulted in an assessment that was considered fair by participants. However, the framework needs further development. More consideration needs to be placed on how and when to use tools in which contexts, also, on how to combine tools to enable inclusive engagement. The evaluation timescale meant important aspects of the framework were downplayed.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is needed in two main areas; first, on the applicability of eParticipation tools to particular contexts, and second, to integrate fieldwork methods to assess social acceptance of eParticipation and represent the diversity of views obtained from citizens, community groups and other stakeholders.Practical implicationsThe paper describes the application of the framework, demonstrates the importance of a multi‐method approach, and outlines some barriers to using it.Originality/valueThe described framework is a basis for further development since eParticipation evaluation is in its infancy despite strong advocacy of evaluation in e‐government research and practice literature.