Engaging Citizens: How can Public Institutions Take Advantage of ICT for More Inclusion?

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have supported the emergence of online citizens’ communities and non-institutional actors involved in politics, who have shaped public opinion on a number of issues. In parallel to a relative decline in formal civic engagement – both in terms of voters’ turnout or political party membership – new kinds of participation fostered by digital media are influencing policy initiatives and government behaviour. The new possibilities offered by the internet enable ordinary citizens or civil society stakeholders to voice their opinions, to organise and mobilise themselves as well as to interact with public officials.

Public institutions - referred to as bodies from all levels of government, national, local, regional or European - have a substantial role to play in the fostering of citizens’ involvement in public affairs through digital communication channels- regularly used by an increasing number of people around the globe. Information technology, by reason of its networking and linkage capacity is a crucial factor in strengthening civic engagement and ensuring a link between governmental organisations and grassroots.

What is the relevance of digital media in the public participation challenge? How can public institutions use information technology to revive citizens’ interest in public affairs? Our view is that governments may build on the connectivity effect of online tools to encourage constituents’ participation in the policy process and get engaged in a two-way interaction with the public to better serve those who elect them.

[Article forms part of 30th Anniversary Special Issue of EIPASCOPE]

EIPASCOPE: Archive http://www.eipa.eu/en/eipascope/archive/

---