About PEP-NET
The Hamburg-based Pan-European eParticipation Network started life as a European project, funded by the Commission, in May 2009. It is open to all eParticipation stakeholder organistions, from local authorities to grass roots voluntary organisations. We act as a source of information and an opportunity for networking and good practice exchange, promote discussion, and facilitate contact. All members are free to use the PEP-NET “brand” to help draw attention to their activities and demonstrate their commitment to eParticipation.
At the end of the project in Septemer 2010 we vowed to keep the network alive through regular contact, events and online activity. The PEP-NET Summit 2010 was the start of PEP-NET’s life as a free-standing network. Since then, membership has grown and the contacts made during the project have persisted. A further PEP-NET Summit, organised jointly with the Parterre project, will be held in Hamburg on 14th May 2012.
The project is coordinated by TuTech Innovation GmbH.
TuTech Innovation GmbH was formed in 1992 as the first private technology transfer company founded by a German university. Together with its sister company Hamburg Innovation, it serves all Hamburg’s universities in technology transfer and industrial liaison matters. In the last ten years TuTech has been involved in dozens of research and development projects funded by the European Commission, in many of them as coordinator and lead partner. The department of Interactive Communication (IK) specialises in the conception and implementation of Internet-based interactive applications and new media research focusing on electronic participation, online communities and eLearning. The department has been and continues to be involved in research and development or market validation projects funded under different EU programmes such as FP 5 (DEMOS), preparatory action of the EU eParticipation initiative (LexiPation) and eTEN (TELL-ME).
TUTECH/IK has seven years of experience in conceptualising and implementing online consultations, e.g. on behalf of the cities of Hamburg and Munich (Germany), Bologna and Massa (Italy) and Thessaloniki (Greece).
