Community Empowerment and eParticipation – International evidence

10. June 2009 – 22:29 by Fraser Henderson - ICELE

A research paper “Empowering communities to influence local decision making“, commissioned by the UK government and produced by De Montfort and Southampton University, was published earlier this month.

Its aim was to draw upon the international evidence base and make some conclusions about the relationship between citizen empowerment and eParticipation. The findings were that:-

· eParticipation is most successful in relation to the empowerment of individual participants. Yet, eParticipation is notably less effective in empowering the wider community and e-forums and even ePetitions, have only a very limited impact upon decision makers.

· In terms of eParticipation empowering individuals two factors are critical. First, moderation is important. Moderation can improve the quality of discussion and provide a constructive environment for participation. Second, the presence of a highly salient issue is also important. However, the official sponsorship and buy-in of eParticipation is not a crucial factor.

· Where there is community empowerment, moderation, clear links to decision-making and the discussion of highly salient issues appear to be the most significant combination of success factors required.

· In order for eParticipation to have real impact on decisions, mechanisms need to be specifically designed to incorporate a direct link to decision-making.

What practitioners said:-

· There is concern about the reach of eParticipation, there is often limited take-up of most online participation initiatives and there is the ongoing problem of the ‘digital divide’ in ensuring access.

· There is also concern about the capacity of local authorities to ‘keep up’ with technological developments and to provide opportunities in a way that interests citizens.

The most controversial point for me is about official sponsorship and buy-in for eParticipation exercises. Can it really be true that it doesn’t make a difference if your online dialogue is officially supported or branded?