Evaluating eParticipation Sophistication of Regional Authorities Websites: The Case of Greece and Spain

Authors:
Eleni Panopoulou;Efthimios Tambouris;Maria Zotou;Konstantinos Tarabanis
Affiliations:
University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece 54006;University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece 54006;University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece 54006;University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece 54006
Venue:
ePart '09 Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Electronic Participation
Year:
2009

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Abstract

eParticipation is becoming a political priority in Europe mainly as an essential ingredient of eGovernment policies. In this paper, we evaluate eParticipation sophistication of the websites of all regional public authorities in the two countries using a published evaluation framework. The framework includes three main factors (information, consultation and active participation), each factor measured using suitable metrics. For information we measured the existence of policy documents online; for consultation we checked the existence of electronic consultations; and for active participation the availability of communication tools (chats, blogs, and/or e-forums) and decision-making tools (e-polls), and the ability for citizens to propose topics at e-forums and e-polls as well as for inclusion in the agenda of local representatives' meetings. Overall, the results indicate that although a political priority eParticipation is not yet a common practice in the two countries at least as far as the regional governmental level is concerned.