This study explores ways to enhance online public participation through an analysis on the extent of citizens' online participation and on factors that influence it in the process of establishing an e-government.
The concept of e-government cannot be...
This study explores ways to enhance online public participation through an analysis on the extent of citizens' online participation and on factors that influence it in the process of establishing an e-government.
The concept of e-government cannot be discussed without citizens' participation in administration. Such public participation through e-government enhances chances of direct public participation, and overcomes limitations of representative democracy as well as time and space limits often shown in traditional forms of public participation institutions. That is why e-government is considered a new paradigm of public participation institution in this new era.
However, ten years since its introduction, the implementation of e-government has remained passive and partial (limited only to online information access), failing to induce more active public participation in administration. Behind such a lukewarm participation of citizens in e-government, contrary to theoretical expectations, could be the not-yet-mature citizenship and different value systems of the public. But it could also be the result of the government's failure to aggressively encourage citizens to take part by offering enough information, opportunity and channels to engage.
In this regard, this study tries to define what online public participation means in the process of establishing an e-government and analyzes the extent and influence factors of citizens' online participation via provincial, city, and county governments' websites. And based on such analysis, it explores ways to realize effective public participation.
This study is consisted of five chapters. Following the Preface, Chapter 2 covers previous studies on the concept and developmental phase of e-government, general discussions on public participation, characteristics and types of online public participation, and factors that influence it. Chapter 3 presents the structure of analysis and carries out variables credibility verification and factors analysis for surveys. Chapter 4 attempts to make a corroborative analysis of the extent and influence factors of online public participation by conducting surveys among public servants of the Gangwon Provincial, City, and County Governments. This study bases its conclusion upon such analysis on Chapter 5, which also discusses limitations faced by this study.
The findings of the study can be summarized as follows.
Administration-wise, an institutional review is required on compensation system and its diversity for citizens' public participation activities. A challenge here is to establish a firm compensation system that is attractive enough to induce voluntary public participation in governments' policy making process.
It was demonstrated that the top management does have a keen interest and a strong will to support online public participation and has a team (staff) in place exclusively dealing with it, but the lack of budgetary support in real terms still remains a challenge to be overcome.
Organization-wise, the surveys also show that mindsets and attitudes of public servants in charge have a great influence on the enhancement of online public participation. This requires continuous efforts to move toward a flexible and open organization from an inflexible and closed one and also efforts to raise the awareness that information sharing through websites is the most affordable and convenient way of public participation for the realization of e-government.
Moreover, it was shown that the more actively citizens' opinions are heard and reviewed and the better institutional system is in place to have those opinions to be heard, the more citizens are engaged in public participation. This requires provincial, city, and county governments' efforts to adopt ordinances on opinion-hearing process through information networks in such areas of work as administrative notice, civil service, and environmental impact assessment.
Information Network Service-wise, it was indicated that when governments' administrative (policy) information is provided at websites in a timely and accurate manner and citizen participation club (online community) is in operation, the level of public participation increases. This requires that all administrative (policy-related) materials and information (policy trends, legal documents, press releases and etc.) need to be provided, and website searching function needs to be strengthened for citizens to have an easy and convenient access. Also, citizen participation club (online community) activities need to be actively promoted to encourage more frequent communication between citizens and public servants, and public participation channels should also be further diversified.