Using Information and Communication Technologies to Enhance Citizen Engagement in the Policy Process

This report considers how, and to what extent, ICTs are being used to facilitate the provision of information and to support consultation and active participation of citizens to enable better policy-making. Numerous case studies from OECD member countries present specific government applications. These describe not only successes but also, importantly, the issues and constraints. Increasing engagement should, on the one hand, enable better policy but, on the other hand, it will increase the resources and time needed to construct policy. The report highlights 5 main challenges for e-engagement, those of: scale building capacity and active citizenship ensuring coherence evaluating e-engagement and ensuring commitment. Given the expanding knowledge base of e-engagement practice and the emergence of ...