Knowledge Sharing
Research Centers and Organizations
The following RESEARCH CENTERS AND ORGANIZATIONS are selected according to their relevance to e-democracy, e-government, citizen participation and legislative technologies. If you would like to suggest a link, please contact the coordination unit by email: info@gov2u.org
America Speaks
develops innovative deliberative tools that work for both citizens and decision makers. These tools give citizens an opportunity to have a strong voice in public decision making within the increasingly short timeframes required of decision makers.
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Aspiration
is a NGO which connects nonprofits to software solutions that help them more effectively meet their missions of positive global change, by convening and facilitating innovative technology events.
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Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
is an international network of civil society organisations dedicated to empowering and supporting groups and individuals through the strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), especially in developing countries.
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Benton Foundation
it’s mission is to articulate a public interest vision for the digital age and to demonstrate the value of communications for solving social problems.
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Berkeley Center for the Information Society (BCIS)
is a research center focused on the social impact of the information technology revolution and is the newest research center at ICSI-International Computer Science Institute (a leading center for research in computer science and one of the few independent, non-profit research institutes in the United States).
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Center for Democracy and Technology
works to promote democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age. With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in global communications technologies.
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Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations (CRITO)
based at the University of California Irvine, CRITO is a think tank devoted to explore the impact of information technology on organizations and society.
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Center for Research on IT in Policy Settings (CIPS)
focuses on IT related changes in the distribution of power and knowledge on individual, organizational and societal levels. Power and knowledge involves assessment of financial costs/benefits from IT, best practices, knowledge of effects on power patterns, and learning opportunities/development opportunities compared to conventional media.
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Center for the Law of Information and Communication Technologies (CLICT)
works under the auspices and to the benefit of Sofia University. Bulgaria's leading experts in the areas of communication and media law, e-commerce, e-government, intellectual property protection, standardization in ICT and cyber crimes were drawn to the Center.
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Center of Excellence for E-Government (CE eGov), Institute for Public Services and Tourism, the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
is conceived as a virtual network and provides objective, application-oriented research in the field of E-Government relevant to public administration, business, and research.
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Center to Bridge the Digital Divide
is an initiative of the Washington State University. It is a public-private partnership among universities, public organizations and corporations to support institutions and people to use information technologies. The Center aims at facilitating collaborative partnerships between the business community, government and citizens to improve access to information technologies among underserved populations.
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Centre for Community Networking Research (CCNR), Caulfield School of Information Technology, at Monash University, Australia
it is interested in the practicalities of information and technology usage and broader issues of community and institutional culture and memory as they are shaped through different understandings and uses of technologies.
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Centre for Digital Citizenship (CDC)
is an interdisciplinary research centre based in the Institute of Communication Studies at the University of Leeds, UK. The Centre's unique task is to consolidate research in both social scientific and technological domains, seeking to translate and integrate concepts, methods and styles that have been traditionally isolated within disciplinary silos.
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Center for Digital Democracy (CDD)
works to promote an electronic media system that fosters democratic expression and human rights.
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Center of Excellence for E-Government (CE eGov), Institute for Public Services and Tourism of the University of St. Gallen
is conceived as a virtual network and provides objective, application-oriented research in the field of E-Government relevant to public administration, business, and research.
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Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS)
is India’s leading NGO working towards advocacy and promotion of Information and Communication Technology for Development.
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Civis Global Technology Network
is a network of companies, projects, and partners providing innovative civic action technology to corporate and public sector organizations.
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Commonwealth Centre for e-Governance (CCEG)
is a think tank operating under the auspices of an e-Governance program of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, UK. CCEG is a legal entity incorporated in the United Kingdom and Canada. The goal of CCEG is to work with governments and international organizations to contribute to the growing knowledge base on e-Government, e-Governance and e-Democracy.
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Competence Center for Electronic Voting and Participation
helps, develops, implements and observes electronic voting efforts around the world.
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Datamation Foundation
is focused towards designing and implementing Innovative Information and Computer (ICTs) projects targeted towards women and marginalized communities.
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Democrazia Elettronica Partecipazione Pubblica (DEPP)
is a non-profit association that it promotes the use of the net in order to favor the public transparency and the collective participation to the control of the information and the political choices.
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Development Gateway Foundation
is an international nonprofit organization that provides Web-based platforms to make aid and development efforts more effective around the world.
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Digital Government Research Center (DGRC)
is a joint research center of the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California and the Department of Computer Science at Columbia University. The center focuses on information Technology research and Digital Government community building.
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eDemocracy Center
is a interdisciplinary research center whose aim is to improve understanding of how new information and communication technologies are interacting with our institutions of democratic governance, and to study the outcomes that are being produced as a result of this interaction.
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E-Democracy.Org
is a non-profit, non-partisan, volunteer-based project whose mission is to expand participation and build stronger democracies and communities through the power of information and communication technologies and strategies.
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e-Forum Association
is dedicated to analysing the future needs of eGovernment in Europe, and promoting excellence in defining solutions to those needs by bringing the private and public sectors together.
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e-Governance Academy (eGA)
is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, founded for the creation and transfer of knowledge concerning e-governance, e-democracy and the development of civil society.
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European Projects & Management Agency (EPMA )
is a non-profit organization whose main objective is to develop international project based co-operation of European regions and regional partners towards knowledge based information society. Main areas of interest: eGovernment/eDemocracy, eBusiness, eInclusion, Science & Society, support of ERA.
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European Regional Information SocietyAssociation ( eris@)
is a not for profit association based in Brussels, contributing to development of the regional information society by creating a regional platform where regions exchange their experience and know how,and by supporting regions in exploitation of emerging ICTs.
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Forum for Information Technology (FIT) Nepal
strives to take the benefits of ICT to the rural and marginalised communities of Nepal.
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Foundation for Information Policy Research
is an independent body that studies the interaction between information technology and society. Its goal is to identify technical developments with significant social impact, commission and undertake research into public policy alternatives, and promote public understanding and dialogue between technologists and policy-makers in the UK and Europe.
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GetUp
is an independent, grass-roots community advocacy organisation giving everyday Australians opportunities to get involved and hold politicians accountable on important issues. GetUp! has more members than all the major political parties in Australia and has been effective in influencing policy at a Federal level. It is an organization which empowers Australians and which has particular appeal for people who communicate best, electronically.
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Global Centre for ICT in Parliament
acts as a clearing house for information, research, innovation, technology and technical assistance, and promotes a structured dialogue among parliaments, centres of excellence, international organizations, the civil society, the private sector and the donor community, with the purpose to enhance the sharing of experiences, the identification of best practices and the implementation of appropriate solutions.
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Hansard Society
promotes knowledge about the parliamentary system and participation.
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Information Management Unit (IMU), Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
is a multi-disciplinary Unit engaged in research and development activities in information Technology Management. IMU promotes scientific results to enable value creation in e-government and e-business.
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Institute for IS Research, University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany
is aimed at concepts that foster the development and implementation of information and
communication systems, which contribute effectively to more efficient business processes and better decisions both in private enterprises and in public organizations.
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Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet (IPDI)
has as mission to promote the development of U.S. online politics in a manner that increases citizen participation and upholds democratic values.
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Institute of the Information Society, Russia (IIS.RU)
is an independent research and service organization established in September 1998 by a number of professionals in the sphere of the information technologies, telecommunications and information policy , who were brought together by the common goal of developing the Information Society in Russia.
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International Center of Excelence for Local eDemocracy (ICELE )
is a sustainable, UK-based centre, designed to serve as a 'virtual' focal point for collaborative eDemocracy initiatives both in the UK and abroad.
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International Institute for Communication & Development (IICD)
is a non-profit foundation that specialises in information and communication technology (ICT) as a tool for development.
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International Teledemocracy Centre - ITC
working closely with governments, parliaments and NGOs cross Europe and worldwide, is a research centre that combines relevant software engineering applications with political and sociological analysis in order to enhance and support the democratic decision-making processes.
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Internet Society (ISOC)
is a non-profit organisation which provides leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy and it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world.
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IT Lighthouse – The Digital North Denmark
is aimed at making its contribution in establishing IT based experiments and large scale
experiments – targeted at citizens, the educational sector, the public administration, the industrial sector and the infrastructure.
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ITU
is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies. The ITU mission: bringing the benefits of ICT to all the world’s inhabitants.
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LIRNEasia
is a regional ICT policy and regulation research and capacity building organisation that focuses on creating and disseminating independent, usable, actionable knowledge, through applied research, on documenting and disseminating regional best practices, on training and on some forms of short-term advisory assistance to governments / parties who request it.
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MITRA Technology Foundation
is a non-profit company working towards leveraging ICT for social sector. MITRA runs its program called ivolunteer that uses ICTs to promote volunteering in India.
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mySociety
has two missions. The first is to be a charitable project which builds websites that give people simple, tangible benefits in the civic and community aspects of their lives. The second is to teach the public and voluntary sectors, through demonstration, how to most efficiently use the internet to improve lives.
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NASSCOM Foundation
has the aim to make an impact on the social development landscape of India through the use of information and communication technologies.
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National Center for Digital Government:Integrating Information and Institutions
was established at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. The goal of the Center is to apply and extend the social sciences for research at the intersection of governance, institutions and information technologies.
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National Coalition for dialogue and deliberation
has the mission is to bring together and support people, organizations, and resources in ways that expand the power of discussion to benefit society. We believe that elevating the quality of thinking and communication in organizations and among citizens is key to solving humanity's most pressing problems.
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Oxford Internet Institute (OII)
Devoted to the study of the societal implications of the Internet, the OII seeks to shape research, policy and practice in the UK , Europe and around the world.
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POLITECH INSTITUTE
is a not-for-profit international association (AISBL) and a European Center of Political
Technologies located in Brussels, Capital of Europe, bridging public institutions, international institutions, governments, regional and local authorities, universities, research centers, think tanks, civil society and political leaders with technology actors for a better use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) towards the advancement of modern public governance and democracy.
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TakingITGlobal
is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which provides a portal for young people to find inspiration, access information and get involved in improving their local and global communities.
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telecentre.org
is a collaborative initiative connecting telecentres, networks, innovators, social investors and other interested groups who believe that information and communication technology used locally, strengthens individuals and the communities where they live.
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Projects
The following projects are selected according to their relevance to e-democracy, e-government, citizen participation and legislative technologies. If you would like to suggest a link, please contact the coordination unit by email: info@gov2u.com
The Cairns Project
by THE DEMOCRACY DESIGN WORKSHOP, NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL, NEW YORK Cairn builds civic software to promote problem solving and decision making through the application of participatory, and collaborative solutions.
The Local e-Democracy National Project
UK government e-democracy news and, coming soon, online space for people to discuss e-democracy.
OECD E-Government Project
Council of Europe – Democracy Project
The projects scope is to ensure that democratic institutions support and enter into dialogue with all Europeans, including groups that have been, for various reasons, excluded from equal participation in democratic processes.
UNESCO – Information Society Project
UNESCO encourages international debate about the impact of globalisation upon access to information and the process of communication.
EU eTen project
The programme aims to accelerate the take up of services to sustain the European social model of an inclusive, cohesive society.
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
This is the official Web site of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), run by the IGF Secretariat. Its purpose is to support the United Nations Secretary-General in carrying out the mandate from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) with regard to convening a new forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue - the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The site provides an interactive collaborative space where all stakeholders can air their views and exchange ideas.
The Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID), is an initiative approved by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2006, was launched after comprehensive worldwide consultations with governments, the private sector, civil society, the technical and Internet communities and academia. It responds to the need and demand for an inclusive global forum and platform for cross-sectoral policy dialogue on the use of ICT for enhancing the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, notably reduction of poverty. The Global Alliance functions as a partnership and network supported by the United Nations, under the authority of the Secretary-General and the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
The Global Alliance functions as a partnership and network supported by the United Nations, under the authority of the Secretary-General and the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
BBC Action Network
The BBC Action Network called iCan helped citizens connect with each other through public forums and a "democracy database" packed with information on tips for grassroots campaigning and the legislative process. The new Action Network makes it even easier for users to find and connect with other like-minded people in their community. New additions include alerts, syndication, and a revised user interface. BBC Action Network's aim is to enhance the overwhelming feeling of empowerment users report in using the site to take responsibility for issues they care about.
Digital Divide Network- A project of TakingITGlobal
DDN is the largest Internet resource providing information regarding the digital divide and strategies on how to close it. It features several different communities/topics, including Tsunami aid/how to use the Internet for disaster relief, E-government, and literacy. Virtual meeting rooms allow activists to communicate in real time and plan events. DDN promotes global discussion on this important issue and currently has over 7,000 members from 115 countries.
FixMyStreet
This website launched on 7th March 2007 by mySociety in collaboration with the Young Foundation, created a forum for people to request repairs to potholes, unlit lampposts and removal of abandoned beds and graffiti. The interface allows people to mark exactly where a problem is located on an interactive map and post pictures. People can also see what other problems have been reported and see statistics on how many of the reports have been fixed and how many haven’t. Citizens can track whether or not repairs have been completed and post comments adding details to the situation.
Citizen Notification Service
Arlington , Texas is one of many cities in the United States that has launched a Citizen Notification Service, which allows the public to receive timely information notices from the city via email or text message. The service will alert users when a public meeting about a zoning case is posted, a street is closed for repair, and inform them about events being held at the local library and important health and safety information. Arlington' s program allows citizens to opt into specific categories of notifications to personalize what information they would like to receive.
Pambazuka News
Pambazuka News is produced by Fahamu - Networks For Social Justice, a pan-African community of some 300 citizens and organizations - academics, policy makers, social activists, women's organizations, civil society organizations, writers, artists, poets, bloggers, and commentators who together produce insightful, sharp and thoughtful analyses and make it one of the largest and most innovative and influential web forums for social justice in Africa. With a readership approaching half a million, Pambazuka News publishes podcasts, videocasts and books; supports African women and marginalized groups to develop blogs, radio programs, and podcasts to enable them to give voice to their experiences; supports women's organizations to use mobile phone technologies to act on violence against women and illegal seizures of land; and developed civil society blogs for monitoring the African Union. The growth of Pambazuka News reflects a commitment to fostering a community of African citizens who hold their governments to account.
participation.net
is a global, online space for sharing ideas about the participation of people in development, citizenship, governance and rights. participation.net is committed to giving voice to innovative ideas and views that will help to strengthen the involvement of marginalised people in decision-making, and to improve the performance and accountability of key institutions. participation.net is a joint initiative of four partners: Citizenship DRC - the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability, LogoLink - the Learning Initiative on Citizen Participation and Local Governance, Participation Resource Centre at IDS, a leading collection of materials on participatory methodology, Eldis - the gateway to development information.
People and Participation.net
People & Participation is based on Involve organization’s successful book by the same name which was launched in 2005. The book provides a useful summary of participatory methods and practice but given the number of methods and speed of the development of new methods it is impossible for a printed publication to stay accurate for long. The reason for transferring People & Participation to the web is to maintain more, and more up to date information about participation. It also allows use as the site user to add his knowledge and experience making the site a truly collaborative experience, something that a book simply cannot do. The site aims to be a central portal for information and inspiration about participation to practitioners across the world.
Protestnote.de
is an online platform, where registered users can create, organize, plan, and rate their online and/or offline protest. “If people would take part in the political process for only ten minutes a week, they would already have political influence” is the website's slogan. Users have to register to create a “note of protest”, but everyone can read and rate them. Further options for registered users are a planning schedule for upcoming events, and a diary to report about the protest’s development
ShoutOut 11 Million
There are 11 million of children in England - in 2007 the first Children´s Commissioner has been set up. The website is a space for kids to have their say and to discuss the Commissioner´s plans for the following year. Children can get involved through blogs, a discussion forum and polls. This is a project by the Ministry of Justice and Hansard Society.The provider is the Children´s Commissioner of England.
AidConnect
is an interactive communication and information platform to strengthen private engagements for development co-operations. The focus is the worldwide linking of people who are involved or want to get involved in humanitarian projects. Organizers have the opportunity to promote their projects to a wide audience as well as exchanging their experiences with other groups and to inform them about the support they need for their project. Individuals and donors who would like to help will find a unique overview on local organizations and projects as well as useful information and ideas for projects.
maPolitique
is a Belgium political online community open for all citizens. The tools include surveys, weblogs, ePetitions, open letters and debates. Although maPolitique should be a platform for whole Belgium, the website is only available in French.
Politix.nl
is a website that tracks voting behaviour of political parties in the Dutch National Parliament. The website allows visitors to discuss and vote on the proposed laws and amendments. The website is updated every week, after the voting session in Parliament. The laws and amendments can be viewed per week, per subject or per party. There is also a possibility for visitors to submit their own proposal. The website was launched in May 2006 and now contains voting behaviour since January 2003. The target groups are Citizens and politicians.
Razprava - Slovenian Citizens´ Forum
Is a discussion forum which is moderated and enables a public debate on the future of the European Union. Registered users can take part in public discussion and online-consultations. Debates include the introduction of the Euro in Slovenia, the European Social Model, and EU energy policy. Slovenian citizens without direct internet access are able to participate in the debates through ePoints set up by the Centre for eDemocracy and the European Parliament Information Office for Slovenia. Several public presentations have also been held to publicise eDemocracy. The project is managed by the Centre for e-Democracy, together with the Ecology Institute of Slovenia, the European Parliament Information Office for Slovenia, and the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ljubljana.
Publications
We feature articles and publications related to the fields of e-democracy, e-government, civic participation and legislative technologies. If you would like to have your publication featured here, or to recommend a publication that you do not see featured, please contact the coordination unit by email: info@gov2u.com
- eDemocracy - eParticipation
- eGovernance
- Legislative technologies
- Transparency
eDemocracy - eParticipation
Report: Real Leaders Tweet – How Heads of State are Engaging Their Citizens On The World Wide Web The Digital Policy Council at Digital Daya has released a thought-provoking report on the incidence of social media use by government leadership around the world, characterized through the use of Twitter, entitled Real Leaders Tweet. Considering the 163 countries recognized by the United Nations, the report indicates that 24 (15%) already have leaders or government-sanctioned agencies using Twitter. Of those 21 are considered amongst the most stable regimes in the world - which means their political and governance systems are highly entrenched and self-sustaining, not that they are necessarily democracies. World leaders active on Twitter today recognize the power of social media, and do not hesitate to remain in touch with their citizens and the World. Embracing the ideal of inclusive governance and confident of their political legitimacy, these leaders recognize the political value of social media as a tool of engagement. This global ranking report profiles these pioneering heads of state.  Download the file
eGovernance and eParticipation: lessons from Europe in promoting inclusion and empowerment Jeremy Millard, Danish Technological Institute, 2006 This paper examines the relationship between eGovernance and eParticipation from a European perspective in terms of promoting inclusion and empowerment. This will include an examination of current and future challenges, especially the so called democratic deficit and the need to create a future around a new understanding of citizen inclusion, empowerment, openness, transparency and trust. Download the file
Broadening eParticipation: Rethinking ICTs and Participation by Christian Fuchs, Regina Bernhaupt, Christiana Hartwig, Mark A. Kramer, Ursula Maier- Rabler ICT&S Center: Advanced Studies and Research in Information and Communication Technologies & Society In this paper the notion of eParticipation is introduced and three application areas are outlined: eParticipation and user-centered design, an empirical study on political online Broadening eParticipation communication of youths in Salzburg, and an empirical study on political online discussion boards in Austria. Download the file
Mapping eParticipation: White Papers A series of white papers from the researchers of the Demo – NET research Group on eParticipation presented in the European Workshop on eParticipation in conjunction with MCIS 2006 The 7th Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems Venice, Italy,October 2006 Download the file
Evaluating how eParticipation changes local Democracy by Ann Macintosh, and Angus Whyte, International Teledemocracy Centre, Napier University, This paper presented in the eGovernment Workshop ’06 (eGOV06) September 11 2006, Brunel University. The paper describes methods and results from the evaluation of eParticipation projects conducted under the UK Local e-Democracy National Project. Download the file
Facilitating Active Citizenship E-Participation in the United Kingdom and Germany A Status Report with Examples from both Countries, British Council, June 2006. Results of a research project providing a representative cross-section of e-participation projects in Germany and the UK. Download the file
Edemocracy: ICT for a better relation between the State and their citizens by Luis Orihuela and Toshio Obi, Waseda University June 2006 Download the file
2001 paper by Jay G.Blumler & Stephen Coleman. This is the second in a series of IPPR/Citizens Online papers exploring the social and democratic role of new media. Realising Democracy Online: A Civic Commons in Cyberspace is a proposal to create an enduring structure which could fulfil the democratic potential of the new interactive media. Download the file
2004 report on the eDemocracy organized and hosted by the Egov Unit of the DGInfoSociety. This Report is an overview of the issues, strategies, programs, policies and technological solutions presented during the seminar from the expert presenters as well as reactions and inputs from the delegates. Download the file
2003 OECD report on e-Democracy Promise and Problems of E-Democracy - Challenges of online citizen engagement. Download the file
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