Does e-participation Influence and Improve Political Decision Making Processes? Evidence From a Local Government

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 873-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ángel Iglesias Alonso ◽  
Roberto Luciano Barbeito
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Large City ◽  
City Government ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Local Politicians ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Local Decision Making

In Local Governments, the quality of representative democracy is also measured by the extent to which demands of citizens and groups influence the agendas of local politicians. In this context, the potential of Internet and the NIT as tools that encourage participation, exchange and deliberation, have not been fully explored by either the local elites or the citizens to foster the discursive and decision-making dimensions of local democracy. But despite the growing importance of e-participation in improving local democracy, it remains unclear to what extent it also contributes to the introduction of new repertoires of action to improve efficiency and quality of local public service provision and, therefore, involving citizens meaningfully in the decision-making process continues to be a challenge. With this in mind and using recent empirical evidence from the current development of e-participation to improve administrative performance in a large city government, intended to enhance not only local democracy but also better decision-making, the paper focus on this gap on research by exploring to what extent e-participation contributes to foster, influence and improve local decision-making.

The Veil of Bureaucracy: How Officials Evade Partisan Politics in Participatory Settings

2021 ◽  
pp. 232949652110288
Author(s):  
Meaghan Stiman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Partisan Politics ◽  
Community Voice ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Veil ◽  
Local Decision Making ◽  
Do So

In theory, participatory democracies are thought to empower citizens in local decision-making processes. However, in practice, community voice is rarely representative, and even in cases of equal representation, citizens are often disempowered through bureaucratic processes. Drawing on the case of a firearm discharge debate from a rural county’s municipal meetings in Virginia, I extend research about how power operates in participatory settings. Partisan political ideology fueled the debate amongst constituents in expected ways, wherein citizens engaged collectivist and individualist frames to sway the county municipal board ( Celinska 2007 ). However, it was a third frame that ultimately explains the ordinance’s repeal: the bureaucratic frame, an ideological orientation to participatory processes that defers decision-making to disembodied abstract rules and procedures. This frame derives its power from its depoliticization potential, allowing bureaucrats to evade contentious political debates. Whoever is best able to wield this frame not only depoliticizes the debate to gain rationalized legitimacy but can do so in such a way to favor a partisan agenda. This study advances gun research and participatory democracy research by analyzing how the bureaucratic frame, which veils partisanship, offers an alternative political possibility for elected officials, community leaders, and citizens to adjudicate partisan debates.

Kommunalpolitik und -parlamente in Bayern

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Kronschnabel
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Party System ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Empirical Survey ◽  
Local Election ◽  
Election System ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Advanced Knowledge ◽  
Local Decision Making

This study researches the development of Bavarian local government between 2002 and 2014 and offers a broad range of basic and advanced knowledge on this field. Its main focus is the change in the local election system in 2010: What impact has the new method of allocating parliamentary seats had on the structure of local parliaments, on their ability to function and on local decision-making processes? Besides an extensive structural analysis of the local election and party system, this study also provides a broad empirical survey, in which 262 members of local governments from the 74 largest local authority districts in Bavaria were interviewed. Its key findings are that the fragmentation of Bavarian local parliaments is rising continuously, also as a result of the change to the electoral system. The consequences of this development are noticeable in many local authorities and are causing increasing difficulties for local governments in larger cities especially.

scholarly journals Assessment of public participation in local planning & decision-making. A case study from Albania

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-94
Author(s):  
Mirjam Dibra ◽  
Dea Strica
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Local Planning ◽  
The Public ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Planning Decision ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Local Decision Making

The public participation (PP) is widely legitimised as a vital prerequisite to achieve sustainable development and as a basic principle of democracy. Under the conditions of the new territorial administrative-territorial division of local government units in the Republic of Albania, the Malesia e Madhe (MM) Municipality is a new one. The purpose of this study was the assessment of attitudes of the local community of areas under the administration of MM Municipality on PP in local planning and decision-making in order to influence future behaviours of the local community to take active part in local decision-making processes. The questionnaire was used as a research instrument for the local community of this Municipality. The research results showed that the local community of this area was generally aware of the need for their involvement in local decision-making, but they considered the municipality as the main responsibility for their involvement in this process. Keywords: Albania, local planning & decision-making, Malesia e Madhe Municipality, public participation.

COASTAL VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT: AN INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK TO ANALYZE LOCAL DECISION MAKING AND ADAPTATION TO SEA-LEVEL RISE IN SANTOS, SAO PAULO-BRAZIL

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose A Marengo ◽  
Jose A Marengo ◽  
Luci H. Nunes ◽  
Luci H. Nunes ◽  
Celia R.G. Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Coastal City ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Local Decision Making

The METROPOLE Project is an international collaboration between Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States designed to evaluate local decision making processes and to provide feedback to local urban managers on possible actions toward adaption to sea level rise (SLR). The goal of the project is to help coastal communities better understand factors that facilitate or hinder their intrinsic, local decision-making processes related to planning for adaptation to risk. The test used case sea level rise to develop case studies on long-term planning by local government and society as a means to gauge the of municipalities in different settings to address possible future risks. The framework was designed by an interdisciplinary team that incorporated social and natural scientists from these three nations, and which included local government officials. This paper focuses on some of the factors that affect decision-making in the coastal city of Santos, in the state of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, and provides insight on possible actions that a coastal city, such as Santos, can do to prepare for impacts of SLR.

Democratic Preferences of the Indirectly-Elected Mayor, Open or Locked-In

2016 ◽  
pp. 110-139
Author(s):  
Werner Pleschberger
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
The Core ◽  
Majority Principle ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Local Decision Making ◽  
The City ◽  
Dem Model

The Directly Elected Mayor (DEM) model is a prominent manifestation of global efforts to innovate and strengthen local democracy. According to the established reformist claim, a DEM generates an array of advantages for local democracy (e.g., personalization, visibility of power, an increase in accountability, more inclusion, even direct involvement of citizens in local decision making). The DEM model seems to overcome the democratic deficits of the Indirectly Elected Mayor (IEM) model; this is the core assumption of the “difference hypothesis”. The aim of the empirical part of the study is to allow the analysis of the democratic orientation and styles of actions of the IEMs in the city of Vienna from 1973 until 2013. They all asked to the citizenry to express their opinion in consultative referenda. The longitudinal study shows the clear preference of the mayors for representative democracy and the majority principle to decide local issues. The analysis provides evidence that indirectly supports the reformist claim promoting the DEM model in local democracy.

COASTAL VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT: AN INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK TO ANALYZE LOCAL DECISION MAKING AND ADAPTATION TO SEA-LEVEL RISE IN SANTOS, SAO PAULO-BRAZIL

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose A Marengo ◽  
Jose A Marengo ◽  
Luci H. Nunes ◽  
Luci H. Nunes ◽  
Celia R.G. Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Coastal City ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Local Decision Making

The METROPOLE Project is an international collaboration between Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States designed to evaluate local decision making processes and to provide feedback to local urban managers on possible actions toward adaption to sea level rise (SLR). The goal of the project is to help coastal communities better understand factors that facilitate or hinder their intrinsic, local decision-making processes related to planning for adaptation to risk. The test used case sea level rise to develop case studies on long-term planning by local government and society as a means to gauge the of municipalities in different settings to address possible future risks. The framework was designed by an interdisciplinary team that incorporated social and natural scientists from these three nations, and which included local government officials. This paper focuses on some of the factors that affect decision-making in the coastal city of Santos, in the state of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, and provides insight on possible actions that a coastal city, such as Santos, can do to prepare for impacts of SLR.

Voting on Belonging

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-282
Author(s):  
Dia Dabby
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Legal Consciousness ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Quebec City ◽  
Local Identity ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Local Decision Making

AbstractIn 2017, a Muslim cemetery project was proposed in the municipality of St-Apollinaire, just outside Quebec City. This proposal required a change in local zoning, which necessitated approval from citizens living around the targeted plot of land, through the use of diverse deliberative tools. Drawing on a small-scale empirical study conducted in 2017–2018 with key informants in the cemetery project, this article investigates how these actors lived through, engaged with, and operated within the bounds of law. To do this, I suggest employing a legal consciousness framework to examine how local life is also where everyday lived law occurs. The local governance of diversity in death thus requires a re-evaluation of the “local,” identity politics, relationships, and legal consciousness. Ultimately, this article proposes that local decision-making processes play an important yet underexamined role in the broader conversations on belonging.

Allocating HIV prevention resources: A tool for state and local decision making

Health Policy ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Richter ◽  
Katherine A. Hicks ◽  
Stephanie R. Earnshaw ◽  
Amanda A. Honeycutt
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Local Decision Making

Evolution of e-participation in Greek local government

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Constantina Costopoulou ◽  
Maria Ntaliani ◽  
Filotheos Ntalianis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Community ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Impact

Local governments are increasingly developing electronic participation initiatives, expecting citizen involvement in local community affairs. Our objective was to assess e-participation and the extent of its change in local government in Greece. Using content analysis for 325 Greek municipal websites, we assessed e-participation status in 2017 and 2018 and examined the impact of change between these years. The assessment regards two consecutive years since the adoption of digital technologies by municipalities has been rapid. The main findings show that Greek local governments have made significant small- to medium-scale changes, in order to engage citizens and local societies electronically. We conclude that the integration of advanced digital technologies in municipalities remains underdeveloped. We propose that Greek municipalities need to consider incorporating new technologies, such as mobile apps, social media and big data, as well as e-decision making processes, in order to eliminate those obstacles that hinder citizen engagement in local government. Moreover, the COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the need for enhancing e-participation and policymakers’ coordination through advanced digital technologies.

scholarly journals Questioning Facilities Management in Higher Education in Egyptian Context for Better Decision-Making Process of Funding Allocation

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
Mona Mohamed Abd Elghany ◽  
Reem Aly Elharakany
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Quality Of Education ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Strategic Relationships

The quality of education is influenced by the managerialization of the universities, which refers to the introduction of substantial changes in the decision-making processes of the academic institutions, and the application of renewed information systems along with new managerial methodologies to restructure the organisational strategic relationships with stakeholders. This paper proposes a questionnaire to assess the importance of facilities in universities according to their financial budget consumed value. Semi Structured Interviews were conducted with the heads of logistic and financial departments in Egyptian universities, twenty public universities and twenty-three private universities, in order to identify criteria for the most significant university's facilities and appealing infrastructure that contributes to the quality of education.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document