Evolution of e-participation in Greek local government

Bibliographic Data

ID6149024
AuthorsConstantina Costopoulou (0000-0003-0151-5586, Agricultural University of Athens, corresponding author), Maria Ntaliani (0000-0001-7643-5009, Agricultural University of Athens), Filotheos Ntalianis (0009-0009-8515-8272, University of Piraeus)
Year2021
Volume26
Issue3
Pages311-325
Publication date2021-03-16
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInformation Polity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1875-8754 • E-ISSN: 1570-1255
PublisherIOS Press (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.3233/ip-190174
OpenAlexW3138734370
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited24

Local governments are increasingly developing electronic participation (e-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

Business · e-participation · Emerging technologies · Geography · Government (linguistics · Local community · Local government · Order (exchange · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Scale (ratio · Social engagement · Social media · Computer Science · E-Government and Public Services · Public Administration · Smart Cities and Technologies · Social Media and Politics

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