How can ICT help communities/civil society (e.g., businesses, media, schools, etc.) participate more effectively in local decision-making?
As GKD members have often discussed, public participation is a critical ingredient for good governance, whether at the local or national level. Citizens must be able to communicate their needs and demands to decision-makers, and vice versa. In theory, at least, active public participation also promotes government responsiveness to public needs. This week's discussion focuses on identifying how ICT can facilitate the exchange of information between decision-makers and the public, as well as ensuring that consultation mechanisms are open and transparent. There are many ways in which governments try to give citizens a voice. It can be as simple as establishing a telephone hotline citizens can use to report wrong-doing or corruption by local government officials within a broader anti-corruption strategy. And it can involve providing complex tools to facilitate effective citizen participation in many areas of local government. For example, allocation of local resources is a critical function of local governments - and a growing responsibility during decentralization. Local governments may want to establish participatory budgeting mechanisms and use ICT to improve public access to budget information, and even to facilitate broader participation in the decision-making process. Take the municipality of Ipatinga in the southeast state of Minas Gerais (Brazil). In 2001, they began using the Internet to give citizens an opportunity to vote on budgetary priorities and allotments for local projects. They had introduced participatory budgeting a few years before, but participation became much easier when they began using the Internet and citizens could voice their opinions on budget priorities through computer stations in various public locations. In addition, citizens could submit online proposals, keep an eye on the implementation of city projects, and participate in online chats with the mayor. For more information on Interactive Participatory Budgeting in Ipatinga, see a short case study: "Internet Use and Citizen Participation in Local Government: Ipatinga's Interactive Participatory Budgeting: An Innovations in Technology and Governance Case Study". URL: http://www.ashinstitute.harvard.edu/Ash/Ipatinga_ITG_Case.pdf We hope that this week's discussion will help to identify other successful cases where ICT has facilitated community/civil society participation in local government. Key Questions 1. Are there local communities using ICT to access information, improve transparency, and participate in local government decision-making? If so, what technologies are they using? 2. Are there specific examples of successful approaches, projects, or lessons learned? 3. What are the 'critical factors' required to use ICT effectively to improve participation, transparency, and accountability of local government? For example, are there particular pre-conditions required for success? 4. What are the pitfalls and challenges to using ICT to improve local governance? Please be specific and provide concrete examples. 5. Are there specific technology options and choices that are more likely to result in successful use of ICT to improve community participation in local decision-making? 6. What steps and technologies would you recommend to a local government that is serious about improving public participation, and local government transparency and accountability? What would you recommend to citizens? ------------ This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For past messages, see: http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/archive.html
