Breaking Barriers to eGovernment:

Exploring eConsultation Initiatives in the

European Union
Shefali Virkar, Oxford Internet Institute (OII)

eConsultation Case Study Aims

Identify potential barriers to eConsultation within the EU and its

Member States and create awareness of these barriers;

Explore the legalinstitutional foundations of these barriers, with

a particular focus on aspects relevant at the European level;

Build a rich and informative online inventory of issues that are, or

can become, significant to the implementation of eConsultation
projects across the EU

Collect relevant eGovernment cases and use them to assess

and develop a set of recommendations for overcoming barriers.

eConsultation: A Brief Overview

Definition of a Consultation
A two-way relationship in which citizens provide
feedback to government. It is based on the prior
definition of the issue on which the citizens views
are being sought and requires the provision of
information. (OECD, 2001)

eConsultation: A Brief Overview

Governments define the issues for discussion and manage
the process of consultation
Citizens are invited to contribute their views
eConsultation: use of ICTs in the consultative process
Potential for policymakers to reach out directly to a larger
number of citizens, and to facilitate citizen interaction with
government
Does not necessarily imply a radical change in type of
democracy, rather a strengthening of existing processes and
institutions

Embedded Case Studies:

Categories and Examples

Category: Duration

Long Term Consultations

Set up as long-lasting initiatives, not bound within any timeperiod

Seek citizen reaction to current issues as and when they arise

Short Term Consultations

Obtain citizen opinions on key political events, during a specific

period of time

Come to a close once event ends, time-period is over

One-off Consultations

Highly specialised, issue-based often ad hoc consultations

Category: Level of Government

Local Government

National Government

Regional Government / Pan-European

Initiatives

Category: Target Audience

The General Public

Feedback obtained for a wide-ranging variety of issues

Majority of selected case studies

Targeted Groups

Feedback obtained for specific issues of immediate

concern

UK Parliamentary Consultations (FloodForum.net,

Domestic Violence)

Emerging Themes and Issues

Privacy and security issues remote user authentication,

ability of process to generate trust and increase participation.

Need for sustaining two-way interaction between government

and citizen

Key success factors seem to include: Goals, Preparation,

Innovative use of technology,

Questions regarding the role of moderators in these

discussions

At what stage in the policymaking process should

consultations be introduced?

Possible Obstacles to Effective

Implementation
Political Apathy
Lack of Publicly Available Information
Selection of Participants
Dealing with Expectations
Problems of Digital and Social Exclusion