The joint project "Success factors of local eParticipation: Mapping and strengthening digital civic participation in German municipalities," funded by the Mercator Foundation, investigates the contextual conditions and influencing factors of digital participation in German municipalities. The aim is to identify conditions for these offerings' success and close research gaps on the supply side. The findings will be published with a practical focus.
The project has been funded by Stiftung Mercator since 1 April 2024 for two years with around €855,000. The project is interdisciplinary: Communication Science (University of Leipzig), Political Science (HHU Düsseldorf, TU Dresden) and Administrative Informatics (University of Koblenz-Landau).
Given current global challenges such as climate change, migration, and energy insecurity, new opportunities are needed to promote social cohesion and reduce the gap between politics and citizens. New formats of citizen participation using digital technologies (e-participation) should increase the quality and acceptance of government decisions, moderate conflicts productively, and strengthen trust in political institutions. This should contribute to social integration and promote citizens' democratic skills and attitudes.
Digital technologies open up innovative ways for citizen participation. However, the success of these digital forms of participation depends on various factors—among them, these factors are to be researched. The project's focus is on e-participation offerings in German municipalities, as they affect citizens' immediate living environment and are considered fundamental units of democratic processes.
Research on eParticipation has so far concentrated mainly on citizens' needs, while the supply side still has many knowledge deficits. Previous studies have often been limited to qualitative case studies of successful cases. However, there are hardly any reliable statements on prerequisites and success factors. It is also unknown which municipalities offer which participation processes, how often, and with what results.
The project aims to close these gaps by identifying the supply-side factors that lead to greater quality, acceptance, and legitimacy of decisions. In addition, it aims to improve participation by networking municipalities and providing them with scientific findings and local knowledge for action. The project's results are visualized in an interactive and multimodal digital platform (dashboard), which serves as a transfer tool.
The project is divided into four work packages:
1. Work package: Project management and communication
The project starts with a kick-off event, team composition, and the establishment of practical and scientific advisory boards. It includes the development of communication materials and a web presence, as well as regular meetings and workshops. The project is accompanied by monitoring and reporting; at the end of the project, it is consolidated and documented.
2. Work package: Survey of the state of knowledge and quantitative data collection
The work package comprises aggregating the state of knowledge and developing a survey instrument. A complete survey of eParticipation offerings will be carried out in the more than 10,000 German municipalities. In-depth case studies on successful and failed eParticipation initiatives will supplement the survey.
3. Work package: Evaluation of the raw data and elaboration of the findings
This work package comprises the preparation and application of methods and tools for data analysis. The evaluation includes both the survey and the case studies. Results are compiled and interpreted in order to gain scientific and practice-relevant insights.
4. Work package: Outreach and transfer
This work package aims to communicate and transfer results to relevant networks. Digital project communication is specified and developed, and regional competence networks are established. Regular events and data preparation and findings through visualizations and publications support knowledge transfer.
Further information on the project website!