scholarly journals Transparency in citizen participation tools and public information: A comparative study of the Spanish city councils’ websites

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Rebollo ◽  
Rocío Zamora-Medina ◽  
Jordi Rodríguez-Virgili
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Public Information ◽  
City Councils

scholarly journals Council Press Offices as Sources of Political Information: Between Journalism for Accountability and Propaganda

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Vanessa Rodríguez-Breijo ◽  
Núria Simelio ◽  
Pedro Molina-Rodríguez-Navas
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Political Information ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The Public ◽  
Selection Of

This study uses a qualitative approach to examine what political and technical leaders of municipalities understand transparency and public information to mean, and what role they believe the different subjects involved (government, opposition, and the public) should have. The websites of 605 Spanish councils with more than 100,000 inhabitants were analysed and three focus groups were held with political and technical leaders from a selection of sample councils. The results show that the technical and political leaders of the councils do not have a clear awareness of their function of management accountability or of the need to apply journalistic criteria to the information they publish, defending with nuances the use of propaganda criteria to focus on the actions of the local government, its information, the lack of space dedicated to public debate and the opposition’s actions. In relation to accountability and citizen participation, they have a negative view of citizens, who they describe as being disengaged. However, they emphasize that internally it is essential to continue improving in terms of the culture of transparency and the public information they provide citizens.

scholarly journals The Indonesia Public Information Disclosure Act (UU-KIP): Its Challenges and Responses

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muharman Lubis ◽  
Tien Fabrianti Kusumasari ◽  
Lukmanul Hakim
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Monopolistic Competition ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Public Information ◽  
National Development ◽  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
Public Institution ◽  
Deterrent Effect ◽  
Technology Infrastructure

Information Public Disclosure is one of the regulation that has purpose to encourage good governance for public service and citizen participation in national development. The enactment of Act No.14/2008 (UU KIP) has been strengthen the mandate to enforce the necessity of information disclosure in actualizing transparency and accountability in resource management and budget uses. It also become the primary instrument to prevent corruption, monopolistic competition and information disputes. However, there are certain provinces has not yet established information committee nor when it will be as entrusted by the regulation. Meanwhile, the remedies in term of jail duration and fines, arguably, it could not create deterrent effect to the perpetrator. Furthermore, the concern from ministry and public institution also in question in regard their roles of responsibility, lack of cooperation and continuous support. Thus, human resource, technology infrastructure, public participation, supervision and socialization become crucial factor to increase the awareness and satisfaction towards this regulatory compliance. This study is a qualitative research to evaluate the implementation of this Act by observing its consideration, background, principles and relevant article verses as primary sources through content analysis based on number of legal experts.

Mobile Participation

2013 ◽  
pp. 199-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Höffken ◽  
Bernd Streich
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Mobile Web Services ◽  
Mobile Web ◽  
Technical Developments ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
Low Threshold ◽  
Networked Society

Smartphones and tablet computers are becoming essential in everyday life, connecting us in a powerful network through mobile web services. They open new channels of communication between citizens, institutions and administrations, offer greater access to public information, and facilitate increased participation. These new forms of collaborative social interaction revolutionize our information and knowledge society. The chapter examines the new opportunities opened up by mobile phones for mParticipation in the context of urban planning processes. After beginning with a theoretical overview about technical developments, eParticipation and the changes in communication in a networked society, it defines the concept of mParticipation. This is followed by an examination of six real-world projects. These examples are then used for the identification of best practices and for the analysis of the usefulness and effectiveness of these new participatory tools. In addition, the chapter discusses the possibilities as well as the barriers to mobile participation, and makes recommendations for the use of smartphones in urban planning. mParticipation opens new channels of communication, creates new ways of gathering local information and has the chance for creating a low-threshold gateway for citizen participation in urban planning, by improving databases and giving instant feedback.

The Use and Management of Public Information in Social Media

2020 ◽  
pp. 321-336
Author(s):  
Inmaculada Sánchez-Labella Martín
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Full Advantage ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
City Councils ◽  
New Information ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Disaffection ◽  
Western Democracies

The increase of political disaffection in Spain, as is occurring in many western democracies across the world, coincides with a growing vindication of democracy on the part of the citizenry, which translates to a demand for more governmental transparency and access to information. With this in mind, this chapter explores the availability of information in local public administrations on social media. The study analyses the presence of town and city councils throughout Andalusia on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, examining how these media are managed and their effects, by studying the content and resources provided to the citizens for interacting with the institutions. The results revealed that although the selected councils tried to adopt these new information channels, they are still far from taking full advantage of the possibilities the new technologies could provide.

scholarly journals Modelos bidireccionales de relaciones públicas y comunicación municipal. Análisis de los portales de transparencia y participación ciudadana en los ayuntamientos de más de 10.000 habitantes de la Comunidad Valenciana

Tripodos ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 89-110
Author(s):  
María Pilar Paricio ◽  
Teresa Bruno-Carlos ◽  
Hugo Aznar
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Communication Analysis ◽  
City Councils ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The City

La información y la comunicación de las instituciones públicas es un deber hacia la ciudadanía y un derecho de la misma. Las legislaciones sobre transparencia y participación han propiciado la creación de portales que deben ser herramien­tas clave en el desarrollo de modelos de relaciones públicas bidireccionales que faciliten la participación ciudada­na. La investigación analiza los portales de transparencia y participación de los ayuntamientos de la Comunidad Valen­ciana con objeto de comprobar si po­tencian el diálogo y la participación. Se realiza un análisis de contenido catego­rial siguiendo la metodología del Mapa Infoparticipa, estableciendo variables de análisis y categorías focalizados en los indicadores relacionados con la bidirec­cionalidad en transparencia y participa­ción. Se observa un cumplimiento bajo tanto en indicadores unidireccionales (67% suspenden) como bidireccionales (56% suspenden). Se concluye una con­vivencia de modelos unidireccionales y bidireccionales de relaciones públicas en los ayuntamientos valencianos respecto a la transparencia y participación ciuda­dana. El tamaño del municipio afecta al cumplimiento de indicadores tanto uni­direccionales como bidireccionales. En relación a los bidireccionales, el fomento de la participación es superior al de la trasparencia en los municipios de mayor tamaño, lo que podría relacionarse con una mayor presencia de modelos bidirec­cionales. Bidirectional Models of Public Relations and Municipal Communication. Analysis of the Portals of Transparency and Citizen Participation in the Municipalities of More Than 10,000 Inhabitants of the Valencian CommunityInformation and communication from public institutions is a duty towards ci­tizenship and also a citizenship right. Legislation on transparency and partici­pation has led to the creation of portals that should be key tools in the develo­pment of bidirectional public relations models that facilitate citizens’ partici­pation. The research analyzes the por­tals of transparency and participation of the city councils of the Valencian Com­munity in order to probe whether they enhance dialogue and participation. An analysis of categorical content is carried out following the methodology of Mapa Infoparticipa, establishing variables of analysis and categories focused on the indicators related to bidirectionality in transparency and citizens’ partici­pation. Compliance is observed under both unidirectional (67% fail to com­ply) and bidirectional (56% fail to com­ply) indicators. We conclude that there is a coexistence between unidirectional and bidirectional models of public rela­tions in the Valencian city councils, and transparency and citizen participation. The size of the municipality affects the compliance of both unidirectional and bidirectional indicators. With regard to bidirectional indicators, the promotion of participation is higher than that of transparency in larger municipalities, which could be related to a greater pre­sence of bidirectional models.Palabras clave: modelos relaciones pú­blicas, comunicación municipal, trans­parencia, participación, web.Key words: public relations models, mu­nicipal communication, transparency, participation, web.

Citizen Participation and Digital Town Hall Meeting

2011 ◽  
pp. 1515-1521
Author(s):  
Donald P. Moynihan
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Public Hearing ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Centralized Control ◽  
Town Hall ◽  
Town Hall Meeting ◽  
Public Hearings ◽  
The Government

If part of the promise of digital government is to enable citizens and businesses to enjoy greater convenience in their interaction with government, another goal is to revitalize democracy itself. A decline in civic engagement between citizens has been noted in society (Putnam, 1993) while citizen distrust of political institutions is on the rise (King & Stivers, 1998). Both trends do not augur well for democracy. Democratic theorists and public administration scholars have argued that one way to reverse these trends is to foster greater citizen participation in public decisions. Why is participation so important that B. Guy Peters (1996) points to it as one of the four main alternatives for the future of governance? Participation is justified as a normative right, a contributor to better public decisions, and an enabler of higher social capital. One broad rationale underlying greater participation the rise of postmodern values among citizens, characterized by both a distrust of formal institutions such as government and political parties, and a desire for more participatory democracies (Inglehart, 1997). Societal changes, particularly increased education, lead to a greater demand for involvement and access to information (Thomas, 1995). Access to information is facilitated by new technologies. Citizens therefore enjoy both the will and the means to break the monopoly and centralized control on public information enjoyed by the government (Cleveland, 1985). Participation is also justified in terms of benefits to individual citizens and society more broadly. Any form of citizenship beyond simple legal status requires active citizen involvement in public matters and the community (Cooper, 1984). Participation serves to establish the worth of individual citizens, allowing them to feel a sense of ownership and take an active part in controlling their surroundings and developing their capacity to act as citizens. The process of public deliberation also benefits society by creating democratic legitimacy and a deliberative political culture (Habermas, 1996). One basic barrier to enhanced citizen participation is the nature of bureaucracy itself. Barber (1986) has argued that government has become a form of “representative bureaucracy” that undermines individual responsibility for beliefs, values, and actions, and is incompatible with freedom since it delegates and alienates political will. The values of bureaucracy are based on expertise and qualifications, conflicting with democratic values that underpin the idea of participation. Citizens are defined as non-expert outsiders who may have to be listened to, but are likely to have little actual impact on decisions. This is reflected in the failings of traditional modes of citizen participation. Subject to particular ire is the town hall meeting/public hearing mode of participation. King, Fetley, and Susel (1998, p. 323) say: “The most ineffective technique is the public hearing. Public hearings do not work.” Such meetings can be poorly attended and dominated by elite, non-representative groups (Fox & Miller, 1996). Hearings are often timed late in the decision process, used to convince citizens of pre-made decisions rather than gain their input, and provide no opportunity for an iterative dialogue. They have also been critiqued for fostering self-interested claims rather than concern with the general welfare of the citizenry and deemed unsuitable to foster choices between policy tradeoffs. Citizens attending public hearings tend to have little background information on issues, often leading to poorly informed opinions about policy and the working of government (Ebdon, 2002). Can the problems of the traditional town hall meeting be solved through a more digital approach? Yes and no. As this article will show, digital town hall meetings, if well organized, can enable a large and diverse group of citizens to engage in an intelligent iterative dialogue with each other and with elected officials. However, whether this input ends up shaping governmental decisions still rests largely in the hands of public officials.

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