Development methods and support environments to build eParticipation tools

Abstract

The present document represents a study into how to design and build eParticipation tools. For this purpose, the main tool categories that are integrated in the different phases of the policy cycle are determined and assessed in the context of three main issues: (i) the different political participation channels that may be implemented, (ii) the types of engagement that should be supported and (iii) the stage within the policy-making process that they should be included. Furthermore, the key criteria for the design of those tools are also identified. These criteria focus on the main goals and the stakeholders involved, the development phase of the tool, the management of the service that is provided by the tool, the integration of the service into its organizational and political context and the evaluation process. Finally, the relevant existing development methodologies for eParticipation tools are also described and analyzed. The methodologies are grouped in three different categories according to whether they focus on the software (software-centred approach), the users (citizen-centred approach), or the participation process (governance-centred approach).