Report on state of the art approaches, relevant disciplines , key researchers, and socio-technical research issues

Abstract

This document gives an extensive overview of socio-technical e-Participation research in Europe. A basic conceptual map is provided illustrating eight distinct areas of this research field with “offerings of eparticipation” and “usage of e-participation tools” in the core and “socio-economic context” and “technological pool” at the periphery. The map is the framework to locate the consortium’s and the individual partners’ sociotechnical research in the form of research questions, topics and attributes. Addressees of the work are mainly administrations, the scientific community and political bodies rather than institutions of the civil society or companies. Additionally, results and outputs in the form for instance of concepts or prototypes are compiled. Furthermore research approaches are listed and explained. An “approach” in this context is a conceptual framework to receive answers to the question “how to clarify an issue”; it is addressing at least one issue related to a specific type of participation by applying at least one research method and one relavant theory. Most approaches described are focussing on the research field from several disciplines between social theories and technical sciences. Research within the network is based on a comprehensive combination of theoretical approaches ranging from social theories, political and organizational theories, cultural and communication studies to computing sciences. Besides common methods such as interviews and surveys also innovative and creative methods are developed or applied as for instance in computer supported argument visualisation and workflow-analysis based upon an interoperability approach. Socio-technical research in Europe lacks theoretical foundations for e-participation and therefore a critical question is the relation between ‘applied’ and ‘basic’ research activity. There is also a lack of commonly agreed boundaries to its domain of enquiry; and efficient methods to evaluate the real impact of (e-)participation activities on communities, societies and democracy that all are still at an early stage of development.