Towards participatory e-government?: Learning from e-government project evaluations

Abstract

The question is whether citizens are sufficiently involved in the development of the facilities used to support e-Government, so they can safeguard the quality of these facilities. It is a relevant issue, as the projects in which these facilities are created often provide insufficient functionality. Based on a sample test, we selected evaluation reports of such projects and studied them based on a perceptual framework. It turns out that e-Government projects have been poorly evaluated and thereby governed. The evaluation governance instruments did not include any participative role of stakeholders. Principles of modern public administration theories are not sufficiently visible within the government in this regard. The quality can be improved substantially by involving representatives of industry and professional organizations, and by introducing co-creation before, during and after completion of projects, as well as during the corresponding evaluations and reflections.