A survey of civic engagement tools and capabilities of city and county government web sites

Abstract

Innovations in web technology have the potential to help city and county governments improve their delivery of services and engage local communities in governance. Using civic engagement theories and best practices of online civic engagement, this research project audits 100 local government sites for their civic engagement capabilities. Results indicate that most cities and county governments place a heavy emphasis on using their websites to streamline delivery of services and little effort in promoting citizen participation and democracy. Building on Musso’s model that distinguishes between managerial versus democratic models of engagement for government websites, we suggest a civic engagement model for local governments that goes beyond service delivery and emphasizes the participation of citizens in the local democratic process.