Accountability and monitoring government in the digital era: Promise, realism and research for digital-era governance

Abstract

Furthering the accountability of elected governments and the public administration apparatus which serves them is a fundamental principle of democratic societies. Over the last fifty years, there have been significant debates about how to operationalize and balance the principles of accountability in our federal governance system. The emergence and proliferation of Web 2.0 capabilities and advocates for their use in government has led to new rounds of experimentation, initiatives and reform under the banner of Government 2.0 in many jurisdictions. This article surveys the Canadian and international literature on accountability in the digital era, including contributions from scholars with interests in information technology, transparency and digital culture, to identify whether Canada is lagging or leading international contributions in this area. It sets out a research agenda inspired by the concepts of interactive, dynamic, and citizen-initiated accountability (Schillemans, Van Twist, and Vanhommerig).