DELIBERATIVE POLICYMAKING DURING COVID-19: The case of Taiwan

Abstract

The vTaiwan platform originated from the g0v (“government zero”) movement of civic technologists in 2012 and is known for enhancing transparency and inclusive policymaking in Taiwan. In particular, vTaiwan has adopted four stages in the engagement process with the aid of new technologies, namely the brainstorm, preference expression, deliberation, and implementation. When COVID-19 struck, the government in Taiwan had to quickly modify policy guidelines to deal with the deadly virus. A few effective policies and guidelines have now been established through vTaiwan, such as the Long-Distance Health Care Policy, Long-Distance Education, Crowdfunding, and other regulatory processes for online commerce. Lessons from the vTaiwan case about trust-building, technology adoption, co-defining the policy agenda, and getting public officials on board are discussed.