Socio-technical systems for citizen empowerment: how to mediate between different expectations and levels of participation in the design of civic apps
by Naomi Bueno De Mesquita; Nazli Cila; Maarten Groen; Wouter Meys
International Journal of Electronic Governance (IJEG), Vol. 10, No. 2, 2018

Abstract: In the context of the participation society, roles and expectations of citizens and municipalities are vastly changing. While designers explore the potentials of apps to empower citizens, municipalities are interested in data dashboards - accompanied by applications and platforms - to increase civic participation in public (space) issues. Due to diverse levels of data-literacy and expectations regarding the use of civic apps, more scrutiny is needed when it comes to claims of empowerment. This paper departs from the premise that designers often deal with disappointments in the balance of investment and participation span due to a lack of knowledge about underlying mechanisms. Relevant criteria are discussed through reflecting on two civic apps that were designed by the authors and analysing prominent existing civic apps that have citizen empowerment as their objective. By laying these out in a taxonomy the paper aims to examine why and where discrepancies occur in expectations and levels of participation.

Online publication date: Mon, 06-Aug-2018

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Electronic Governance (IJEG):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com