The Workload for the Structural Implementation of eDemocracy: Local Government Policy Issues Combined With the Policy Cycle and Styles of Citizenship.

Today, governmental bodies in many countries acknowledge ICT applications to be powerful tools for increasing involvement of citizens in public policy-making, and as such a sound investment in better public policy (OECD 2003: 9). Within the Dutch governmental bodies a study by Prof. Dr. Kickert (2005:10) has shown that these ICT developments also demand an optimal public service. Furthermore citizens are inclined to participate more often if governments use digital tools, because of their (usability) speed and comfort (Beffers & Van den Brink, 2007). The last decade the Dutch governmental bodies have become increasingly aware of the possibilities of ICT applications and the growing digital behaviour of its citizens. To prepare the next phase of large scale and structural implementation of eDemocracy, the size and range of that task must be researched. This paper describes research conducted at the municipality of The Hague (The Netherlands). It was aimed to determine how many political issues lend itself to e-democratic support. The research then categorized the issues using the policy cycle (agenda-setting, preparation, determination, execution, monitoring and evaluation) and styles of citizenship (dutiful, pragmatic and society critic). Some results of the research: During the course of 3 years the city council and its committees treated 1834 issues. Of these, 69% were treated by the city council committees and 31% by the city council itself. 78% of issues could be categorised within the policy making process. According to the styles of citizenship, citizens are most likely to participate when issues directly relate to their personal environment (pragmatic), as well as issues concerning the qualitative functionality of the local government (society critic). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]