Project Context and objectives

eParticipate provides an open integrated standard web-based network & gateway of existing “best of breed” applications (called Public-i) to enable public bodies to implement and benefit from a range of eParticipation tools to broaden the participation of citizens in the democratic process. The eParticipate methodology focuses on the need for clear, accessible, informative and transparent communication as a foundation for eParticipation. By using coherent methods to inform citizens and explain the issues, they are being equipped to get involved in local decision making. eParticipate uses this model to provide tools to support democratic renewal in three main areas (a) Transparent & accessible communication, (b) Getting representation online, and (c) Extending consultation. The core eParticipate platform centres on multimedia webcasting however in a manner which informs and encourages engagement with a viewer. This is achieved through the inclusion of key contextual information & provision of feedback facilities combined with other communication tools such as on-line consultation. eParticipate thus promotes greater public involvement in local decision making and enhances the representative role of Local Councillors in their community through the use of ICT. Based on Market Validation results, the project has initially deployed the service to 10 very different Municipalities in 8 key EU Member States across Europe (Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Slovakia, Spain and UK). Each Local Authority provides live and archived Internet webcasts of local Municipal meetings and other local community events. Citizens can view these broadcast on-line at any time and place and interact as they chose. A network of European and National User Groups has been established, & a series of Dissemination Workshops undertaken. The ‘clever’ thing about the eParticipate platform is not the webcasting element, but that it automatically displays critical contextual information such as speaker names, titles / affiliations, agenda items, meeting documentation, presentations and polls / surveys or consultations. The system has been specifically designed to enable Local Authorities to manage their own webcasting without the need for specialist staff or infrastructure.

Services to be offered

eParticipate is based on the UK service, Public-i. Its innovative aspects are the integration of “best of breed” components, and that each of the Public-i tools from which it derives, has a multimedia element which makes them immediately engaging and accessible to the public. With the vast majority of citizens choosing to view rather than read information multimedia tools such as webcasting are the best means available for communicating key messages and involving the public.

The growing list of tools includes:

Webcasting Service

We can help you deliver professional, accessible webcasts as part of your communications Strategy. We have unprecedented experience in working with local government organisations throughout Europe and have developed our services and products in response to the specific needs of the sector.
The provision of webcasting systems enables you to create and manage content yourself. We have a proven methodology to support you through the planning, launch and promotion of the webcasting service.
More Information: www.public-i.info/webcasting.php

Multimedia discussion forums (Viewfinder)

Message boards enable communities of people to share opinions and discuss ideas with other users. The usual setup means that anyone visiting the discussion board can view content but you need to be registered and logged in in order to post any messages. Host organisations can moderate content to an appropriate degree and basic statistics will be available. The key difference with the multimedia discussion board is the use of video, audio and still images.
Users can choose any of these media in order to contribute content – enabling a far richer level of interaction. Viewfinder can be used for either general or specific discussions – or targeted at specific audience groups such as 16-18 year olds. Discussions are ‘seeded’ with short video clips outlining the consultation issue and then responses are encouraged through on and off line marketing work. Marketing support is included as part of the product, and outreach work with audience groups can also take place. The Content Management system includes reporting tools which makes it simple to create ‘digest’ reports and to provide feedback on conversation.

ePetitioning Facility

Bristol City Council and Public-i Group Ltd, with support from the International Teledemocracy Centre (http://itc.napier.ac.uk/) at Napier University, have launched a new open source e-Petitioning tool specifically designed for Local Government.

• There is an integrated workflow within the system that tracks the progress of the petition through all its stages and enables council officers to track and report on petitions at each stage.
• The system can manage both online and offline petitions which means it can provide a single administration interface for officers
• The system is designed to integrate with other eDemocracy tools such as webcasting or discussion forums, which means it can be part of a full eDemocracy strategy.

Web / video magazine facilities

Video magazines are a simple yet effective tool to enable organisations to add video content into their communications mix without needing to effect a major website re-design. Video magazines are extremely effective at reaching niche audiences and can be used both internally and externally to communicate with specific groups. The tool can also be used to provide a front page to individual campaigns or consultations.
Content is obviously the biggest element to a project like this and the Public-i video magazine product can support a number of different content creation scenarios:

• Live content capture
• Talking head content
• Simple short films
• Complex video projects

Areas of deployment

eParticipate is an Initial Deployment of the service to 10 Municipalities in 8 key EU Member States, as a follow-on from the very successful Market Validation of the eParticipation multimedia platform that was developed for local eGovernment in the UK. Each Local Authority is providing live and archived Internet webcasts of local Municipal meetings, and other local community events. Citizens can view these broadcasts on-line at any time and interact as they choose. The project is evaluating service operation in each region and developing sustainable deployment revenue models by working with local Business Partners.

The project began by setting up the consortium management structures, documenting an Initial Deployment Plan with the initial deployment procedures and operational evaluation process. This has been followed by customisation of the platform in a phased basis to the additional languages (Danish, Czech, French and Italian) in addition to the platform’s existing English, Slovakian and Spanish. The project and its Initial Deployment trials will prove the potential of the platform scale-up and customisation as a Trans-European Network. The Deployment Plans include identification of further Business Partners to achieve a successful and sustainable trans-European deployment of the eParticipate Platform.

Impact

The immediate impact of the project will be on 1.9M citizens in 8 Member States across the EU, while the longer-term impact of eParticipate will be to establish the critical importance of the eParticipation services in the success of all eGovernment initiatives whilst enabling any EU Local Authority to readily implement the proven solutions based on an established best practise methodology. The impact of the Trans-European deployment of the eParticipate platform will be to directly encourage Democratic Renewal & facilitate Citizen Engagement in the initial 8 local regions of the initial deployment, and eventually to 100 such regions across the EU within 2 years of its market deployment, after the end of this project.

The specific benefits will be:

1. Activate Democratic Renewal and increased Citizen Engagement across Europe.
   • 25% increase in citizen participation in local democratic activities in 8 local authority regions across the EU.
   • 50 Local Authorities committed to using the service.
2. Demonstration of viable regional deployment models
   • Operation of a localised service in each territory
   • An European User Group of Local Authority Users
3. Deployment of the eParticipate service across Europe
   • Trans European Business & Deployment Plan
   • Initial Network of committed Local Business Partners

Future perspectives

eParticipate aims to ultimately increase democratic renewal and citizen engagement.
The major outcome of the project will be a Trans-European Business/Deployment Plan, a reference group of Trans-European Local Authority Users and a Network of Business Partners ready to deploy the eParticipate Platform across Europe, based on a convincing initial deployment that demonstrates its inherent assumptions.
The impact of the Trans-European deployment of the eParticipate platform will be to directly encourage Democratic Renewal & facilitate Citizen Engagement in the initial 8 local regions of the initial deployment, and eventually to 100 such regions across the EU within 2 years of its market deployment, after the end of this project

Duration of the Project

The project will last from March 2007 to September 2009

Funding source

Public funding EU

Project size

Implementation: €5,000,000-10,000,000

Yearly cost: €1,000,000-5,000,000

Links

• Website
• eTEN portal
• ePractice portal

Themes

• eParticipation
• eDemocracy
• Webcasting  

Contacts: