Evolution of e-participation in Greek local government

Local governments are increasingly developing electronic participation initiatives, expecting citizen involvement in local community affairs Our objective was to assess e-participation and the extent of its change in local government in Greece Using content analysis for 325 Greek municipal websites, we assessed e-participation status in 2017 and 2018 and examined the impact of change between these years The assessment regards two consecutive years since the adoption of digital technologies by municipalities has been rapid The main findings show that Greek local governments have made significant small- to medium-scale changes, in order to engage citizens and local societies electronically We conclude that the integration of advanced digital technologies in municipalities remains underdeveloped We propose that Greek municipalities need to consider incorporating new technologies, such as mobile apps, social media and big data, as well as e-decision making processes, in order to eliminate those obstacles that hinder citizen engagement in local government Moreover, the COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the need for enhancing e-participation and policymakers’ coordination through advanced digital technologies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Information Polity: The International Journal of Government & Democracy in the Information Age is the property of IOS Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )