On the Effectiveness of Electronic Platforms of Citizen Participation in Public Administration

Information and communication technologies have been increasingly used to involve citizens in the government decision-making process. Given high costs associated with the development and maintenance of the electronic platforms, the eff ectiveness of such projects has not been frequently assessed. The article discusses theoretical approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of e-participation projects, suggests criteria and methodology for conducting such evaluations, and provides the results of Activniy grazhdanin [Active Citizen] platform evaluation based on the analysis of the reports published in 2014-2016. On the one hand the study attempts to respond to the public administration changes in Russia where the number of electronic platforms (and costs respectively) is increasing given the insufficient public importance of the topics under discussion (according to public interests). On the other hand, the study aims to develop a methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of the new form of public participation projects. The article concludes that in order for e-platforms to be an effective tool for government decision-making process the platforms not only have to consider advanced technical parameters and high level of public involvement, but also sufficient public interest of the topics under discussion. Perhaps, at a minimum, consideration of these three factors is required to ensure e-platforms effectiveness. This conclusion may provide the basis for developing an evaluation methodology applicable by the government. In this way the present research provides basis for local governments benchmarking, since there is no similar study concerning Russia.