Public Policies on eParticipation in Austria

Abstract

<i>In: Macintosh, A.; Tambouris, E. (Hrsg.), Electronic Participation (First International Conference on eParticipation [ePart] 2009) In Reihe: Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) #5694; Linz: Springer, S. 24-35</i><br>This paper assesses the status of eParticipation within the political system in Austria. It takes a top-down perspective focusing on the role of public participation and public policies on eParticipation. The status of eParticipation in Austria as well as of social and political trends regarding civic participation and its electronic embedding are analysed. The results show a remarkable recent increase of eParticipation projects and initiatives. A major conclusion is that eParticipation is becoming a subject of public policies in Austria; however, the upswing of supportive initiatives for public participation and eParticipation goes together with ambivalent attitudes among politicians and administration.