Citizen participation and e-government

Realities and perspectives

Abstract

The article focuses on citizen participation intended to be implemented through the electronic portal of the government of Nariño, called GANA. The aim is to know the progress of civil participation through electronic government portals considering four dimensions: information, interaction, inclusion and control. The paper examines the e-portal’s design in terms of civil participation and the expectations of designers, collaborators and users. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted to achieve that aim. The results reveal that the design corresponds in general to the informative dimension, except for some digital tools, such as Open Justice, where Law students offer virtual legal advice, and the GANA Municipales tool, which sometimes provides means of interaction, enabling popular vote for community projects.