Online platforms of public participation -- a deliberative democracy or a delusion?
This research addresses the problem of low trust in democratic institutions and unresolved complex issues for city administrators and politicians, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing digital participation tools.
The paper investigates whether online public participation platforms like 'Decide Madrid' and 'Better Reykjavik' enhance citizen involvement in decision-making or merely replicate existing digital tools, finding that successful platforms require deliberative democracy features such as knowledge co-production and collective intelligence.
Trust and confidence in democratic institutions is at an all-time low. At the same time, many of the complex issues faced by city administrators and politicians remain unresolved. To tackle these concerns, many argue that citizens should, through the use of digital platforms, have greater involvement in decision-making processes. This paper describes research into two such platforms, 'Decide Madrid' and 'Better Reykjavik'. Through the use of interviews, questionnaires, ethnographic observation, and analysis of platform data, the study will determine if these platforms provide greater participation or simply replicate what is already offered by numerous other digital tools. The findings so far suggest that to be successful platforms must take on a form of deliberative democracy, allowing for knowledge co-production and the emergence of collective intelligence. Based on this, we aim to identify key features of sustainable models of online participation.