Adoption is not enough: Institutionalization of e-participation initiatives

This study investigates the institutionalization of e-participation initiatives in six European countries – Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland and Spain – using a multiple case study. The following research questions are addressed: How have recently established e-participation initiatives been institutionalized in public administrations? What are the formal and informal aspects of their institutionalization? It is concluded that the adoption of a digital solution does not in itself trigger a change in the policy-making process because the institutionalization of e-participation is not a linear process. The formal institutionalization increases the sustainability, transparency and throughput legitimacy of e-participation and allows citizen proposals to be handled in a standardized way. Although the formal institutionalization of e-participation is key for an institutional change towards deliberative democracy, it needs to be accompanied by informal institutionalization through the supporting ideas, values and preferences of politicians and public officials who have the power to change public institutions