The Use of Web Services for Inclusive Decision Process: Towards the Enhancement of E-Democracy

For decades, attempts have been made to use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to improve citizen participation in governance and public policy. This paper focuses on the real experiences of citizens and of the services provided by web sites to make Internet a more effective democratic tool for the interaction between Public Administrations and citizens. We argue that adequate public decision will often require the active participation of the citizens in the decision making process. This article focuses on the case study of the web sites of the Italian regional governments who have agreed to take part in the DE.CI.DI. project which aims put into practice e-democracy in provincial Public Administration. The project aims to promote and increase the participation of citizens in public decisions. We have assessed the level of e-democracy develop-ments based on four different dimensions: transparency, interactivity, usability and web site maturity. We conclude that the spreading use of Internet has raised expectations that it may be used to encourage a more direct citizen engagement and modify the ways in which public decisions are taken, however those expectations have not been fully met yet.