Open government alignment for effective e-participation

Abstract

The introduction of electronic-participation initiatives in a form of involving community in various countries yielded positive results as compared to traditional mechanisms; more people are engaging government departments on various matters using technology. The South African government has implemented such initiatives to allow citizens to engage with various government departments. This study seeks to explore and discuss open government alignment for effective e-participation in South Africa. Despite these initiatives by government, there is not enough literature detailing the extent alignment of open government for e-participation by its citizens. The study utilised institutional theory as a lens as it describes the normative, cognitive and the normative environment which captures the setting of government appropriately. A purposive sample of employees at the BCMM were chosen. An interpretive inductive qualitative case study was the method selected to discover the alignment of open government initiatives within the government ecosystem in South Africa. Data was collected using interviews and with specific emphasis on government operating models that are supportive of open government initiatives, government mechanisms that enable effective strategic alignment of open government initiatives. To uncover specific subjects within the transcribed interviews, thematic and content analysis were used to examine the data that had been gathered. Identified themes infer that South African government still utilises traditional mechanisms to engage citizens. The information posted in government websites are reports meant to inform the public about what had happen in previous financial years but there isn’t much participation from citizens. The study concludes that there is a lot of work that needs to be done to get government ready to fully support its citizens towards active citizenry A practical contribution from this study is that the South African government can adopt e-participation tools that seeks to connect the ordinary citizens with government administrators. Theoretically institutional theory captured the complex nature of the government environment. The use of an interpretive qualitative case study captured the entire picture of how the alignment of open government initiatives with a government department happen.