ACTIVITIES :: eTen :: Projects :: Projects of the Month :: eParticipate
April 2006 Project of the Month: eParticipate
The eParticipation Trans-European Network for Democratic Renewal & Citizen Engagement
Issues being addressed
eParticipate is a Market Validation project to develop a sustainable trans-European Deployment Plan of a multimedia platform that has been developed and proven in the UK. eParticipate provides an open integrated standard web-based network and gateway of existing "best of breed" applications (called Public-i) that enable public bodies to implement and benefit from a full range of eParticipation tools that broaden the participation of citizens in the democratic process, in line with eTEN, eEurope eGovernment and i2010 objectives.
eParticipation begins with open and transparent communication between government and the citizen delivered in a way that is accessible to individuals meeting their increasing needs – ‘anytime, anyhow, anywhere’. The eParticipate platform centres on multimedia webcasting supported by the inclusion of key contextual information and feedback facilities combined with other communication tools such as on-line consultation.
The project is trialling the service at 4 very different European Municipalities across Europe; Getafe in Spain, Fingal in Ireland, Vrutky in Slovakia and Waverley in the UK. Each site is providing live and archived Internet webcasts of local Municipal meetings and other local events, allowing citizens to view them on-line at any time and place, supported by additional information and facilities.
Objectives of the project
The key output of the project will be a successful operational platform running in the four European regional sites, generating a quantifiable increase in citizen participation with their local democratic institutions.
| Objective | Target | |
| 1 | Activate Democratic Renewal & increased Citizen Engagement across Europe. |
25% increase in citizen participation in local democratic activities & interactions
(a) 4 very different local authority regions across the EU (b) 100 local authority regions across the EU within 3 years of its subsequent market deployment. |
| 2 | Characterise the eParticipation Market across Europe | Quantify eParticipation Market in all EU Member States. |
| 3 | Validate the eParticipation Trans-European Network. | Evaluation of Platform across 4 Local Authority contexts & countries. |
| 4 | Plan to deploy the eParticipate Platform across Europe Initial Business Plan |
Initial Business Plan Final Business & Deployment Plan, & Partners. |
Services
The eParticipate platform anchors itself in the Public-i webcasting services.
The Public–i suite enables the creation and transmission of rich multimedia content either live or on demand over the Internet by the Local Authority themselves. The directness and transparency of video is preserved; there is no need for any post-production or editing and webcasts are automatically archived. The system requires little more than a few clicks of a mouse to select a meeting and begin webcasting
However audio and video alone are not enough to make multimedia an effective communication tool. The content is supported and contextualized using features such as:
- Names and biographical details about the current speaker and meeting attendees
- Links to supporting information and relevant documents
- Index points to enable the viewer to jump to the content they are most interested in cast encoding from your source footage
- Synchronised PowerPoint slides
- Ability to create vox pops and surveys
- Transcription and translation
- Customisable pause messages if the meeting is interrupted
- Help section to support and guide viewers
- Immediate access to statistics
Achievements
The eParticipate system is localised and customised, has had high profile launches and is now in operational use by citizens at 4 European Local Authority partners:
- Waverley Borough Council, United Kingdom,
- Fingal County Council, Republic of Ireland,
- Ayuntamiento de Getafe, Spain,
- Vrútky City Hall , Slovakia.
Expected benefits by the end of the project
The partner Local Authorities are using the platform to revitalize the relationship with their citizens through giving them full transparent access to their democratic process.
The partners
Reference Data
http://www.eparticipate.org
Contract Type: Market Validation
Start Date: March 2005
End Date: August 2006
Duration: 18 Months
Contact: J.oflaherty@mac.ie