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Columbus, OH - 4 March 2004
Charles Kaylor, principal of the Public Sphere Information Group, presented some of the most recent data from the Municipality eGovernment Assessment Project (MeGAP) at a recent conference sponsored by the Knowlton School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Ohio State University.
The goal of the event, E-governance: Creating on-line citizen participation tools, "feature[d] experts from across the United States and...include[d] demonstrations of the latest tools available, case studies of communities who have successfully used online resources to engage citizens, and discussions of the technical challenges of on-line participation tools."
Kaylor discussed the progress of the largest cities in the United States at providing participation opportunities to their constituents. The progress was measured utilizing the most recent (Wave 3) MeGAP data that is currently being released by the PSI Group.
Some general findings:
- Even large US cities are doing very little to encourage public participation via their official websites.
- Smaller cities and towns are doing even less.
- In fact, an enormous percentage of smaller cities and towns have no official web presence still, suggesting a big and growing gap between small and larger communities.
Kaylor reported exciting new data from over 29 cities and towns that currently constitute the Wave 3 MeGAP analysis (soon to be followed by the release of data for all US cities over 100,000). The presentation provides a snapshot of current egovernment "best practices" among leading edge innovators.
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