| Abstract [eng] |
The master's thesis analyzes citizens' e-participation in the context of the digital transformation of public governance. Digital transformation has become a policy priority of the European Union, and the European Commission has emphasized the need for a people-centered digital strategy that ensures a fair, competitive and transparent digital economy. The European Parliament emphasizes the importance of digital transformation in improving public services, promoting transparency, and increasing citizen participation. Digital transformation in the public sector requires new forms of cooperation, new services, and new forms of interaction between citizens and government institutions. It is also necessary to develop new skills and competencies of public officials. Effective digital transformation in the public sector can increase transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement, contributing to better governance and higher-quality public services. Digital transformation leads to inevitable changes in public governance, including the necessity of developing e-participation at various levels. The aim of the study is to reveal the e-participation of citizens in the context of the digital transformation of public governance in local government by conceptualizing and empirically justifying a hypothetical model of e-participation in this context. The thesis consists of three parts: theoretical, methodological, and empirical. In the theoretical part of the thesis, the definition of e-participation is conceptualized, e-participation levels and measures are identified, the legal regulation of e-participation, the concept of public governance and the reasons for change are analyzed. The concepts and levels of digital transformation and digital transformation of public governance are revealed. A hypothetical model of citizens' e-participation in the context of digital transformation of public governance is formed. The methodological part justifies the chosen research methodology, presents, and justifies the chosen research methods, their application and organization. The ethics of the research are defined. A qualitative research strategy was chosen to conduct the research and qualitative research methods were used. The methods of scientific literature analysis, document analysis and partially structured interviews were used to collect data. The results of the research and the formed hypothetical model have close links with each other. The empirical part also identifies findings that have been added to the model. The results of the document analysis show that although e-participation is being developed in eight Lithuanian municipalities, its development and level of effectiveness vary. This shows that Lithuanian municipalities should pay more attention to both the implementation of technologies and the increase of the digital literacy of residents, which is considered one of the biggest obstacles to the development of e-participation. During the semi-structured interview, methods that can promote e-participation were revealed, such as digital literacy training, provision of tools, incentives and awards for citizen activity. This is influenced by the main challenges posed by civil society and government: insufficient involvement of residents, lack of digital literacy, lack of necessary tools, resistance of older residents to technologies, distrust of the security of e-systems, restrictions of the legal framework for the public sector, lack of human resources, lack of staff competence development, limited budget, lack of leadership. The results of the study show that so far municipalities are trying to implement e-participation, develop mechanisms and tools, but the potential has not yet been exploited. |
