The Scottish Parliament and e-democracy
Purpose - To describe the initiatives of the Scottish Parliament in the field of e-democracy and assess the prospects for future developments. Design/methodology/approach - Analysis and review. Findings - The Scottish Parliament has always seen the internet as one of the major mechanisms for engaging Scottish citizens in the Parliament's business and activities. Its most successful initiatives have been the e-petitioning system, the webcasting of proceedings, the discussion forums and the MSP video diaries. Research limitations/implications - Relevant to parliaments and other representative institutions. Practical implications - Simple implementable tools are described that have been shown to be effective. Originality/value - Few parliaments have been able to put theory into practice in a short time. Applicable to other small parliaments with limited resources wishing to enhance democratic participation by electronic means.
parliament internet democracy scotland citizen participation