Implementing e-Participation in Africa: What Roles Can Public Officials Play?

Whilst there are many new opportunities for using emerging technology to enhance citizen engagement with government decision-making, there are still challenges using existing technologies and many failed initiatives, especially in Africa. These failures are often put down to a mismatch in culture and values, between the local African context and technologies developed in other parts of the world, and between the agile openness of digital initiatives and the bureaucratic practices of public officials. Unfortunately, little is known about the specific roles public officials do or could play in e-participation implementation, how these roles are shaped by distinctive values, and the extent to which these values may conflict or, possibly, complement each other. This paper presents results from a desktop analysis of e-participation projects, largely from the African continent, and shows how a diversity of public official roles and values would be necessary to support the realisation of e-participation outcomes. From legal specialists developing guidelines to comply with personal data protection legislation, to communications officials learning how to moderate social media conversations and technology developers exploring new ways of verifying online identity.