The Democratic Participation of Local Governments: A Survey on Italian Local Governments Web Sites

The present chapter aims to investigate to what extent the use of ICT tools facilitates the transparency and democratic participation of the medium and large-size Italian local governments. In particular, the chapter intends to discuss whether the use of ICT makes local governments more transparent and, finally, observes if the transparency achieved through ICT facilitates the participation of citizens in the decision-making processes of local governments. Results highlight that the most widespread reports are those compulsory by law, while the documents not explicitly required are still rarely published. Moreover, the findings reveal an adequate diffusion of democratic participation tools. The use of ICT has enhanced the level of transparency that, in turn facilitates the participation of citizens in the decision-making processes of local governments