Community and inclusion: The impact of new communications technologies

Can new information and communications technologies increase citizen participation in civic life and promote community development? Worldwide studies of community information systems demonstrate that new technologies can enhance the effectiveness of activists, However, there has been little evidence that they bring in new participants. This article argues that e-government systems can, if properly designed and implemented, involve citizens who have not previously been active in local community life, and describes an Irish pilot project which has this capacity. The success of such systems depends not only on design issues, but also on the willingness of government to respond to the resulting policy inputs by citizens.