Increasing citizen participation in e-participatory budgeting processes

In this paper, we explore ways of creating and strengthening e-democracy on the local government level by means of e-participatory budgeting projects. Having analyzed the existing realm of work on e-democracy values and outputs, we attempt to structure and delineate them by designing a theoretical framework. Its goal is to acquire an understanding of what features are required to generate relevance and participation in the projects. To test the validity of the framework, a case study of one of the Estonian local government e-participatory budgeting projects is selected for analysis. Additionally, the aspects and role of information systems are investigated that enhance digital transformation, decision-making processes, engagement of citizens, and public servants in the context of e-democracy.