e-Consultation
e-Consultation takes the process one step further than e-Participation, facilitating online comment on specific policy or regulatory issues, while those issues are under active consideration by the government. e-Consultation resources, like e-Participation resources, may have Publish elements, providing online access to government proposals and other key documents, written filings of stakeholders, and audio and visual recordings of public meetings. In this case, the resources are organized to facilitate online consultation with citizen or business stakeholder groups and to receive formal inputs into government policy or regulatory processes. Online consultations can reach a wider range of stakeholders and to ensure that consultative processes are transparent.
Canada’s government has created a useful site giving citizens access to all ongoing e-Consultations (as of April 10, 2006, there were 14). Singapore also has a site for e-Consultation. The UK, which in recent years has scored highest on the UN’s global assessment of e-Democracy, has created resources for local e-Democracy.
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