XXII. MEZINÁRODNÍ KOLOKVIUM O REGIONÁLNÍCH
VĚDÁCH. SBORNÍK PŘÍSPĚVKŮ
22nd
INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON REGIONAL
SCIENCES.CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Place: Velké Bílovice (Czech Republic)
June 12-16, 2019
Publisher: Masarykova univerzita (Masaryk University Press), Brno
Edited by:
Viktorie KLÍMOVÁ
Vladimír ŽÍTEK
(Masarykova univerzita / Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
Vzor citace / Citation example:
AUTOR, A. Název článku. In Klímová, V., Žítek, V. (eds.) XXII. mezinárodní kolokvium o regionálních
vědách. Sborník příspěvků. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2019. s. 1–5. ISBN 978-80-210-9268-6.
DOI.
AUTHOR, A. Title of paper. In Klímová, V., Žítek, V. (eds.) 22nd
International Colloquium on Regional
Sciences. Conference Proceedings. Brno: Masaryk University Press, 2019. pp. 1–5. ISBN 978-80-
210-9268-6. DOI.
Publikace neprošla jazykovou úpravou. / Publication is not a subject of language check.
Za správnost obsahu a originalitu výzkumu zodpovídají autoři. / Authors are fully responsible for the content and
originality of the articles.
© 2019 Masarykova univerzita
ISBN 978-80-210-9268-6 (online : pdf)
 
 
 
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DOI: 10.5817/CZ.MUNI.P210-9268-2019-43
E-PARTICIPATION TOOLS AND THEIR USE IN THE
MORAVIAN-SILESIAN REGION
Nástroje e-participace a jejich užívání v prostředí
Moravskoslezského kraje
FILIP HAMPL 1
MARTINA JAŇUROVÁ 2
1
Katedra financí
2
Katedra regionální ekonomie a správy
Ekonomicko-správní fakulta
Masarykova univerzita
1
Department of Finance
2
Depart. of Regional Economics and Administration
Faculty of Economics and Administration
Masaryk University
 Lipová 41a, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic
E-mail: filip.hampl@mail.muni.cz, martina.janurova@mail.muni.cz
Annotation
The aim of the publication is to evaluate, based on the classification analysis, the scale of tools of citizen’s eparticipation
in the lower territorial self-governing units (municipalities) in the Moravian-Silesian Region. Out of
the total of 300 municipalities located in the Moravian-Silesian Region, 34 of them belonging to three types of
municipal sizes, were selected by stratified random selection. Municipalities are divided into three groups: with a
population of up to 1000 inhabitants, from 1001 to 35 000 inhabitants, and municipalities with more than 35 000
inhabitants (i.e. statutory cities). The authors assume that larger municipalities use more e-participation tools,
due to the fact that citizens do not have as much direct contact with the elected representatives as they do in smaller
municipalities. However, the correlation analysis did not fully confirm this hypothesis, only a weak positive
dependence was proven.
Key words
active participation, e-participation, e-informing, e-consultation, Moravian-Silesian Region
Anotace
Cílem článku je na základě klasifikační analýzy posoudit škálu nástrojů e-participace občanů na místní správě
využívaných základními územními samosprávnými celky (obcemi) v Moravskoslezském kraji. Z celkového počtu
300 obcí nacházejících se na území Moravskoslezského kraje bylo stratifikovaným náhodným výběrem zvoleno
celkem 34 obcí rozdělených do tří velikostních kategorií podle počtu obyvatel. Zastoupeny jsou obce do 1 000
obyvatel, od 1 001 do 35 000 obyvatel a obce nad 35 000 obyvatel (tj. statutární města). Autoři vycházeli
z předpokladu, že větší obce nabízejí svým občanům více možností e-participace, a to vzhledem k faktu, že občané
nemají s volenými zástupci tolik přímého kontaktu jako u obcí menší velikosti. Tato teze nebyla na základě
korelační analýzy zcela potvrzena, prokázána byla pouze slabá pozitivní závislost.
Klíčová slova
aktivní participace, e-participace, e-informování, e-konzultace, Moravskoslezský kraj
JEL classification: H11
1. Introduction
In the age of a rising digitalization and gradual inclusion of the internet in the everyday life, the structure of the
society is a subject to changes, which, inevitably, needs to be reacted to. While in 2007 55% of households had
access to the internet, the number rose to 97% of households by 2016, 83% of which were households with fixed
broadband connection (Eurostat, 2018). Needless to say, an easier access to information increases the general
awareness of the civil society, which is enabled, by the means of the internet, to react to any external stimuli
practically immediately, i.e. in real time. The internet has become the principal means of communication of our
age, and its spreading and development has allowed, among others, the municipalities to come closer to their
XXII. mezinárodní kolokvium o regionálních vědách Sborník příspěvků Velké Bílovice 12.–14. 6. 2019
 
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citizens – to provide them with the opportunity to actively participate in the public life of their community from
the comfort of their homes, i.e. to “e-participate” in the local governance.
Falk and Carley (2012) claim that engaging the public in the decision-making processes plays a key role in
preserving the sustainability of the area. Placing responsibility in the hands of the citizens directs them towards a
consciousness to environment and education, and leads to a more appropriate planning of future projects. This
inclusion takes mostly the form of public consultations, advisory committees or interest groups where citizens can
present their visions and ideas. The most convenient manner of making this participation efficient, and, in some
cases, possible in the first place, especially with regard to the participation of individuals, seems to be the use of
information and communication technologies (ICT) (Albrecht et al., 2008). Owing to the development of
information technologies and an increasing number of its users, an opportunity to communicate with citizens
through online platforms is emerging (Mergel, 2013). This citizens’ participation is referred to as e-participation
and can be implemented on three levels (Gramberger, 2001):
 E-informing: a one-sided provision of information by the public administration to the citizens via ICT. Under
the terms of e-informing, the public administration should initiate the publishing of information or, in case
of citizens’ request for information, fulfil their plea beyond its requirements.
 E-consulting: this level represents a two-directional relationship between the local administration and the
citizens, who thereby communicate their opinions, comments and feedback to the policies and political
decisions under discussion.
 Active participation is the highest level of e-participation which includes an active involvement of citizens
in decisions concerning policy-making and forms of public service activities. It is the local authority, still,
who is always responsible for the final decision. This level represents an advanced two-sided relationship
between the local administration and the citizens, which is based on the principle of partnership (Astrom et
al. 2012).
The objective of e-participation should be facilitating citizens’ access to information and public services as well
as supporting the participation of citizens in public decision-making, which affects the prosperity of both the
society as a whole, and the individuals (Gramberger, 2001). Besides, due to the growing resident population and
the subsequent rising urbanization, information technologies are often the only communication tool suitable for
the discussion between the citizens and the public administration (Nick, Pongrácz, Radács, 2018). In spite of its
wide range of advantages, such as time and costs economy and efficiency, some disadvantages related to eparticipation
need to be pointed out. The presupposition that people should and can use the ICT technologies must
always be satisfied. It is not surprising, then, that the use of e-participation is more popular among young citizens.
Research shows, for instance, that, in Poland, more than ¾ of the Generation Y uses the internet to take part in the
participatory budgeting (Bednarska-Olejniczak, 2018). Another disadvantage is the possible abuse of an
individual’s identity, and, finally, the lack of willingness and related issues with establishing e-participation need
to be considered (Čermák a Vobecká, 2011).
1.1 Methodology and objectives
The objective of this contribution is to evaluate the use of the tools of citizens’ e-participation in local
administration that are used by the lower territorial self-governing units (municipalities) in the Moravian-Silesian
Region under the criteria laid down below. Is it expected that, in the municipalities with a higher number of
citizens, the e-participation tools will have more importance as, in the vast majority of cases, its citizens are not
personally acquainted with their representatives in the local governments, and do not usually have the chance to
meet with them and present their suggestions, as is the case in small municipalities. For that reasons, the citizens’
only remaining option is often the use of available online tools. Firstly, the use of e-participation tools is evaluated
by means of the classification analysis. Subsequently, the correlation between the size of the municipality (given
by the number of inhabitants) and the number of established tools is analyzed.
For the purposes of the analysis of the use of e-participation tools, a sample of 34 out of the total 300 municipalities
in the Moravian-Silesian Region has been selected by a stratified random selection. The selected municipalities
are divided into the three following categories based on the number of inhabitants: small municipalities (less than
1000 inhabitants); medium-size municipalities (between 1001 and 35 000 inhabitants); statutory cities (above 35
000 inhabitants). The list of all municipalities in the Moravian-Silesian Region and the numbers of inhabitants as
of the 1st
January 2017 were acquired from the website of the Czech Statistical Office (Český statistický úřad,
2017).
The research investigates whether the selected municipalities use e-participation tools on the level of e-informing,
e-consulting or active participation. The tools were chosen and classified based on typologies introduced by several
other authors (Astrom, 2012, Špaček, 2012, Tambouris, 2007, Al-Dalou, 2013) as shown in table 1.
XXII. mezinárodní kolokvium o regionálních vědách Sborník příspěvků Velké Bílovice 12.–14. 6. 2019
 
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Tab. 1: E-participation tools
Level Analyzed tools
E-informing obligatory disclosures, frequently asked questions, electronic notice board, direct
mailing, local online newspaper, webcasting/podcasting, search box on a
municipality’s website, mobile app
E-consulting chatting rooms, discussion fora, electronic polls, public opinion questionnaires,
letterboxes, e-mail addresses of persons responsible for communication with
citizens, social media profiles
Active participation e-připomínkování (“e-collaboration” – an online application that allows
commenting in real time), e-voting
Source: Authors’ own compilation based on: Astrom (2012), Špaček (2012), Tambouris (2007), Al-Dalou (2013)
On the grounds of the obtained data, it is further examined whether there is a correlation between the size of the
municipality (given by the number of inhabitants) and the number of citizens’ e-participation tools in the given
municipality. For this purpose, a correlation coefficient was calculated for the levels of e-informing and e-
consulting.
Properties of the correlation coefficient r:
 𝑟 ∈ 〈 1; 1〉
 𝑟 0 ⇒ independence
 𝑟 1 ⇒ direct dependence
 𝑟 1 ⇒ indirect dependence
Pearson correlation coefficient is a measure of statistical dependence in linear data. It is computed from standard
deviations of both variables and their covariance.
Formula for the correlation coefficient r:
r =
∑ 𝑥𝑖 𝑥 𝑦𝑖 𝑦
∑ 𝑥𝑖 𝑥
2
∑ 𝑦𝑖 𝑦
2
2. E-participation tools analysis
For the purpose of this research, 34 municipalities were chosen by means of stratified random selection and divided
into 3 categories according to the number of inhabitants, as shown in table 2.
Tab. 2: Overview of analyzed municipalities
size category number of analyzed
municipalities
names of municipalities
municipalities with less than
1 000 inhabitants
(small municipalities)
12
Heřmánky, Jezdkovice, Vysoká, Uhlířov, Bítov,
Životice u Nového Jičína, Albrechtičky, Hostašovice,
Vražné, Spálov, Litultovice, Hladké Životice
municipalities with 1 001 to
35 000 inhabitants
(medium-size
municipalities)
16
Ženklava, Hrabyně, Darkovice, Bartošovice, Kunín,
Hukvaldy, Suchdol nad Odrou, Starý Jičín, Budišov
nad Budišovkou, Štramberk, Klimkovice, Fulnek,
Odry, Bílovec, Studénka, Nový Jičín
municipalities with more
than 35 000 inhabitants
(statutory cities)
6
Třinec, Karviná, Frýdek-Místek, Opava, Havířov,
Ostrava
Source: Czech Statistical Office (2017)
It is further investigated whether the above municipalities use e-participation tools on the level of e-informing, econsulting
or active participation. Websites of the selected municipalities as well as their social media profiles
were, thus, analyzed. The number of municipalities, which use the analyzed e-participation tools, in both absolute
and relative formulations in individual size categories are shown in table 3.
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Tab. 3: E-participation tools and the frequency of use
E-participation tool municipalities with less
than 1 000 inhabitants
municipalities with 1 001
to 35 000 inhabitants
municipalities with
more than 35 000
inhabitants (statutory
cities)
Level: E-informing
Search box 10 83% 16 100% 6 100%
Navigation menu on the
home page
12 100% 16 100% 6 100%
Obligatory disclosures
section
11 92% 16 100% 6 100%
Frequently asked questions
(FAQ)
0 0% 0 0% 1 17%
Electronic notice board 12 100% 16 100% 6 100%
Direct mailing 6 50% 9 56% 6 100%
Local online newspaper 9 75% 12 75% 6 100%
Webcasting – live video
broadcast from municipal
authority meetings
0 0% 2 13% 2 33%
Webcasting – video records
from municipal authority
meetings
0 0% 5 31% 1 17%
Podcasting – live audio
broadcast from municipal
authority meetings
0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Podcasting – audio records
from municipal authority
meetings
0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Mobile applications 2 17% 7 44% 4 67%
Level: E-consulting
Chatting rooms 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Discussion fora 1 8% 3 19% 0 0%
Electronic
polls/questionnaires
3 25% 8 50% 6 100%
Letterboxes, contact details
of a person responsible for
communication with citizens
11 92% 16 100% 6 100%
Social media profiles 5 42% 14 88% 6 100%
Level: Active participation
E-comments 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
E-voting 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Source: Authors’ own compilation
Following the conducted classification analysis, it can be concluded that the websites of selected municipalities
are well organized. The citizens can always find a navigation menu on the home pages to help with orientation on
the site. A majority of the municipalities have a search box on their websites, with the exception of municipalities
Hostašovice and Vražné. All municipalities fulfil the obligation to set up an electronic notice board. In addition to
the above, most do, by their own choice, provide information in digital editions of local newspapers and magazines
and offer subscriptions. The most common means of these subscriptions to information are e-mail newsletters and
short text messages (in Vysoká, Životice u Nového Jičína, Suchdol nad Odrou, Studénka a Nový Jičín). None of
the statutory cities offer subscriptions to text messages, which can be partly explained by the fact that all of the
cities have a profile on social networking sites that is used for the communication with citizens. Municipalities
with less than 1 000 inhabitants, which do use the text messages (Vysoká and Životice u Nového Jičína), do not,
on the contrary, have an account on social media and, thus, rely on the messages instead.
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The absence of an FAQ section, which is only provided by Ostrava, can be seen as rather unwelcoming. It can lead
to a situation where the citizens keep asking the same question or repeatedly look the same answers on the website.
It is recommendable that the municipalities construct an FAQ section on the basis of frequently searched terms or
inquires, as it can save a great deal of work and time otherwise spent on responding to recurrent questions.
On the other hand, a proactive approach of the few municipalities that make it possible for their citizens to watch
live streaming from the local authority’s meeting is very positive. Further, Hukvaldy and Štramberk publish
records of the meetings. Podcasting is not provided by any of the analyzed municipalities. Webcasting gives
citizens a chance to assess whether their elected representatives fulfil their election promises, which makes the
whole process very transparent. Štramberk publishes recordings on a YouTube channel, which clearly shows low
financial burden of this practice.
On the level of e-consulting, none of the analyzed municipalities engage in online chatting with the citizens.
Discussion fora are not frequent either – they are used in Hladké Životice, Štramberk, Studénka and Nový Jičín
only. As to the fora, persistent responses to the citizens’ suggestions and questions are praiseworthy. Electronic
polls and questionnaires are quite common as they allow for inexpensive and efficient way of carrying out surveys
of the citizens’ opinion on a given topic. Letterboxes (or e-mail addresses of responsible persons) are a usual
practice applied by all selected municipalities. With a few exceptions, the municipalities have their accounts on
social media which are also used to respond to the questions and suggestions of people. Considering the nature of
the social media, one could assume that they serve the same purpose as a chatting room or a discussion forum. It
is unnecessary, then, to have these on the websites as well.
The conducted classification analysis pointed out that the level of active participation is not employed by the
municipalities whatsoever. The absence of cases of e-voting can be explained by the lack of infrastructure needed
for the electronic identification of citizens. National identification cards issued after 1 July 2018, however, make
unique identification of citizens on the internet possible thanks to electronic contact chips. An amendment of the
Act No. 22/2004 Coll., on local referendum and amendments of some acts, in favor of local electronic referendum
would, if approved, remove the obstacle of lacking infrastructure.
Second part of the research focuses on whether there is a correlation between the size of a municipality according
to the number of its inhabitants and the established e-participation tools. For this purpose, a correlation coefficient
was calculated for the levels of e-informing and e-consulting. Its numeric value is given below. Due to zero
occurrences, the level of active participation is excluded. The variable for e-informing is einf, for e-consulting
econs and for the number of inhabitants inhab.
Tab. 3: Correlation coefficients for observations 1–34
inhab einf econs
1,0000 0,4363 0,2834 inhab
1,0000 0,6631 einf
1,0000 econs
Note: n = 34
Source: Authors’ own compilation
The calculated correlation coefficients indicate minor correlation between the size of the municipality according
to the number of inhabitants and the access to e-participation tools. In comparison to e-consulting, the results
within the level of e-informing show stronger correlation, as shown in the figure 1. It can, thus, be concluded that
the more inhabitants a municipality has, the more tools it provides, but, since the positive dependence is weak, the
difference between small and bigger municipalities in terms of the number of tools is not that significant.
XXII. mezinárodní kolokvium o regionálních vědách Sborník příspěvků Velké Bílovice 12.–14. 6. 2019
 
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Fig. 1: Graphic representation of the relation between the number of inhabitants and the number of einforming
tools
Source: Authors’ compilation, processed in Gretl software
3. Conclusion
The aim of this contribution was to evaluate the use of tools of citizens’ e-participation in local administration of
lower territorial self-governing units (municipalities) in the Moravian-Silesian Region in view of the preestablished
criteria. The primary assumption was that, in the municipalities with a higher number of inhabitants,
the e-participation tools are increasingly important, since the citizens do not usually know their representatives in
the local governments and do not have many opportunities to meet them in person. This hypothesis, however, has
not been definitely confirmed.
A sample of 34 randomly selected municipalities in the Moravian-Silesian Region has been created for the purpose
of this analysis. The municipalities are divided into three categories by the number of inhabitants, i.e.
municipalities with less than 1 000 inhabitants, between 1 001 and 35 000 inhabitants, and above 35 000 inhabitants
(statutory cities). The analysis of websites and the social media profiles of studied municipalities has shown that
the scale of used e-participation tools differs in each individual case. At the same time, only a weak positive
correlation between the size of a municipality (determined by the number of inhabitants) and the frequency of the
use of the tools has been revealed. The size of the municipality is, therefore, not the main factor influencing the
implementation of the said tools. This opens the path for further research, which could focus on an analysis of
other influencing factors that could affect the frequency of use of the tools of the citizens’ e-participation in local
administration.
On the level of e-informing, the clear arrangement of the websites of all studied municipalities is judged as positive
as well as the extent of published information. There is a space for improvement especially as far as the introduction
of a section for frequently asked questions is concerned. It would allow the citizens to search easily and quickly
for answers to their questions and the municipality would not be burdened by recurrent inquires. The city of
Ostrava already works with such section and it is expected that other municipalities will follow its example. The
authors consider the lack of webcasting from the local authorities meetings as a substantial drawback. Introducing
this tool would increase the transparency of elected representatives and would positively benefit the civil society.
It would be appropriate if the municipalities that put this tool successfully into practice shared their experience
through the best practices. The level of e-consulting is dominated by the use of letterboxes and social media
profiles. As to the third level – the active participation, none of the selected municipalities has implemented any
of the possible tools that would fall in this category.
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