Title: Applications for citizen e-participation and communication in the Czech Republic - current supply and content analysis of mobile apps

Authors: Michael Fanta; Radek Soběhart

Addresses: Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Pasteurova 1, 400 96 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic ' Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Pasteurova 1, 400 96 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic

Abstract: The level of e-participation in the Czech Republic is below EU average in a long term. In order to expand the research on this topic, we created an overview of the municipal mobile apps that are being used in the Czech Republic, analysed their functions, and performed a pilot evaluation. Overall, 84 mobile apps from Google Play Store and Apple Appstore were sorted into 15 types and divided into the two main groups according to their design: 1) universally designed products that municipalities can use for an appropriate monthly flat fee which depends/varies based on its selected functions; 2) custom designed products according to the requirements of the municipalities' management. We conducted a content analysis of the applications and identified their offered functions. Via a pilot evaluation we discovered that the universally designed apps scored significantly higher in four out of the five evaluated criteria than the custom designed apps.

Keywords: e-participation; communication; citizen; municipality; mobile application; content analysis; evaluation; Czech Republic.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEG.2023.130085

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2023 Vol.15 No.1, pp.35 - 55

Received: 07 Jun 2021
Accepted: 26 Sep 2021
Published online: 05 Apr 2023 *