Virtual forums for public accountability: How internet and communication technologies are influencing citizen interactions with a local government

Abstract

Public accountability forums can be useful mechanisms for ensuring that governments are responsive to the perspectives, preferences, and needs of citizens. This study explores how ICTs are affecting public accountability forums and how citizens interact with elected and appointed government officials. A case study of a municipal government in Ontario, Canada, describes how a virtual public accountability forum emerged and functioned based on social media data and interviews with public officials. The case demonstrates that social media can facilitate new channels of interaction between citizens and public officials. Key features of these virtual forums include anonymous participation, variable duration, and dynamic audience size. The case also demonstrates that the demand for information provision within accountability relationships is not just a singular type of ex-post exchange. There is a new channel of information exchange that is continuous and malleable because it can evolve and change instantaneously over ICTs.