ICTS, communication and citizen participation in the open government plans of Argentina, Costa Rica and Mexico

Abstract

This paper investigates the ways in which Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) promote or not a more horizontal government communication in the era of participatory and digital culture. For this, content analysis is used to characterize the commitments related to the development and/or maintenance of ICTs of the first three action plans of the Open Government for Mexico, Costa Rica and Argentina. The commitments are analyzed in terms of their contribution to transparency, citizen participation and collaboration —the three pillars of Open Government—, the levels of participation, and the type of technological platforms that they propose to enhance citizen participation. The results suggest that we are still in the first stage of the process of implementing an Open Government model, characterized by commitments in the field of transparency and that are limited to informative actions. However, a transition toa more participatory communication can be seen in the design of technological platforms, in the inclusion of ICTs in strategies that combine virtual and face-to-face actions to promote citizen participation, and in the complete cycle of design and evaluation of public policies.