E-Participation Index (EPI)

The E-Participation Index (EPI) is derived as a supplementary index to the United Nations E-Government Survey. Understanding e-participation starts with the process it upholds. It begins, as a sine qua non with the informative level, during which the government provides its constituents with basic information leading to the second, a two-way form, where people are invited to give their inputs to governments and finally, ’the partnership option’ during which citizens become the protagonist by leading the policy-making process. The latter framework closely relates to the type of three-tiered structure within the UN E-participation framework. Since its inception in the 2003 edition of the Survey, the EPI is, therefore, a multifaceted framework, composed of three core components, i.e., e-information, e-consultation and e-decision-making.