Inside Government: The role of policy actors in shaping e-democracy in the UK

233 Pages·2016·2.1 MB·English

University of Southampton Research Repository
ePrints Soton
Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other
copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial
research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be
reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing
from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold
commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the
copyright holders.

When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title,
awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g.
AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name
of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination
http://eprints.soton.ac.uk
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON

FACULTY OF SOCIAL, HUMAN AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES

Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology
Volume 1 of 1

Inside government: the role of policy actors in shaping e-democracy in the UK

by

Mary Houston

Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
June 2016

ABSTRACT
SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL POLICY AND CRIMINOLOGY
Sociology
Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
INSIDE GOVERNMENT: THE ROLE OF POLICY ACTORS IN SHAPING
E-DEMOCRACY IN THE UK
Mary Houston
The thesis focuses on the emergence of e-democracy in the UK between 1999 and 2013. It
examines the part that policy actors have played in shaping the agenda. Emphasis is placed on
how e-democracy is understood by those charged with developing initiatives and
implementing government policy on e-democracy. Previous research on e-democracy has
focused largely on the impact of Web technologies on political systems and/or on how, why
and to what degree, citizens participate. Less attention is paid to what happens inside
government, in how policy actors’ conceive public engagement in the policy process. Their
perceptions and shared understandings are crucial to the commissioning, implementation, or
deflection of participatory opportunities. This thesis is concerned with exploring how policy
actors experience, interpret and negotiate e-democracy policy and practices and their
perceptions of citizen involvement in the policy process. Competing discourses shape
institutional expectations of e-democracy in the UK. The research examines how policy actors
draw upon wider discourses such as the modernisation of government and the emphasis on
transparency. It analyses understandings of technologies in government and the effects of
relational interactions and linkages in policy and practice.
The thesis draws on fieldwork in the UK from 23 in-depth, semi-structured interviews and
participant observation data with a range of policy actors: civil servants from several
government departments, government advisors and participation practitioners. In conjunction
with interviews, documentary analysis was carried out on government documents, published
between1999 and 2013. These focused on the role of Web technologies in government and
include policy papers, advisory reports, audit reports and guidance for civil servants.
Documentary analysis was combined with interviews and participant observation to compare
the stated aims of e-democracy with the constraints and opportunities experienced by policy
actors in their work. The findings highlight how contested interpretations of participation and
differing approaches to technology affect the design, management and evaluation of projects.
Such interpretations and contestations are not developed in isolation but emerge as actors
come together in different spaces and configurations. Probing the relationships, motivations
and perceptions of government insiders provides new insights about the development of
e-democracy within the institutional context in the UK.
iii

Contents
List of Tables ............................................................................................................... ix
List of Figures .............................................................................................................. xi
List of Accompanying Materials ................................................................................ xiii
DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP ................................................................................. xv
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. xvii
Definitions and Abbreviations ................................................................................... xix
Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................. 1
1.1 Preamble to the thesis .................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Framing the problem ...................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Formulating the research question .............................................................................. 5
1.4 The roadmap of the thesis ............................................................................................. 9
Chapter 2: Developments in e-democracy ................................................................ 13
2.1 Conceptualising e-democracy ..................................................................................... 13
2.1.1 Conflicting understandings of what constitutes ‘e-democracy’ ................... 14
2.1.2 Development of e-democracy ............................................................................. 17
2.2 Exemplifying democratic participation ..................................................................... 21
2.2.1 Influence of deliberative theory on e-democracy ........................................... 22
2.2.2 Inclusion and access ............................................................................................... 24
2.3 Policy actors and discursive constructions ............................................................... 25
2.3.1 Beyond the civil service ......................................................................................... 25
2.3.2 Policy discourse approach .................................................................................... 26
2.3.3 Modernisation of government ............................................................................ 28
2.3.4 Making citizens through discourse ..................................................................... 30
2.4 Organisational effects ................................................................................................... 31
2.4.1 Effects of reform of civil service and budget cuts ........................................... 33
2.4.2 Civil servants perspectives on e-democracy ..................................................... 35
2.5 Understandings and uses of technology ................................................................... 36
v
2.5.1 Social construction of technology ...................................................................... 37
2.5.2 Technological enactment in organisations ....................................................... 39
2.5.3 Technical capital ..................................................................................................... 40
2.6 Role of networks ............................................................................................................ 42
2.7 Discussion and conclusions ......................................................................................... 44
Chapter 3: The methodological approach and research design ................................ 47
3.1 Defining the field ........................................................................................................... 47
3.1.1 Knowledge in social research .............................................................................. 48
3.2 Research strategy .......................................................................................................... 50
3.2.1 Paths not taken ....................................................................................................... 51
3.2.2 The research design ............................................................................................... 53
3.3 The methods selected................................................................................................... 54
3.3.1 Government documents as sources of data .................................................... 55
3.3.2 Interviews ................................................................................................................ 57
3.3.3 Investigating the role of networks ...................................................................... 59
3.3.4 Participant Observation ........................................................................................ 61
3.4 Ethics ................................................................................................................................ 63
3.4.1 Informed consent of respondents ...................................................................... 63
3.4.2 Anonymisation and confidentiality .................................................................... 65
3.4.3 Access ....................................................................................................................... 66
3.5 Insider and/or outsider? .............................................................................................. 66
3.6 Data collection to data analysis .................................................................................. 67
3.7 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 69
Chapter 4: From modernisation to transparency: how public participation is conceived
in government documentation ............................................................... 71
4.1 The significance of government documents ............................................................ 71
4.1.1 Definitions ................................................................................................................ 73
4.2 UK Government documents studied ......................................................................... 74
4.2.1 Key documents ....................................................................................................... 75
vi
4.2.2 Analysing content, consumption and circulation of documents ............ 76
4.3 Discourses in government documents ...................................................................... 77
4.3.1 Modernisation ......................................................................................................... 77
4.3.2 Transparency of government............................................................................... 80
4.3.3 Updating democratic participation .................................................................... 81
4.3.4 Conceptualising citizens ........................................................................................ 85
4.4 Purpose and movement of government documents ............................................. 87
4.4.1 Establishing authority ............................................................................................ 87
4.4.2 Controlling and patrolling boundaries ............................................................... 90
4.4.3 Documents in networks ........................................................................................ 92
4.5 Content, function, circulation – bringing it all together ........................................ 94
Chapter 5: Insider talk: discursive constructions of e-democracy ........................... 99
5.1 Discourse and talk in e-democracy ............................................................................ 99
5.2 Who are the policy actors? ........................................................................................ 101
5.2.1 Connectivity and relationality ............................................................................ 102
5.3 Understandings of participation and constructions of citizens ......................... 105
5.3.1 Valuing democratic participation ...................................................................... 105
5.3.2 Perceptions of participation ............................................................................... 106
5.3.3 Citizens under construction ............................................................................... 110
5.3.4 Measuring success ............................................................................................... 113
5.4 The properties and potential of digital technologies ........................................... 116
5.4.1 Participation through social media ................................................................... 118
5.4.2 Unforeseen effects of digital technologies within government ................. 120
5.4.3 Open Policy Making ............................................................................................. 121
5.5 Discursive spaces ......................................................................................................... 122
5.6 Discussion and conclusions ........................................................................................ 126
Chapter 6: Talk to practice: the performance of e-democracy ............................... 129
6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 129
6.2 Government organisations as frameworks for action ......................................... 132
vii
6.2.1 Reforming civil service bureaucracy................................................................. 133
6.2.2 Differences between different groups ............................................................ 136
6.2.3 Breaking the rules – innovation and standardisation .................................. 138
6.2.4 The rise of Government Digital Service ........................................................... 140
6.3 All right Gov? Can government do the Web? ........................................................ 143
6.3.1 Attitudes towards digital technologies within the civil service .................. 144
6.3.2 Design and affordances ...................................................................................... 148
6.3.3 How open data practices impact on e-democracy ....................................... 149
6.4 Networks and practices .............................................................................................. 151
6.4.1 Network relationships ......................................................................................... 152
6.4.2 Knowledge sharing through networks ............................................................. 154
6.4.3 Accumulating capital within the network ....................................................... 156
6.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 157
Chapter 7: Conclusion ............................................................................................ 161
7.1 Revisiting the research aims and questions ........................................................... 161
7.2 Key findings from the research ................................................................................. 163
7.2.1 The continuing importance of modernisation in e-democracy.................. 164
7.2.2 Enacting Web technologies in e-democracy .................................................. 166
7.2.3 Interactions between actors shapes e-democratic practices ..................... 167
7.2.4 The implications for e-democracy .................................................................... 168
7.3 Contribution to research literature ......................................................................... 170
7.4 Addressing different audiences ................................................................................ 171
7.5 Final thoughts ............................................................................................................... 173
Appendices to the thesis ........................................................................................... 175
Appendix A Interview schedule ................................................................................ 175
Appendix B Ethics application .................................................................................. 181
Appendix C Government documents ....................................................................... 191
Appendix D Connections .......................................................................................... 193
Appendix E Connecting research with policy making .............................................. 195
Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 197
viii
List of Tables

Table 1: Data Collection 2011-2014 ............................................................................................. 54
Table 2: Selected government documents ................................................................................. 75
Table 3: Internet access for UK households 1998-2004 (ONS Statistical Bulletin 2012) ............. 83

ix