EUROPEAN BUSINESS

MANAGEMENT SCHOOL

EBMS Working Paper EBMS/2003/5

Re-energising Democracy? :
Electronic Consultation
at the National Assembly for Wales

Paul Beynon-Davies, Ian Owens,

Michael D Williams and Rebecca Hill

European Business Management School

Singleton Park
Swansea SA2 8PP
UK

Tel: 01792 295601

(International: +44 1792 295601)
Fax: 01792 295626
(International: +44 1792 295626)
e-mail: b.a.john@swansea.ac.uk

0.3 E-Consultation 1
 Re-energising Democracy?: Electronic Consultation at the National
Assembly for Wales
Paul Beynon-Davies
Ian Owens
Michael D. Williams
Rebecca Hill
European Business Management School, University of Wales, Swansea
p.beynon-davies@swan.ac.uk

Abstract
Significant developments are occurring in the domain of electronic government within
the UK – the use of ICT to enable re-structuring of governmental processes. In this
paper we look at that subset of e-Government known as electronic democracy. In
particular, we describe how electronic consultation, an important facet of electronic
democracy, is being used to procure ideas from partnership organisations and
citizenry in relation to the policy formulation processes at a devolved regional
assembly in the UK. Such forms of ICT enablement are seen by many to be
significant ways in which government may re-engage with its populace, address
issues of social exclusion in the area of democratic participation and generally re-
energise the democratic process.

0.3 E-Consultation 2
Introduction
The UK government has recently published a consultation document on electronic
democracy (e-Democracy) (UK_Online 2002). Here e-Democracy is described as
‘using new technology to energise the democratic and political life of the nation’. The
consultation document also admits that e-Democracy is still a relatively untested
concept.
Porebski (Porebski 2002) argues that there are three faces to e-Democracy. The first
face portrays e-Democracy as the cure for the crisis in Western democratic systems.
Forms of e-Democracy are seen as ways of increasing participation and mobilisation
of citizens in the demos. The second face sees e-Democracy as essentially harmful to
the essential principles of democracy. It is portrayed as a means of reinforcing
inequalities in power and its exercise by technologically sophisticated elites. The third
face sees e-Democracy as having no particular impact on democratic processes and
systems. People taking this position point to studies that suggest that Internet usage on
political matters tends to reflect patterns of political activism generally (Hill and
Hughes 1998).
It is difficult currently to judge the efficacy of any of these positions because the topic
of e-Democracy is too large an area within which to conduct empirical studies. Hence,
Porebski (Porebski 2002) calls for more focused studies of key e-Democracy issues.
We see e-democracy as an information systems issue. It is a key example of the
impact of ICT innovation on a critical area of human activity. Research needs to focus
on key technologies and key activity areas.
The UK government consultation document (UK_Online 2002) describes two tracks
of e-Democracy – what they refer to as e-Participation and e-Voting. E-Participation
is defined as the use of ICT to open new channels of participation in the democratic
process between elections. E-Voting is defined as the use of ICT to facilitate
participation in elections or other ballots under statutory control. A major element
within the definition of e-Participation is e-Consultation. E-Consultation is the use of
ICT to enable consultation with the citizen on matters of policy and decision-making.
The key aims of this technological innovation are to improve the effectiveness of
policy formulation and the engagement of a greater proportion of the populace in this
process. In contrast, e-Voting is clearly directed at improving the efficiency and reach
of the electoral process.
This paper is a response to the call made by Porebski and others for more focused
studies of e-Democracy. We describe some of the innovative work being undertaken
in the area of e-Consultation at a devolved administration in the UK – the National
Assembly of Wales (NAfW). We attempt to glean from this case material some of the
explicit and implicit objectives of engaging in e-Consultation and the practicalities of
constructing an efficient and effective e-Consultation process. We argue that ICT
enablement of the policy cycle is a natural consequence of a process-view of
government and democracy. We also draw some early lessons as to the utility of e-
Consultation, particularly the view that e-consultation may be a significant way in
which various levels of government may re-engage with its populace.

Aims
The aims of the paper are four-fold:

0.3 E-Consultation 3
 • To describe the context for e-Democracy and its practical application in forms
of e-Consultation
• To discuss case material relating to the current and future use of e-consultation
at a major UK governmental institution – the NAfW
• To consider a range of issues surrounding the functionality, usability and
utility of e-Consultation systems in support of the e-Consultation process
• To draw some of the early lessons relating to the likely success of e-
Consultation in re-energising the democratic process

Structure of paper
The structure of the paper is as follows. Firstly, we consider some of the context for
our case material – e-Government, e-Democracy the NAfW and the policy cycle.
Secondly, we provide a case study of one large and early e-Consultation at the NAfW.
Thirdly, we consider some of the plans for re-shaping the policy formulation and
consultation processes around the mechanisms of e-Consultation at the NAfW.
Fourthly, we use this case material to discuss issues associated with the functionality,
usability and utility of e-Consultation systems. Finally, we consider the likely success
of e-Consultation in re-energising democracy.

Context
In this section we describe the context for e-Consultation in the UK. E-Consultation
can be seen to be an important facet of e-Government and e-Democracy. We also
describe some of the structure and processes of the democratic institution in which
our case material is founded – the NAfW. Finally, we take a process view of
government and describe critical elements of the policy cycle.

Electronic Government
ICT has had a major impact on all aspects of social, political and economic activities.
ICT is being used to ‘re-engineer’ aspects of governmental processes and the
relationship between government and the citizen. The interface between government
and citizen in terms of services such as tax collection and benefit payment and the
associated use of ICT to deliver these services via government agencies is normally
referred to as electronic government (e-Government). The term tele-democracy or e-
Democracy may be restricted to the use of ICT in the service of democratic processes
both between government and citizen and the associated use of ICT within democratic
processes in government.
As illustrated in figure 1 it is useful to distinguish between two dimensions of e-
Government: vertically in terms of the level of government and horizontally in terms
of internal and external processes of government.

0.3 E-Consultation 4
 National
Regional
Local
Government
Organisation

Back-End
Access Systems Access
Mechanism Mechanism
Services/ Front-End Data Front-End Services/
Supplier System System
Customer
Transactions Transactions
Front-End
System Intranet

Transactions
Services/
Mail
Telephone
PC
Mobile Device
Access iDTV
Mechanism Video-conferencing

Employee

Figure 1: Axes of E-Government

Horizontally, ICT is being used to re-engineer aspects of governmental processes and

the relationship between government and the citizen. The interface between
government and citizen in terms of services such as tax collection and benefit
payment and the associated use of ICT systems to deliver these services via
government agencies seems fundamentally to echo the developments in the business-
to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce and business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce areas.
The associated use of ICT to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of internal
governmental processes echoes intra-business e-business (Beynon-Davies 2002).
Horizontally, e-Government appears to be concerned with the expansion of electronic
service delivery. This will involve:
• Investigating and implementing various access mechanisms and channels for
different stakeholders. In terms of service delivery to the customer of
government face-to-face contact with government staff and telephone
conversation are two of the most commonly used mechanisms for accessing
services. Current indications suggest relatively low levels of uptake of
electronic service delivery in the short term. However, with an eye on the
longer-term, most government institutions are either implementing or
investigating multiple-channel access centres that allow customers to contact
the government using devices such as the Internet-enabled personal computer
(PC) and even interactive digital television (iDTV). The aim is to enable
access to government services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
• Re-engineering or constructing front-end systems to manage electronic service
delivery. Major investment is being undertaken by government institutions in
increasing levels of interactivity on their Web sites. The aim for many Local
Authorities, for instance, is to provide fully transactional Web sites designed
around so-called life episodes such as registering births and deaths and adding
names to an electoral register

0.3 E-Consultation 5
 • Re-engineering or constructing back-end systems to deliver the data needed by
front-end systems. To enable fully transactional Web sites the information
presented needs to be updated dynamically from back-end databases. Also, the
information entered by customers needs to update the government information
systems effectively
• Re-engineering is not just technological change it is also organisational
change. A key focus within the e-government agenda is on re-engineering
service delivery around the customer. Hence, for example, when a customer
enters personal details such as their name and address into one system for
Council tax purposes this information is available to all other systems that
need such data
Vertically we may distinguish between electronic government for central
administrations such as the Westminster Parliament, for devolved regional
administrations such as the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly of Wales
and electronic government at the level of local authorities.
A number of initiatives have been launched to promote e-government within the UK.
E-government for UK central government is now under control of the office of the e-
envoy. (National-Audit-Office 2002). The UK government has set a target that by
2005 all government services that can be delivered electronically will be delivered
electronically. The Audit Commission’s e-government project is monitoring the
progress local government is making to reach this target. However, the 2005 target
only applies in England. No similar targets for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland
exist.

Electronic Democracy
The term Democracy derives from the Greek words demos, ‘the people’, and kratein,
‘to rule’ (Birch, 1993). So-called direct democracies are rare in the modern word.
Direct democracy involves the members of some political grouping such as a nation
state having direct involvement in the governmental process. Most modern
democracies are representative democracies in which members of a political grouping
nominate representatives to govern. Representative democracy generally takes the
form of some form of parliamentary democracy in the Western world.
According to the critical theory of Habermas (1989) democracy is reliant on two
conditions - free and open communication, informed participation. Democratic
communication is reliant on Habermas’ concept of communicative rationality –
rational action oriented towards understanding and un-coerced consensus. Likewise,
democratic participation is reliant on Habermas concept of ideal speech situation – the
communication of public opinion in which all claims can be questioned but in which
all comply with positions that they cannot refute.
E-democracy is a significant element of e-Government and has been be seen by some
as an effective way of increasing levels of communicative rationality and moving
towards the ideal speech situation. E-democracy has been seen as a major way of
improving levels of and forms of both communication and participation in democratic
processes. The use of ICT for free and open communication and participation is seen
by many as important to the re-invigoration of the demos, perhaps ultimately
implanting features of direct democracy back into structures of representative
democracy (Rheingold, 1995).

0.3 E-Consultation 6
E-democracy can be defined in broad or narrow terms (figure 2). In narrow terms, e-
democracy can be used to refer solely to the enablement of democratic processes
between members of some political grouping and their governmental representatives.
This we call external e-democracy. In a sense, external e-democracy can be seen to be
an attempt to introduce elements of direct democracy into situations of representative
democracy (Taylor and Burt 2001). On the other hand e-democracy can serve to refer
to the way in which ICT can be used to improve internal democratic processes within
government. This we call internal e-democracy.
There is also the notion of local e-democracy. Local e-democracy occurs where local
groups use ICT to create democratic forms, forums and processes to facilitate political
interaction within the community itself. This form of e-democracy is seen as
particularly critical for producing effects such as a reduction in social exclusion and
increasing levels of community action. Local e-Democracy is e-Democracy in the
community and in civil society. Civil society is the zone between the state and private
life in which citizens interact with other citizens to pursue a common purpose or goal
(UK_Online 2002).
Government
Local External

Citizen Citizen Agency Agency

Internal

Figure 2: Forms of e-democracy

A key example of internal e-democracy is the way in which ICT is used within the
NAfW and the Welsh Assembly Government (WaG) to enable governmental
processes. The WaG chamber is unique amongst governmental institutions in the UK
for employing ICT not only to make information such as motions and bills available
to Assembly members but also enabling members to vote electronically on Assembly
matters (Beynon-Davies, Williams et al. 2001). This enables the NaFW to complete
the voting process in a matter of seconds rather than the minutes and hours taken at
the Westminster parliament.
External e-democracy impacts upon both central and local government and has been
seen by some as ways of increasing levels of openness and accountability in
government (Waller, Livesey et al. 2001). For instance, most local authorities in the
UK are now required to develop community strategies and consult with their
community on the design and delivery of service provision. Forms of e-Democracy
are seen as ways of fulfilling this agenda.
An example of local e-democracy is the ‘Save our Sands’ campaign which has been
established in the Gower peninsula for the last few years. This pressure group has
successfully used a web-site to generate support for protest against dredging in the
Bristol channel.
External e-Democracy is currently positioned by the UK government in terms of e-
Participation and e-Voting (UK_Online 2002). E-Participation is used as a term to
include four main types of political activity and interaction:

0.3 E-Consultation 7
 • Interaction between citizens and government focused around government-
initiated consultations
• Interaction between citizens and government representatives such as Members
of Parliament and local councillors
• Interaction with political parties and between political parties and the public
• Interaction amongst civic society focused around political issues
In this paper we concentrate on the first example of e-Participation which we term e-
Consultation.

The National Assembly of Wales

The British Labour Party put forward the idea for the NAfW in July 1997 as part of
their strategy for the devolution of British government. The people of Wales were
given the chance to vote on these proposals in September 1997, and a marginal
majority allowed the go-ahead to be given for the implementation of a National
Assembly for Wales. The official transfer of responsibilities from the Westminster
Parliament to the Assembly took place on 1st July 1999.
Although the declared role of the National Assembly is to develop and implement
policy in relation to Wales, the people of Wales are still represented in the Parliament
of Westminster by elected members of Parliament and the Secretary of State for
Wales. Legislation that passes through Westminster still includes Wales. Bills that
apply only to Wales go through Parliament as part of the Devolution settlement.
The members of the NAfW were elected using a form of proportional representation
on the 6th May 1999 and are due for re-election every four years. Each member of
each constituency within Wales was given two votes to elect Assembly members. The
first of the two votes was used to elect a member to represent the constituency in the
Assembly. An additional twenty Assembly members were elected through the use of
the second constituency vote.
The NAfW has the power to modify UK legislation and specifically to develop and
implement policy in a range of areas such as agriculture, education and training,
health, tourism and transport. The NAfW is able to:
• fund, direct and make appointments to health service bodies in Wales and hold
them to account
• set the content of the National Curriculum for primary and secondary education in
Wales
• provide financial assistance to businesses in Wales
• administer European structural funds
• implement policy on care in the community
• promote agri-environment schemes
The First Secretary is a representative of the largest political party in the NAfW.
Currently that party is the Labour party that also holds a large majority in the House
of Commons in Westminster. The First Secretary appoints an Assembly cabinet from
the leading party. Members of the cabinet are assigned roles from the list of assembly
responsibilities.

0.3 E-Consultation 8
The NAfW has a committee structure divided both on regional lines and in terms of
subject areas. Assembly members are nominated for service on committees in
proportion to their share of the electoral vote. Assembly members also hold plenary
meetings in which broader issues are discussed and the First Secretary is available for
questioning.

The Policy Cycle

It is possible to define government in terms of democratic structures or institutions as
we have done above in terms of our description of the NafW. It is equally possible to
define government in terms of democratic processes. Using this perspective
government is concerned with the processes of the policy cycle (Jones, Gray et al.
2000). This systemic view of government illustrated in figure 3 focuses on the
development of policy and its implementation. The policy process takes demands
from the social/economic/political environment and resources available in these
domains as inputs. Policy is the key output which inputs into the implementation
process. Implementation of policy has a key impact on the social/economic/political
environment and forms the starting point for the re-formulation of policy.

Policy
Consultation

Comments Draft
Policy
Policy
Formulation
Finalised Policy
Endorsed
Policy Policy Execution

Policy
Finalised Demands
Policy Initiation

Environment Impact
Resources
Lessons

Policy
Evaluation Effects

Figure 3: The Policy Cycle

The Information Systems domain has clearly established the benefits of a process
view of organisations for re-engineering activities through ICT enablement. A policy-
cycle perspective on government offers a way forward for considering the re-
engineering of democratic processes. The policy-cycle potentially offers a framework
for bridging across internal and external e-democracy. ICT has a role to play in
supporting each stage within the cycle. For example, ICT is important for supporting
the development of evidence-based policy. It may be used for storage and retrieval of
data-banks of evidence and to search for information in support of rapid evaluation
assessments.

0.3 E-Consultation 9
Policy can be defined as a set of ideas and proposals for action culminating in a
decision (Jones, Gray et al. 2000). As a refinement of the policy-cycle, democratic
processes within and without the NAfW include (figure 3):
• Policy Initiation. WAG develops specific policy as it relates to Wales taking
into account existing political demands and resources such as funding and
personnel as well as lessons and evidence established from previous policy
exercises
• Policy Formulation. Once a policy has received political endorsement it is fed
into the NAfW structures for detailed consideration. Meetings of the NafW
chamber and committees agree, modify and ratify policy
• Policy Consultation. Various divisions within the NAfW consult with various
partner organisations and citizenry on specific policy. Policy may be re-
formulated on the basis of input from such consultation
• Policy Execution. Various organs of the NAfW and its sponsored bodies
implement and monitor the execution of programmes arising from key policy
• Policy Evaluation. The NAfW has a remit to evaluate the impact of policy
initiatives in particular areas. This involves attempting to relate issues of
policy to impacts upon the social/economic/political/environmental landscape
of Wales

Electronic Consultation at the NAfW

E-consultation is still in its infancy amongst most political institutions within the UK.
In this section we describe one early instance of electronic consultation performed at
the NAfW. The case is significant in that it is seen as an exemplar of e-Democracy at
this institution. Also, it has helped shape thinking in relation to re-engineering the
policy process at the NAfW described below.
‘Cymru Ar-Lein – Online for a Better Wales’ (http://www.cymruarlein.wales.gov.uk)
was launched by the Assembly’s e-Minister, Andrew Davies AM, on 22nd November
2001. The purpose of Cymru Ar-Lein was to develop a strategic framework for Wales
in the area of ICT. The ICT Strategy Consultation was released in the period 17th
January 2001 to 14th March 2001. This section reports on the development and
deployment of the ICT Strategy Consultation via the Web, and how this has facilitated
strategy formulation and re-formulation at the Assembly.

Cymru Ar-Lein
Cymru Ar-Lein currently has five major strands:
• Citizen and Community - the exploitation of ICT to improve social and
economic prosperity and to achieve a better quality of life for all its citizens
• Private Sector - all businesses, wherever they are located, should be able to
exploit information and communication technologies fully in order to improve
their competitiveness, innovate and achieve sustainable growth
• Public Sector - the use ICT to deliver first class public services across and in
stimulating developments in other sectors
• ICT Skills - ensure everyone can acquire the skills and understanding to
participate in and benefit from the Information Age

0.3 E-Consultation 10
 • Infrastructure - work with partners in the Public and Private sector to ensure
Wales develops first class ICT infrastructure based on the most advanced
available technologies
Each of these strands has a number of objectives and commitments and involves
actions by a vast array of governmental and non-governmental institutions. Many of
these objectives/commitments are target-led and have significant amounts of funding
associated with them. The high-level structure of the current strategy is illustrated in
figure 4.
Video-Conferencing Voluntary Sector
Cultural Material E-communities
Communications GIS programme
Network
ICT Access

Welsh Language
ICT Infrastructure
Support Citizen and Community Sustainable Development
High-technology
Companies

E-Commerce Private Sector

Cymru Ar Lein
Expert Group/
Strategy
Welsh-Speaking
Organisations
ICT Skills Bi-lingual Education
Benefits of ICT Next Steps & Materials
Public Sector
Strategic Management

Broadband Tele-Democracy
Infrastructure ICT Qualifications
Public Sector ICT Training
Action Facilities
Wales Profile Plan
ICT Skills Citizen-Centred Voluntary Care Development
Plan
Services Joint Procurement Services Local
& Standards Communities
Government Stimulator
& Enabler

Figure 4: Cymru Ar-Lein Strands

Cymru Ar-Lein and Electronic Consultation

Prior to the launch of Cymru Ar-Lein, the Sustainable Development Unit at the
Assembly piloted e-consultation in Wales. Attempts were made to conduct desk
research on international experiences of e-consultation for the purpose of developing
an understanding of best practice. Although these attempts were not wholly
successful, international experience of e-consultation was used to develop the Cymru
Ar-Lein Web site technically by a local software house.
Newspaper adverts and flyers were created to publicise the Cymru Ar-Lein site and to
encourage public participation in the e-consultation. As well as making the
consultation available electronically, a paper copy of the consultation was also
distributed. It was made clear in the Cymru Ar-Lein promotional flyer that a printed
summary of the website was available on request by calling a telephone number at the
NAfW ICT Strategy Unit. The paper copy was also distributed to organizations
throughout Wales that were considered likely to respond to the consultation.
The main channels for consultation on the Cymru Ar-Lein web-site are:
• the discussion forum
• an e-mail facility
• a register for updates

0.3 E-Consultation 11
 • a feedback form
The ‘ICT Strategy Consultation’ has been the biggest electronic consultation by the
NAfW to date. During the first consultation (17th January 2001 to 14th March 2001),
the Assembly received 414 electronic responses, 148 of which were posted
electronically to the discussion forum. Interestingly, despite being given the option to
post contributions to the ICT Strategy Unit’s physical address, very few paper
responses were received.
Following the closure of the consultation, key members of the Assembly collated the
views of those who contributed and used them to prepare a strategic framework.
Content analysis was undertaken to collate and analyse the responses. The responses
were then assembled into a global document for use in strategy formulation. Using the
responses, a ‘gap analysis’ was undertaken involving the identification of
incompatibilities between the responses already posted to Cymru Ar-Lein and the
initial Strategic Framework. One of the main themes that emerged via this gap
analysis was ICT infrastructure and, more specifically, difficulties of broadband
access in Wales. Consequently, ‘Ensuring First-class Infrastructure’ was included as a
fora topic for consultation on the Cymru Ar-Lein website, and was included in the
second revised Cymru Ar-Lein Strategic Framework.
Although the consultation has been closed for over a year the Assembly has continued
to use the website to share information relating to ICT issues in Wales, and the
discussion forum has remained open to receive further comments from the public. The
benefit of keeping the website and associated forum open in this way is that it allows
the public to keep abreast of developments, and allows them to comment on the
progress being made. Also, the Assembly is able to gauge public opinion on the
success (or otherwise) of the consultation. Evidently, Cymru Ar-Lein is a living and
on-going consultation, subject to continual reform as pressures (e.g. from the public
and organisations) and circumstances (e.g. infrastructure needs) dictate.
As mentioned above, the Cymru Ar-Lein consultation is now split into five main
areas: Citizen and Community; Private Sector; Public Sector; ICT Skills; and
Infrastructure. It is possible to see a reflection of the NAfW’s vision and the
consultation areas on the web-site. Since its launch other areas for consultation have
been added, such as European Funding and a ‘Welsh and ICT’ forum. Crucially it was
the general feedback received from a public forum that prompted the setting up of the
Welsh and ICT forum, demonstrating the role of the public in helping to determine
the shape of Cymru Ar-Lein.

Electronic Consultation
In this section we make a number of distinctions that help us understand the
appropriate positioning of e-Consultation in the policy formulation and consultation
process. We then describe some of the intentions of the NAfW to re-engineer aspects
of this process around the use of e-Consultation.

Information and Communications Technology, Information systems and Human

Activity Systems
To help understand the place of e-Consultation in the e-Government agenda it is
useful to make a number of distinctions (Beynon-Davies 2002):

0.3 E-Consultation 12
 • Information and Communications technology is any technology used to
support information gathering, processing, distribution and use. ICT provides
means of constructing aspects of information systems, but is distinct from
information systems. Modern ICT consists of hardware, software, data and
communications technology An ICT system is a technical system. An ICT
system is an organised collection of hardware, software, data and
communications technology designed to support aspects of some information
system.
• An information system is a system of communication between people.
Information systems are systems involved in the gathering, processing,
distribution and use of information. Information systems support human
activity systems. Not all information systems embody ICT. A major initiative
is ongoing within UK government which is attempting to increase the number
of information systems supported by ICT.
• A human activity system (HAS) (Checkland 1987) is a social system –
sometimes referred to as a ‘soft’ system. A human activity system is a logical
collection of activities performed by some group of people. A human activity
system will have a distinct goal or goals that it fulfils. Another term now used
as a synonym for a HAS is organisational or business process (Hammer 1990).
• Most systems in organisations are examples of socio-technical systems. A
socio-technical system is a system of technology used within a system of
activity. Information systems are primary examples of socio-technical
systems. Information systems usually consist of ICT systems used within
some human activity system. They therefore bridge between ICT and human
activity. Part of the human activity will involve the use of the ICT system. The
information provided by the ICT system will also drive decision-making
leading to further action within the organisation.
In terms of the domain considered in this paper policy formulation and consultation
are the human activity systems under consideration. For effective and efficient policy
formulation and consultation a number of information systems need to be in place.
For instance, the policy itself must be specified and the associated information
relating to the collaborative decision-making that accompanies policy (such as records
of Chamber meetings and minutes of committee meetings) must be stored. A number
of ICT systems may be used to automate aspects of the policy formulation and
consultation process. For instance, a centralised database of contacts may be
maintained for the distribution of policy and the collation of responses.

Pressures for electronic consultation

The NAfW is committed to ensuring full opportunities for consultation and
participation in its work. That commitment is also placed on its sponsored bodies such
as the Welsh Language Board and the Welsh Development Agency. In doing so the
NAfW has a vital role in promoting and encouraging an appropriate context for
enabling people to participate in policy-making in the most accessible way possible.
The NAfW’s commitment to consultation rests on a firm legislative foundation within
the Government of Wales Act 1998 and its obligations under Standing Orders. Many
of the functions transferred to the NAfW under that act also carry a statutory
requirement of consultation.

0.3 E-Consultation 13
There are also a number of practical reasons for looking to e-consultation within this
institution:
• Like most of the new devolved institutions in the UK the administrative
personnel within the NAfW lack experience of policy formulation and
consultation
• Increasing range and numbers of policy is now generated from the NAfW.
Partnership organisations have complained to the NAfW over the lack of
standardisation of policy documentation produced by this institution
• The UK government recommends that policy consultation be performed for a
minimum of eight weeks and for a recommended period of 12 weeks. Because
of resource constraints, such timescales are frequently difficult to achieve

Consultation Process
The Strategic Policy Unit at the NAfW commissioned an information audit of its
policy formulation and consultation procedures in 2001. The conclusion of this audit
was that the process of consultation would be greatly assisted by using the Internet
and Intranet infrastructure of the NAfW.
The consultation process is a well-defined business process or human activity system
consisting of a number of key activities:
• Raising the Issue. Drafting issues for policy consideration
• Participation Strategy. Deciding on appropriate agents to consult
• Formulation of the Proposition. Creating the consultation document
• Consultation. Putting the consultation document out to consultation with
parties and collecting responses
• Analysis of Responses. Analysing the content of responses. Perhaps re-
formulating the policy document on the basis of responses
• Presentation. Issuing the final policy and presenting it at various venues
These constitute more detail on the activities underlying the policy initiation, policy
formulation and policy consultation phases of the policy-cycle described above (see
figure 3). ICT systems can be used in various ways to enable aspects of this process.
For instance:
• The creation of a guidance tool, offering NAfW staff members background
information about the appropriate actions to take at various stages of a
consultation
• Development of selected tools to assist in the carrying out of key activities, such
as distributing the consultation documents to consultees, publication of the
consultation documents on the Internet, collection of responses in a variety of
formats, as well as the organisation of events and workshops to support
consultation
• Creating more project management features to enable closer monitoring of the
overall consultation process

0.3 E-Consultation 14
E-Consultation System
The NAfW are currently in the process of implementing an e-Consultation system
consisting of a collection of databases and ICT systems closely integrated with the
policy process described above.
Four databases exist storing data about consultees, documents, events and external
parties. The content of these databases is managed by Assembly officials through a
secure administration facility, and is accessible internally through the various policy
tools and/or a guidance wizard. Parts of the data are also accessible externally through
the consultations website.
These databases are used by the following ICT tools:
! Document Management and Publication tool. This system provides Assembly
staff with templates for the production of policy documents. Policy documents can
then be published via a secure document management system to the Assembly
Web-site. The document management system stores planned, current and archived
policy documents and may be searchable via the Internet
! Contacts tool. This system allows consultees to register to receive notification of
new consultations. They are able to specify which type and subject areas are of
particular interest to them. The consultees are contacted automatically once every
six months by the system to encourage them to keep their records up-to-date
! Dissemination Tool. This is a system for managing the dissemination of
consultations through block e-mail and/or mail-merge. It also enables the creation
of reminders at pre-set dates
! Event Organiser. This tool is used for managing a database of events and venues.
Assembly staff can define events and search the database for an appropriate
venue. A number of venue suggestions are shown prior to selection. The tool
invites venue managers to keep the information held about their venue up-to-date
via a secure extranet
! Response Collection Tool. This system is used for managing the collection of
responses and acknowledging receipt of the same. Responses are collected in a
number of ways – via the provision of a pre-formatted online response
questionnaire, a free format text uploading facility, or the invitation to send a
paper based response. Automatic acknowledgements are sent to all respondees
! Voting Tool. In addition to the classic feedback collected in text format, in some
instances it is appropriate to ask for numerical voting feedback. For some
consultations an online voting form is provided. The tool is capable of counting
and analysing the various contributions. As above, the system generates an
automatic acknowledgement of receipt to the consultee
! Response Analysis Tool. This system is used for analysing responses received.
Feedback is received in a variety of formats: Set answers to a row of specific
questions in small paragraph format; Free form additional information in
conjunction with the answers to the specific questions asked within the
consultation; Free format texts, received in digital or paper-based format. In the
latter case, a manual qualitative analysis is conducted aided by the provision of
preformatted response evaluation forms. When the feedback is collected via
voting forms the feedback is analysed automatically and presented via a data
visualisation tool

0.3 E-Consultation 15
 ! Provision of Feedback Tool. This system is used for informing consultees of the
outcome of the consultation. Feedback is provided in terms of the final policy text
together with clear indication of which sections were altered as a result of the
responses to the consultation. For consultees that have access to the Internet, and
whose preference it is to exchange information with the NAfW in digital format,
these documents are made available on the Internet. For the consultees that prefer
to communicate with paper-based media, the feedback is made available in printed
form
The various tools are accessible via a general toolbox or through a guidance facility.
This latter facility is meant to shepherd inexperienced policy-officers through the
early stages of the policy cycle, from policy initiation through to issuing the policy
into implementation. As such, it constitutes a simple form of workflow system. The
relationships between the tools, databases and guidance facility are illustrated in
figure 5.

Toolbox
Dissemination Guidance
Tool Tool

Consultees

Response Document
Collection Management/
Tool Documents Publication
Tool
Consultees Officers
Voting Contacts
Tool Tool
Events

Provision of Response
Feedback External Analysis
Tool Parties Tool

Figure 5: The e-Consultation System

The Utility of Electronic Consultation

Information systems and their associated ICT systems have to be designed in the
sense that the key features of such systems need to be determined prior to their
construction and implementation. Such key features or properties are critical ways in
which we can assess the worth or success of some ICT system.
Traditionally, design features of an information system fall into one of two categories:
functionality - what the system does; usability - how the system is used. One should
note that both functionality and usability are inherently related to the place of the
information system within the context of some human activity system. Hence to
functionality and usability we should add utility. Utility or efficacy is an important but
neglected feature of an information system. Utility concerns the contribution the
information system makes to supporting the human activity of some organisation
(Beynon-Davies 2002).

0.3 E-Consultation 16
The functionality of the e-Consultation system is described above and is intended to
support a key human activity system of government - the consultation process.
Consultation as a process demands a consulting population. We might argue that there
are at least three classes of consultee to which a consultation process might be
directed:
• Partner Organisations. In terms of a regional Assembly such as the NafW this
would constitute Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies (ASPBs) such as the
Welsh Development Agency and the Welsh Language board as well as organs
of local government
• Non-partner Organisations. Such consultees would include all public,
voluntary and private sector organisations in Wales
• Individuals. All the citizens of Wales
The usability of the ICT systems discussed above has yet to be assessed and such
assessment may prove difficult without a clear idea of the user. Currently the ICT
tools appear to be primarily directed at consultation with NAfW partners. This is not
surprising in that the tools have been designed through participation with
representatives of ASPBs. There are a number of key issues involved in extending this
to non-partner organisations and citizenry. It remains to be seen whether such a
generic system and process is effective in the sense that is it feasible to design one
electronic consultation system for all classes of user.
The most difficult questions relate to questions of utility. In what way can we
determine that electronic consultation is more efficient or effective than traditional
forms of consultation? Key efficiency and effectiveness gains are possible from e-
Consultation in terms of the NAfW itself and established partners in the following
ways:
• the turnaround time for policy formulation and consultation can be radically
reduced
• the content management of policy information becomes more efficient
• the duplication of contacts information across NAfW divisions can be
radically reduced
In terms of effectiveness, key gains are possible in ways which include:
• NAfW officers with little experience of policy formulation and consultation
may be guided through this process by the e-consultation system
• more potential partners and citizens can be engaged with the government
institution in consultation
• more comprehensive feedback can be provided to each of the respondees to a
consultation
• a clear audit trail of consultation can be established, providing evidence in
support of policy
However, there is little empirical information to judge the effectiveness of such
technological vehicles for improving communication and participation on the part of
the citizen population.

0.3 E-Consultation 17
The potential for ICT to improve external democratic processes is limited by a
number of major forces of social exclusion present in Western societies. Particular
sectors in society may be excluded economically, socially and politically from
effective communication and participation in democracy (Tapscott, 1998). On the
economic front the cost of ICT equipment and maintaining a connection to the
Internet may prove prohibitive for many disadvantaged groups. Socially, low levels of
e-literacy may exclude certain sectors from participation. Finally, politically
government institutions may wish to impose levels of political/state control of the
network infrastructure which prohibit certain opinions from being aired.
Issues surrounding ending social exclusion are high on the political agenda in
Westminster, the European Union (European_Commission 2001) and the devolved
legislatures in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. A key feature of social
exclusion in the UK is exclusion of marginalized groups from the decision-making
process at local and national level. This is characterised by low turnout at local and
national elections and a lack of influence in the policy-making process. Politicians
believe that the use of ICT, particularly Internet-based ICT can have a positive impact
on reversing this trend (Hansard_Society 2002).
Observers have seen the development of a new ‘techno-optimism’ surrounding the
use of ICT to combat social exclusion (Van Winden 2001). However, the idea that the
Internet and ICT will lead to direct involvement of the entire populace in political
debate has been questioned by many academics in recent years. Norris (Norris 2000)
compares the speculation surrounding the impact of the Internet on democracy with
similar ideas that emerged through the development of other mass media and
communication technologies such as radio and television. Norris points to two
conflicting theories - Mobilization and Reinforcement – that help focus the debate
surrounding e-democracy and social exclusion. This accords with Porebski’s positive
and negative face of e-Democracy (Porebski 2002).
Mobilization theory is the positive face of e-democracy. It argues that developments
such as electronic bulletin boards, community web sites, low information costs and
low cost Internet access will lead to new forms of direct democracy. Pal (Pal 1998),
for instance, suggests that ‘..ICT dramatically lowers the barriers to entry into the
political market place. Mobilisation is in principle easier because large numbers of
people can be contacted and politically aroused through electronic means’.
In contrast, reinforcement theory is the negative face of e-democracy. Mobilisation
theory argues that there is little empirical evidence to judge the effectiveness of such
ICT vehicles for improving communication and participation on the part of the citizen
population (Tapscott 1998). Concern has been expressed that the use of e-democracy
may be heavily skewed towards certain sectors of society. Rather than enabling social
inclusion, the Internet and associated ICT will simply reinforce the existing patterns
of social inequality and political participation (Norris 2000).
Reinforcement theory suggests that major parts of the already disadvantaged sectors
of Welsh society may be further disenfranchised through the use of such technologies.
An emerging so-called digital divide may exacerbate rather than improve
contemporary processes of social exclusion (Byrne 1999).
In a country such as Wales with varying skill levels and concentrations of wealth and
poverty in a largely rural setting, there is the potential for further excluding social
groups through the use of ICT in the democratic process. Recent figures from MORI

0.3 E-Consultation 18
show that in the UK 39% of citizens have access to the Internet, in Wales the figure is
closer to 29% (Mori, 2002).
The relationship between access devices and channels and interactions between
government and citizen is therefore crucial to this debate. Pilots are in place
investigating the role of such access mechanisms as interactive digital TV for central
and local government services. Hence the importance of providing more public access
channels from within the community such as public libraries, schools and business
ICT centres. However, there appears to be little research currently on perceptions to
and take-up of ICT in such public access points. Early suggestions seem to indicate
that the impact on the most socially and economically deprived groups is likely to be
small in terms of access provided from traditional venues such as schools and
libraries.
There is of course the added dimension of bi-lingualism in Wales and the position of
the Welsh-speaking minority. To attempt to meet the needs of this sector, most, but
not all e-consultation is offered by regional and local government through the medium
of Welsh. However, there is little information as to the degree to which this minority
utilise e-consultation. There is also little guidance as to appropriate ways of designing
e-consultation vehicles for a bi-lingual audience.

Conclusion
The need to increase the transparency of policy making and to increase the
involvement of the public in the formulation of strategy are crucial components of the
drive to increase the speed of the policy cycle and to be more interactive and inclusive
of civil society in the policy formulation process. These are some of the main aims of
modernizing government.
In this paper we have considered the experience of electronic consultation at the
NAfW. We have described one example of an e-consultation exercise conducted at
this devolved government institution that proved reasonably successful at
demonstrating the potential of consultation through the Internet.
The future of e-consultation in the UK generally and in Wales in particular is difficult
to forecast at this early stage. What is promising is the intention of the NAfW to re-
engineer the process of policy consultation in Wales. This involves developing
various electronic tools to support future consultation. Clearly, this has numerous
potential benefits for the NAfW and its established partners such as creating
consistency throughout the divisions and the agencies of the NAfW in the way that
they utilise e-consultation.
What is less clear is the impact that the electronic enablement of the policy process
will have on the relationship between government and citizen. For example, whilst
there has been a substantial amount of theoretical debate, there is comparatively little
empirical research on the linkage between social exclusion and e-Democracy. We
have the unique chance to study qualitatively and longitudinally this linkage within a
region of the UK that contains some of the most disadvantaged. Hence, we would
expect our results to contribute not only to debate over effective ways of managing
devolved governance but also to inform national and international debates over the
relevance of e-Democracy in general and e-Consultation in particular.

0.3 E-Consultation 19
Acknowledgements
Our thanks to the NAfW and particularly the ICT Strategy and Strategic Policy Units
for supplying information used in this paper.

References
Beynon-Davies, P. (2002). Information Systems: an introduction to informatics in
organisations. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Palgrave.
Beynon-Davies, P., M. D. Williams and N. Hayward (2001). Tele-Democracy and the
National Assembly of Wales. ECIS 2001, Bled, Slovenia.
Byrne, D. (1999). Social Exclusion. Buckingham, Open University Press.
Checkland, P. (1987). Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. Chichester, John Wiley.
European_Commission (2001). E-Inclusion - The Information Society's potential for
social inclusion in Europe, Commission Staff Working Document
SEC(2001)1428.
Hammer, M. (1990). Re-engineering work: Don't automate, obliterate. Harvard
Business Review July-August: 18-25.
Hansard_Society (2002). Technology: Enhancing Representative Democracy in the
UK? London, Hansard Society.
Hill, K. A. and J. E. Hughes (1998). CyberPolitics: citizen activism in the age of the
internet. Oxford, Rowman and Littlefield.
Jones, B., A. Gray, D. Kavanagh, M. Moran, P. Norton and A. Seldon (2000). Politics
UK. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
National-Audit-Office (2002). Better Public Services through E-government, National
Audit Office.
Norris, P. (2000). A Virtuous Circle: Political communications in post-industrial
democracies. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Pal, L. A. (1998). A Thousand Points of Darkness: Mobilization and the case of
Communication Decency Act. Digital Democracy. Policy and Politics in the
Wired World. C. Alexander and L. A. Pal. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Porebski, L. (2002). Three Faces of Electronic Democracy. European Conference on
Information Systems, Gdansk, Poland.
Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up Digital: the rise of the net generation. London,
Mcgraw-Hill.
Taylor, J. A. and E. Burt (2001). Not-for-Profits in the Democratic Polity.
Communications of the ACM 44(1): 58-62.
UK_Online (2002). In the Service of Democracy: a consultation paper on a policy for
electronic democracy, HM Government.
Van Winden, W. (2001). The end of social exclusion? On Information Technology
policy as a key to social indicators in large European cities. Regional Studies
35(9): 861-877.
Waller, P., P. Livesey and K. Edin (2001). e-Government in the Service of
Democracy. ICA Information 74(June).

0.3 E-Consultation 20
Mori. 2002. www.webactivemagazine.co.uk/News/1116641

0.3 E-Consultation 21