MONITORING WEBSITES OF MUNICIPAL BODIES AS A MEANS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE AUTHORITIES AND THE PUBLIC (BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF THE REGIONAL STUDY)

Abstract

The article aims at monitoring the information content of the websites of municipalities based on the case of Kemerovo Region-Kuzbass, one of the subjects of the Siberian Federal District. The main assessment criteria include such indicators as availability of regulatory information on the website, basic information about the municipality, information about the reception of citizens, thematic range and frequency of filling websites with information, availability of special interactive features, and others. This kind of research is relevant due to the need for further development of democratic practices at the regional level as the official websites of municipalities, along with developing social networks, are today a significant communication channel between the authorities and the population. As before, official websites allow solving a number of communication issues: they disseminate information about current events, ensure the work of “virtual reception offices”, provide an opportunity to make a request or file a complaint about the poor performance of their duties by public utilities. In addition, high-quality and timely updating of information on the websites of municipalities does not only affect the public sentiment with regard to representatives of the municipal level, but also shapes public assessment of the work of all authorities at the regional level – the parliament, the Government of Kuzbass and the head of the region. The monitoring results made it possible to identify a number of recommendations to the regional and municipal authorities of the region, in particular, the need to create a unified modern format of the website structure for all municipalities with high-quality, attractive appearance, the need to unify the structure of official sites for the convenience of both finding information and working with it, and creating special needs versions of websites for the visually impaired (when such versions are absent)