Transforming e-Participatory Budgeting With Blockchain: Boosting Transparency and Citizen Engagement

Abstract

Integrating blockchain technology into the public sector promotes transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in e-government services. This study discovers key challenges of the e-participatory budgeting (e-PB) model in Estonia using an exploratory case study research method in software engineering. We conducted semistructured interviews with 16 participants, including local government officials from multiple Estonian municipalities, e-democracy experts, citizens, and IT and/or participatory budgeting (PB) project managers, using a snowball-purpose sampling technique. The study highlights the main issues in existing e-PB systems, such as lack of public deliberation, inadequate tracking of PB funds, low citizen participation, transparency issues, data manipulation risks, and inclusivity concerns. Our findings indicate that the core attributes of blockchain, including decentralization, immutability, traceability, and disintermediation, mitigate these issues. These intrinsic characteristics of blockchain prevent data manipulation risks, facilitate tracking of the status and budget of the PB project, and ensure equal participation, thus fostering citizen trust in the e-PB system. We propose a conceptual model of blockchain-based e-PB that unifies multiple e-PB systems into a single platform. Finally, we discuss the practical implications for engineering managers and policymakers who integrate blockchain-based solutions into e-governance systems.