Measuring policy effects: online participation on the municipal level

Do citizens' decisions, which are discussed and co-ordinated a priori on online participation platforms, have any policy effects? The article addresses this question in an exploratory study. Taking theoretical concepts of participation and policy effects into account, LiquidFeedback platforms are investigated in four municipalities in Lower Saxony (Germany). A total of 80 cases—i.e., successful citizens’ initiatives that were afterwards considered by local city or district councils—are included in a content analysis. Results show that crucial policies are less often translated into binding policy decisions than other policies. Even though citizens’ decisions can have binding policy effects, large-scale projects, in particular, show rather diffuse policy effects. However, diffuse policy effects are hardly transparent for citizens and could, accordingly, inhibit the willingness to participate altogether.