The development of e-participatory budgeting in local governments: A case study of Van Metropolitan Municipality

The transformations in public administration during the twentieth century also impacted financial management practices, leading to the emergence of new approaches in public budgeting processes. Participatory budgeting, child-friendly budgeting, green budgeting, and gender-responsive budgeting are some of the prominent examples of these changes. The aim of this study is to examine the development of e-participatory budgeting in local governments and to evaluate the potential of this model in the context of Van Metropolitan Municipality. The study's methodology includes the analysis of academic and secondary sources, as well as an examination of the Van Metropolitan Municipality's website and e-applications. A qualitative research method, specifically text analysis, was employed. In this context, the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan, performance programs, and activity reports of the Van Metropolitan Municipality were reviewed, and the municipality's website was evaluated in terms of e-participation. The analysis revealed that the strategic plan, performance programs, activity reports, and the website of the Van Metropolitan Municipality do not sufficiently incorporate e-participation tools. The findings suggest that the municipality lacks sufficient potential for e-participatory budgeting. Additionally, while some e-participation tools are used by the municipality, they are not adequately utilized by citizens. Based on the obtained data, it was concluded that there are shortcomings in the municipality's use of e-participation tools.