governance

Peter A. Johnson and Renee E. Sieber. 2011. Motivations driving government adoption of the Geoweb GeoJournal. Online First™, 11 May 2011

Recent increases in the use of Web 2.0 and Geoweb technologies by citizens have led many governments to investigate the adoption of these technologies. This research examines the motivations driving multiple levels of government in Quebec, Canada to consider the adoption of the Geoweb within a context of rural development. We present results from a series of interviews with key government representatives that identifies the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) of the Geoweb within provincial and municipal government. Respondents define two implementations of the Geoweb, informational and participatory, indicating that SWOT differs for each. This research concludes that for government to implement an informational Geoweb, there are few barriers, but that a participatory Geoweb will require a more substantial, and potentially long-term renegotiation of the relationship between citizen and government.

RGS-IBG SESSION: Governance and the Geoweb
Location and Dates:
Royal Geographic Society Annual International Conference

September 1-3, 2010, London, UK.

Sponsor: GIScience Research Group (GIScRG)

The increasing challenges from crises such as climate change in addition to expectations from the public about modes of engagement mean that traditional methods of public participation are being challenged. eGovernment systems, such as authoritative Web mapping sites, which were heralded as the solution to this challenge, predominantly offer one-way communication from government to the public and do not include effective means to collect citizen feedback nor engage citizens in two-way dialogue. New mechanisms, like the Geospatial Web (or Geoweb), have the potential to address these challenges and present a unique opportunity for both local and central governments.