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EDEN
The EDEN project will contribute to stimulate and support the citizens' participation in the decision-making process, specifically in the area of urban planning, through the development of Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools designed to make easier and more effective the communication between citizens and public administrations.
Electronic Democracy European Network
Facts
Project Acronym: EDEN
Project Full Title: Electronic Democracy European Network
Contract No.: IST-1999-20230
Duration: 30 months
EC Funding: 1,349,965 EUR
Total Investment: 2,373,354 EUR
Background
The use of the Internet by European public administrations has been so far focused on Web sites rich in information but complex and one directional. EDEN will address the issue of shifting from the prevailing paradigm of "broadcasting" to the paradigm of "interactivity".
Aim
To improve communication between public administrations and citizens in decision-making processes, and reduce the cost of individual citizens' actions, the EDEN project will combine several technical approaches using urban planning as the pilot application target.
Technical approach
NLP technology will support comprehension of professional quality data, unified messaging will provide access from different media, and groupware applications will help citizens to navigate through and take part in decision-making processes. Best practice methods will be defined for consultation, and informal and formal participation.
Involvement
The project requires participation from research partners recognising the importance of technology driven inclusive democracy. We developed the eParticipation tools and integrated them within EDEN. Further, we supported the local government partners in setting-up the pilot implementation and lead WP5 Urban Planning E-Democracy Pilots.
