Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are becoming increasing relevant in policy making and governance activities. However, the broad effects of digital governance have not been adequately conceptualised; conflicting assumptions vary from rather optimistic accounts of empowered citizens to even completely dismissing the potential of engagement through technical means. This research attempts to reposition the impact of ICTs on policy making and political communities. Drawing from institutional studies, an integrated perspective is synthesised to guide case investigations in three main directions: (1) the way influences from the institutional environment are understood and balanced locally, (2) the co-evolution of institutional and technological configurations and (3) the dynamic response of institutional actors to the challenge of online engagement. The empirical part focuses on two different contexts (local government authorities and a trade union federation) that cover the holistic objective of this study. The findings inform on the extent to which ICTs are actually merging with existing governance structures. Both studies show that policy making is fundamentally different from other activities at the general intersection of Internet and politics. Citizens form online communities to organise ad hoc around single issue movements. However, this does not necessarily translate into sustainable and meaningful participation in formal politics. Hence, adapting institutional structures emerges as a complicated challenge beyond fitting technical means into existing engagement activities. On this basis, the thesis questions the extent to which policy making mechanisms are able to enact engagement from the grassroots, as for example encouraged by the social media collaboration philosophy. Implications for practice show how the alignment between new tools and the existing norms has the potential to identify paths of least resistance, and then exploit them to accomplish positives changes whose beneficial effects should not be taken for granted.

Magistro darbo tikslas ištirti vietos savivaldos institucijų ir nevyriausybinių organizacijų bendradarbiavimo bei finansavimo galimybes. Šio darbo objektas - Šiaulių miesto nevyriausybinių organizacijų atstovų, vietos savivaldos institucijų darbuotojų ir Šiaulių miesto gyventojų apklausa. Darbo tikslui įgyvendinti buvo iškelti tokie uždaviniai: išanalizuoti mokslinę literatūrą nevyriausybinių organizacijų klausimu; atskleisti nevyriausybinių organizacijų vaidmenį viešajame gyvenime; išanalizuoti teorinius savivaldybių ir nevyriausybinių organizacijų bendradarbiavimo aspektus; išanalizuoti nevyriausybinių organizacijų siekius, lūkesčius, tikslus Šiaulių mieste; atlikti Šiaulių nevyriausybinių organizacijų ir vietos savivaldos institucijų darbuotojų anketinę apklausą; apklausti žodžiu Šiaulių miesto gyventojus apie nevyriausybinių organizacijų vykdomą veiklą gimtajame mieste. Pagrindiniai tyrimo metodai: mokslinės literatūros analizė; anketinė anoniminė apklausa; atsitiktinė gyventojų apklausa; sisteminė ir lyginamoji duomenų analizė. Pagrindinės tyrimo hipotezės: nevyriausybinės organizacijos yra nepatenkintos bendradarbiavimo galimybėmis su vietos valdžios institucijomis; finansavimo ir rėmimo šaltiniai nevyriausybinėms organizacijoms yra labai menki; nevyriausybinių organizacijų vykdomai veiklai neskiriama nuolatinė finansinė parama. Atlikus tyrimus paaiškėjo, kad daugelis Šiaulių miesto vietos savivaldos institucijų darbuotojų yra visiškai nesusiję NVO vykdoma veikla... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of this master‘s work is to explore collaboration and sponsorship peculiarities of local government and non-governmental organizations. The object of this work – survey of non-governmental organizations members, local government’s institution employees and inhabitants of Šiauliai city. To realize the aim of this master‘s work were set out such goals as to analyze theoretical collaboration aspects of local government and non-governmental organizations; to reveal the role of non-governmental organizations in public life; to find out objectives and expectations of non-governmental organizations in Šiauliai city; to accomplish a questionnaire survey of non-governmental members and local government‘s employees of Šiauliai city; to examine verbally inhabitants of Šiauliai city about non-governmental organizations performing activities in their home town. The main research methods are: the analysis of nonfiction literature; the anonymous questionnaire survey; the accidental inhabitant survey; the comparative and classified data analyses. The basic research hypotheses are: the non-governmental organizations are not satisfied with the collaboration possibilities of local government; sponsorship sources of non-governmental organizations are very little; non-governmental organizations are not giving permanent financial support. While accomplished researches it emerged that employees of local government are little acquainted with non-governmental organizations performing... [to full text]