Participatory democracy platforms gain traction in Switzerland

From left to right , Guillaume Drevon, Vincent Kaufmann and Armelle Hausser du Laboratoire de sociologie urbaine. Alain Herzog / EPFL - An initial survey by researchers at EPFL has found that local and regional governments are increasingly turning to digital technology to understand the views of their citizens, especially on planning and development proposals. Governments across Switzerland are embracing civic technology. This is one of the headline findings of the first Civic Tech Barometer, a survey conducted by researchers from EPFL's Urban Sociology Laboratory (LaSUR) in partnership with Geneva Canton's Consultation and Communication Department. The team's conclusions are based on responses to an online survey sent to municipal, city and cantonal authorities nationwide between August and November 2019. In total, 83 government employees from the French, German and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland submitted answers. The idea behind civic technology, or civic tech, is to change the way citizens participate in democratic processes.