Barrance, Thomas A. (2015). Framing Gov2.0: A Q-methodological study of practitioners’ and local politicians’ opinions. Local Government Studies, 41(5), 695-712. (Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2015.1012193)
Abstract: Proponents of Gov2.0 claim that it offers the potential to improve the relationship between the citizen and state. Whether this potential can be realised depends in part on how new web-based technologies are implemented. Local government officials and politicians are important actors in this process, yet we know little about how they view Gov2.0. This paper applies Q-methodology to a sample of English local government actors to generate new data and fill this gap in our knowledge. Four frames of reference within this population are revealed: Sunlight on Government, Cautious Crowdsourcers, Gov1.0, and Platform Providers. The paper concludes that while there is general agreement that technology will be a driver of change, and that local government should adapt, there is no clear agreement as to the nature of reform.
Thomas A Barrance <tab599@bham.ac.uk> is currently principal business analyst with Cambridge Assessment, Cambridge, UK.
