Resumen

PENA, Dionnys; OLIVAR, Cira  y  PRIMERA, Nelly. Information and Communication Technologies in Citizen Participation Mechanisms in the Local Sphere. Revista Venezolana de Gerencia [online]. 2008, vol.13, n.43, pp.398-416. ISSN 1315-9984.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs), open new and effective possibilities for bringing government and citizens closer together whenever they are used strategically and to the best advantage. Based on this supposition, this study intends to analyze to what degree good use is made of ICTs in citizen participation mechanisms in the local sphere. To accomplish this, a theoretical review was made about technological options that facilitate interaction, supply public information and are feasible to apply in local contexts, with the purpose of offering general guidelines for their incorporation in the functioning of participation mechanisms implanted in Venezuela. Results reveal that the technologies appropriate for supporting citizen participation are automatic information units, networks based on information technologies and electronic government, which can become municipal information circuits, where technological training figures as a means for guaranteeing a greater and better access to the same on by local management and the citizens. Conclusions are that ICTs will be best used in citizen participation mechanisms to the degree that the social actors involved are committed to applying the corresponding guidelines and strategies.

Palabras clave : Information and communication technologies; citizen participation mechanisms; municipal management.