Affiliations: [a] University of Koblenz-Landau, Koblenz, Germany | Fundacion Universidad de las Americas Puebla, Business
School, anta Catarina Martir, San Andres Cholula, Puebla, Mexico | City University of New York, Staten Island, NY,
USA
Abstract: The success of innovative e-participation solutions depends heavily
on the organizational planning and the incorporation of such initiatives into
the different stages of the policy life-cycle. E-participation often demands to
introduce new participation facilities into the traditional processes of policy
formulation and decision making. Accommodating the various requirements from
distinct perspectives calls for a holistic engineering approach for
e-participation systems analysis and design. Enterprise Architectures (EA) have
evolved in information systems research as an approach to give guidance in
developing complex socio-technical systems. This paper analyzes the application
of EA frameworks in the context of e-participation. E-participation domain and
implementation models are investigated to identify crucial tasks and aspects in
e-participation project development and implementation. Related to the tasks
identified, two EA frameworks are analyzed: the Zachman Framework and TOGAF. We
explain how EA frameworks can support the development and implementation of
e-participation projects. Finally, the needs for a reference framework for
e-participation are argued and a reference framework is presented.
