The Joint Research Programme focused the research work into 12 key areas designed to provide a common platform for co-operative research and innovation across discipline boundaries and diverse backgrounds. It articulated the themes and issues central to the community of practice and to the development of European excellence in eParticipation.

Joint research activities have included: gap analysis and roadmapping, Application & Use, large scale discourse analysis, as well as the study and development of eParticipation tools, eParticipation methods, the management of diverse information/knowledge, virtual communities, evaluation methods, emerging standards and “business” models, monitoring models, large scale public participation, and transferability.

WP 4 - Setting challenges

This workpackage was the starting point to identify and respond to developing global research and innovation challenges in the field of eParticipation. It analysed the European eParticipation research landscape and compared it with international developments (particularly in the US) in order to develop research agendas and roadmaps to govern the direction and future evolution of the network. The work allowed DEMO-net to put together the research teams and thematic networks to respond to evolving challenges.

WP 5 - Joined eParticipation technical research

eParticipation technologies comprise software systems and conceptual schemes (such as programming languages, standards, ontologies and algorithms) and must be implemented on existing hardware platforms and networking capacities. Key eParticipation technologies address large scale discourse analysis, community decision making, large scale public participation, virtual communities and semantic and ontological knowledge representation. The workpackage set the necessary structures and themes in place for ensuring joined technical research.

WP 6 - Joined eParticipation socio-technical research

Though all eParticipation approaches are based upon a technical platform, exclusively technology-driven projects report low degrees of external acceptance. EParticipation initiatives need to have internal and external relevance to the social contexts they are situated in. They need to be sensitive to political context, discourse forms and differing stakeholder interests and this means they must address socio-political factors such as motivation, competences, interactivity, conflict management and quality. The theoretical background for such research is socio-technical and cross-disciplinary. The workpackage sets the necessary structures and themes in place for ensuring joined socio-technical research.

WP 13 - Multi-disciplinary tools, methods and techniques to support eParticipation

The overarching objective of this task was to ensure the Joint Research Activity Program for DEMO-net continues to address the major challenges facing eParticipation.

WP 14 - Current adoption and emerging trends in eParticipation

This WP, like WP13, ensured the Joint Research Activity Program for DEMO-net reflects the changing requirements of eParticipation in practice.