Transforming Civic Engagement in Taiwan through the National Development Council’s Join Platform

Themes

e-Government: The platform exemplifies the effective use of information and communication technologies to enhance public sector operations and improve overall productivity. Join.gov.tw leverages digital tools to streamline citizen engagement and governance processes by enabling online submissions, discussions, and responses.

Citizen-Centered Service: Join.gov.tw focuses on understanding and addressing citizens’ expectations by providing a platform for public input on policy proposals. It emphasizes transparency, accountability, and direct interaction with government processes, aligning with the goals of improving service performance and public sector capacity.

Overview

Join.gov.tw, developed by Taiwan’s National Development Council, marks a significant advancement in participatory governance. The platform enables citizens to propose, discuss, and vote on public policies, fostering direct engagement in governance. Established in response to public dissatisfaction with previous governance failures further exacerbated by the 2014 Sunflower Student Movement, Join.gov.tw addresses the need for more transparent and inclusive decision-making processes. It has successfully engaged nearly five million users, enhancing government responsiveness and accountability. By bridging the gap between citizens and government, Join.gov.tw underscores the value of integrating public input into policy-making and improving overall governance practices.

Challenge

In 2012, failures in Taiwan’s e-governance, such as a poorly designed housing price website and an ineffective economic recovery TV campaign, spurred the creation of g0v, an open-source civic movement advocating for accessible, participatory, and transparent governance. Known as the “provisional government” (linshi zhengfu), g0v arose from widespread dissatisfaction with traditional authorities. This discontent deepened during the 2014 Sunflower Student Movement, which protested the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement, exposing issues like limited public involvement and poor inter-agency collaboration. Rigid institutional structures further hindered innovation and reduced government responsiveness, eroding public trust and fueling demands for more open, accountable, and efficient governance.

Solution/s

In response, the Taiwan National Development Council (NDC) established a public policy participation platform to enhance open government practices. Launched in 2015, this platform enables citizens to engage directly with public affairs throughout the policy development and implementation stages. Though petitions on Join are not legally binding, government agencies must provide detailed responses to petitions that receive over 5,000 signatures. Here’s a breakdown of the platform:

Want to Propose: This section invites individuals with Taiwanese nationality or residence permits to submit creative policy suggestions and insights. It aims to foster collaboration and build consensus to enhance governance capacity by pooling public wisdom.

To Second the Motion: In this section, users can support proposals made by others. This process helps form a consensus and expand governance capacity by encouraging collective input from the public.

Public Lecture: This section provides information about upcoming policies from various government ministries and actively seeks public opinion. It invites both support and criticism to gather diverse perspectives on policy plans.

To Supervise: Here, users can access general information on government plan implementations since 2017 and participate in overseeing governance. It encourages public involvement in promoting improved government performance.

Participatory Budgeting: This unit focuses on integrating public proposals into the budgeting process. It allows the public to vote on and participate in budgeting decisions, promoting transparency and citizen involvement in municipal development.

Collaboration Meeting: This section facilitates meetings where government agencies and public participants can collaborate on various initiatives. It aims to improve communication and cooperation between the public and government.

Participate in Audit: This section allows citizens to engage in auditing activities, including reviewing budgets, financial management, and policy implementation. It aims to enhance government accountability and public governance efficiency through active citizen participation.

Each section is designed to encourage public engagement in different aspects of governance, aiming to improve transparency, accountability, and overall government performance.

The platform operates under regulations that include:

• Directions for Implementing Online Participation in Public Policy.
• Directions for Implementing Open Government Liaison Officers in the Executive Yuan and its subordinate agencies.

Productivity Gains, Outcomes, and Impact

As of June 3, 2022, the platform has garnered 13,853 proposals, with 289 receiving official government responses. The platform has engaged nearly five million of Taiwan’s 23 million residents, markedly enhancing government responsiveness and transparency. Its impact is particularly visible in fostering civic engagement and collaboration between civic tech activists and government agencies. A key example is the creation of a visualization website for Taipei City’s municipal budget, a collaborative effort between activists and the Taipei City Government. This initiative has made budget information more accessible and understandable to the public, thereby improving fiscal transparency.

This exemplifies Taiwan’s shift from top-down e-governance to a more participatory, bottom-up approach. This transition has led to successful projects like the digital visualization of the national budget and the campaign finance transparency initiative, which have empowered citizens to engage more actively in governance and influenced policy-making by increasing public input and oversight. The platform demonstrates how digital tools can effectively bridge the gap between citizens and government, resulting in more responsive and transparent governance. Its capacity to facilitate public participation and integrate civic tech innovations has delivered measurable productivity gains and strengthened democratic engagement in Taiwan.

Lessons Learned/Challenges in Implementing the Intervention

Join.gov.tw has provided valuable insights into participatory governance and civic engagement, including the relevance of leveraging digital platforms to enhance government transparency and responsiveness. The platform has successfully engaged a large segment of the population, fostering collaboration between citizens and government agencies on various issues. However, several challenges have emerged. One key challenge is the resistance from government bureaucracy, where senior public servants sometimes struggle to view online feedback as constructive rather than confrontational. This resistance underscores the need for continued training and support to bridge this perception gap. Additionally, Join.gov.tw’s focus on a broad range of issues, including those beyond digital economy topics, has attracted a diverse user base but also led to increased complexity in managing and addressing varied proposals. This diversity, while beneficial, can strain resources and slow down response times. Future improvements could involve streamlining the proposal review process and enhancing user support to manage the broader range of topics effectively. Additionally, increasing efforts to integrate and respond to feedback from both citizens and government participants could further enhance the platform’s impact and efficacy.

References

2023 Taipei City Voluntary Local Review. Institute for Global Environment Strategies. (2023). https://www.iges.or.jp/en/vlr/taipei

Ho, M. (2022, June 17). Exploring Worldwide Democratic Innovations – A Case Study of Taiwan: European Partnership for Democracy 3445 Exploring Worldwide Democratic Innovations – a case study of Taiwan. European Partnership for Democracy. https://epd.eu/news-publications/exploring-worldwide-democratic-innovations-a-case-study-of-taiwan/

Taipei Yearbook 2015. 臺北市資料大平臺. (2016, June). https://data.taipei/dataset/detail?id=4edf771b-bcc5-42c0-bea2-c003e3435d0e