LocalCom
The LocalCom project aimed to conduct a comparative study involving four European countries (Italy, Norway, Poland and the UK) on the democratic potentials and challenges of local communication online and contribute to our understanding of local communities and local communication in the digital age.
This research was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 MSCA IF Project No. 796918.
The Localcom study is unique investigating how digital technologies and new communication patterns influence the local public administration and local public sphere in different social and political systems. The topic is important as digital technologies are transforming fundamentally how local communities communicate and function. As such the study benefits local government officials, business (especially in media sectors), activists, representatives of non-governmental organisations and citizens.
The results showed that coordinate actions between key stakeholders regarding the use of new information and communication technologies could result in ‘smart regions’ with active digital local public sphere. However, despite the rapid development of digital communication, not all local spaces are fully exploiting the potential of ICTs. The study identified four key barriers: low acceptance of digital technologies by members of the communities and lack of trust of citizens; limited cooperation between local administrations, businesses and other stakeholders; ageing population and associated problem of digital exclusion; and low levels of uses of key actors.
The project brought practical solutions for building dynamic public sphere at the local level. The framework identified five core issues for the development of local public sphere in the digital age, which were analysed in detail during the research:
- Digitalisation of public administration platforms
- Existence of local information platforms/portals
- Existence of platforms of community groups and local organisations
- Extent and the ways in which traditional local media moved to digital space
- Need for audiences to be familiar with digital technologies
For further information see here and here.