Development of an e-governance system to support cooperative environmental policy actions

Abstract The quality of the digital infrastructure supporting decisions is an important factor in the preparation phase of any environmental policy action, and this quality can greatly reduce the level of transaction costs. However, the development of a solution for Coaseian bargaining raises several unsolved technical problems to be able to efficiently decrease external costs. Here, we show the recommended structure of an information and communication technology (ICT)-based software infrastructure that aims to guide relevant stakeholders to achieve environmental deals and enhance green innovations. After reviewing the existing methods, practical solutions, and economics of transaction costs, we selected the design process of a new platform. We identified the functionality modules of the ICT infrastructure with descriptions of the features. Our results demonstrated that the establishment of an ICT-based e-governance system featuring participatory modeling could efficiently reduce transaction costs based on the widely used typology of them. We found that our platform could improve the involvement of any group of stakeholders through collaboration. Furthermore, we elaborate on the assessment of risks and evaluate the potential to avoid serious risks during the implementation or operation of the system. We anticipate our paper to be an initial step in the implementation of an innovative platform for the interested parties of environmental policy actions.