Electronic consultations as a means of involving citizens in decision-making

The article is devoted to analyzing electronic consultations to involve citizens in decision-making at the state and local levels. It is determined that electronic consultations are a form of electronic participation that allows covering a wide range of topics or problems, including changes to legislation, environmental issues, improvement of services, etc., and with the ability to involve a wide range of interested parties in the discussion. The legislation of Ukraine is analyzed, which regulates the features of conducting public, including electronic consultations. The author notes that electronic consultations as a form of public consultations are an essential tool that allows people to express their opinions, which are then taken into account and considered by state authorities and local self-government bodies. It was determined that the broad involvement of citizens in discussing several issues of state and regional importance is facilitated by the use of information and communication technologies that allow stakeholders and citizens to directly express their opinions on specific topics and participate in interactive dialogue. Statistical data on public consultations by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and central and local executive bodies were analyzed. One of the characteristic features of electronic consultations in Ukraine at the regional level is the dispersion of relevant services on various electronic platforms - mostly, these are institutions’ websites that initiate a problematic issue/document for public discussion. In foreign countries, electronic consultations are a reasonably popular tool through which the authorities conduct an interactive dialogue with the public to solve problems or discuss issues of interest to society. Special attention is paid to online consultations in the European Union. It is summarized that the introduction of electronic consultations strengthens the principles of democratic participation, such as accessibility, transparency, and active involvement of citizens, contributing to a more collaborative approach to decision-making and ensuring that every vote counts.