ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the case study which is useful to evaluate to what extent a policy instrument that is open to the general public can promote the participation of ordinary citizens. The analysis of case study shows, individuals are more likely to participate when the subject of a consultation is related to broad or civic issues and when the documents linked to the consultations are available in a wide variety of languages. The consultation on the European citizens' initiative illustrates the difficulties of combining inclusiveness of consultative process with its impact on the final decision. The chapter suggests that the level of impact on the decision is related to the organizers' needs: legitimating the decision-making process by staging its democratic nature, or having access to relevant expertise in the framework of a consultation on a technical or complex issue. The technical design of an e-government or an e-participation platform plays an important role in the communicative practices that it structures.
