Waiting for Godot: Testing Transparency, Responsiveness and Interactivity of Serbian Local Governments

Abstract

The e-government has been profoundly changing the expectations of citizens towards local governments worldwide. Policyholders in Serbia have been very active proponents of the implementation of novel e-services in local governments. However, the capacities for full implementation of e-governments are still humble. This paper reports on findings from the study on transparency and online visibility, responsiveness to e-mails, and interactivity of local governments, especially with regard to financial inquires. The study used a multi-step methodology to examine the proactive, reactive and interactive transparency of 169 local governments in Serbia. The results indicate that local governments are relatively transparent, but responsiveness and interactivity are far below expectations.