Effective Digital Participation: Differences in Rural and Urban Areas and Ways Forward

The improvement of digital infrastructures and mobile technologies creates new opportunities for increased citizen digital participation; however, digital participation faces numerous challenges. Using empirical results from a series of surveys in a small Irish city, this chapter aims to identify key drivers for digital citizen participation and compares the results in the context of rural and urban settings. The descriptive analyses provide insights on digital competence differences in the rural versus urban areas and their current usages of online public services. Further analysis focuses on the use of popular digital tools and social media across the geographical groups, addressing the current state of citizens' digital access, and exploring opportunities to leverage available infrastructures such as community centres and libraries for improved access, especially in rural areas. This research also analyses volunteering practices, skills needs and access challenges and how local and national policies can shape and support future activities.