Lequanne Collins-Bacchus
Title:UX Citizen: Prototyping Participatory Digital Twins for an Open Government
Supervisor: Dr. Veiko Lember
Opponent: Dr. Peeter Vihma
Defense: 5 June 2023
Abstract: Recently, open data has been a key method of sharing government data with the public to reflect values of participation, transparency, and user-driven approaches to data in OECD countries. This vision has not considered how the non-technical public, or the digitally vulnerable, can access and use open data according to these values. As such, there is a need to address this gap. This thesis focuses on common approaches, possible solutions, and opportunities brought by prototyping ways to increase participatory, open government, which includes digitally vulnerable citizens. Results in this study are acquired through a literature review of online academic papers, OECD documents, and 5 interviews of user journeys through a digital twin prototype. Findings identified three key opportunities that arise when designing for non-technical citizens. Opportunities discussed include improving service design of data as a digital twin or aggregated service, including accessibility as part of open government, and offering efficient, human guided services. Challenges discussed include the need for open data portals to be redesigned, increased public education regarding digital services, reducing division in access to technology, and the need to improve digital literacy of the public.
Keywords: Citizen participation, digitally vulnerable, open government, OECD countries, open data, prototype
