Expanding participatory governance through digital platforms: drivers and obstacles in the implementation of Decidim at the local level

Open-source participatory platforms originally designed and led by protest activists from the 15-M and free software movements in Spain are currently being adopted by many local governments. Its development exemplifies the tensions between a model of democracy-driven governance, typically pushed by social movements, and the managerial governance-driven functioning of public administrations. Our focus is on the platform Decidim and the obstacles, drivers and trade-offs that condition its implementation as a tool for citizen participation. Because of their centrality, we study how public administrators who are in charge of Decidim among Catalan local governments perceive their implementation, and how these perceptions are connected with the number of digitally registered citizens. Our research strategy combines quantitative questionnaires, in-depth interviews and data derived from the digital platform. We find that a wider use of the platform is associated with (1) a disjoint between the goals of transparency and participation, (2) a potential collision with previous structures of participation, and (3) reluctance towards the platform by key actors, namely local associations, which may fear disintermediation. All these factors constitute obstacles that hinder a more democratic-driven implementation of the platform.