Digital Citizens at Work: Mapping Citizen m-Participation Cases in Governance of Services in Tanzania

Abstract

In the digital governance era, government institutions and civic organisations have
innovated spaces for engaging with ordinary citizens in the governance of services.
Digital information and communication technology penetrate and reshapes all walks
of life from collective participation to timely and quick auditing and sharing of
information of the status of social services. Yet, little is documented regarding mobile
participation (m-participation) initiatives in monitoring social services and citizengenerated

data in Tanzania. This article is an exploratory work that identifies and
maps citizen m-participation projects in the monitoring of social services. Besides, it
highlights how e-services cases are in line with the current sustainable development
goals (SDGs). In this line, we argue that mobile phone technology is a tool for
empowering citizens to participate in governance of social services. The paper deploys
document and web analysis to identify and highlight citizen m-participation projects.
The findings indicate that mobile technology amplifies the opportunity for citizen
participation in governance processes given the high penetration rate of mobile
phones for texting and calling, compared to online web-based technology that depend
on the internet connection which is still scanty.