Welcometothe rstintheePartseriesofannualinternationalconferences.ePart is dedicated to reviewing research advances in both social and technological scienti c domains, seeking to demonstrate new concepts, methods and styles of eParticipation. ePart is dedicated to innovative and rigorous eParticipation research. It aims to bring together researchers from a wide range of academic disciplines and provide the scienti c community with a platform for discussing and advancing research ?ndings. The conference itself is preceded by a doctoral colloquium providing young researchers with the important opportunity to be part of the eParticipation research community. This book bringstogether 16 papers representing the completed, compreh- siveresearchof41authorswithfromcountriesrangingfromSwedentoAustralia. Re ecting on the highly complex and multi-faceted nature of eParticipation - search undertaken by these authors, the papers are clustered under the three headings: - Research Review and Outlook - Evaluation and Assessment - Tools, Techniques and Case Studies Papers include those that consider future multi-disciplinary research directions, examine the potential contribution of social networking sites to political enga- ment, provide evaluation frameworks for both eParticipation policy and speci? c projects, and those that describe emerging tools and techniques with which to conduct and analyze eParticipation. The ongoing research, projects, and general development issues, which have alsobeenacceptedforePart2009,arepublishedinacomplementaryproceedings volume by Trauner Druck, Linz, Austria.
