Crowdsourcing as a Public Engagement Tool in Rulemaking Activities of Kazakhstan

Abstract

This article aims to review and evaluate the process of publics’ participation in the discussion of regulatory legal act (RLA) draft s through the crowdsourcing platform «Open RLA», which is one of the components of Open Government.
The results of the expert interview, the content analysis of documents and portal «Open RLA» showed that the portal does not provide the proper level of public participation in the public discussion of RLA drafts due to several factors. First, there is a technical barrier in the form of a mandatory electronic digital signature for commenting. Second, there is a formal attitude and low interest of the state bodies-developers of RLA drafts in receiving comments in the framework of public discussion. Third, the implementation of such requirements such as the indication of the structural element, rationale for the proposal or comment submitted, requires special knowledge which means not every citizen is able to understand. Fourth, motivation of the public to engage in the process of public discussion is low. Fifth, there is no continuity of the process of public discussion from the moment of initiation to its adoption. Sixth, there is insufficient promotion of the portal «Open RLA» and informing citizens about the possibility of participation in public discussion. Seventh, the texts of the RLA drafts posted on the portal «Open RLA» are presented in professional language using specific terminology. Eighth, updating of the portal «Open RLA» is slow and do does not follow the rules.