The value of community participation is evident as one of the main objectives Saudi Arabia's vision 2030 and supporting its plans, as stated in the text (We will work to strengthen communication channels between government agencies on the one hand and between the citizen and the private sector on the other hand, and facilitate ways of interaction through intelligent means. Also, we will listen to everyone's opinions and encourage government agencies to meet the needs of every citizen, and enhance the quality of services they provide. We want everyone to interact and take initiative through our participation in opinions and suggestions, and our agencies will work to achieve aspirations and hopes.
And to motivate the public to take conscious creative initiatives, to uphold and use the values derived from the heritage of society, and use them to prepare the ground for accepting, supporting and absorbing renovations, we have established electronic community participation to be one society and one nation towards achieving Vision 2030.
E-participation can be defined as "the process of involving citizens and customers in government work mechanisms in terms of designing, implementing and evaluating policies and services,
as well as participating in decision-making in order to achieve customer satisfaction and citizens' happiness."
One of the most important advantages of these technologies for government agencies is to increase access to customers to understand their needs and aspirations regarding government services and public policies, and to involve them in assessing and evaluating the provided services.
Community Participation Policy
Al-Qassim province municipality provides an opportunity for the participation of government agencies, the private sector and members of the community in contributing to the transfer of their opinions and viewpoints and communicating them to the concerned departments, taking into account maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of the participant's information.
In order to ensure compliance with public and private laws and to promote the principle of dialogue to achieve the desired goals, the municipality reviews the posts regarding ideas and proposals before publishing them, but at the same time, and because it is not possible to review or respond to all posts, the municipality reserves the right to publish or delete and modify what it deems inconsistent with the posting policy and laws.
The Qassim Region Municipality and its employees are not legally responsible for the consequences of publishing public comments, observations and opinions through its electronic means of participation or social media channels.
Interacting and participating in the municipality 's means of electronic community participation means tacit approval of the right of the municipality to use these participations in decision-making processes and future policy-making. The municipality aims to publish and archive the results of electronic participation in decision-making
processes, but it is not absolutely obligated to do so.
Public Participation Standards and Regulations
Proceeding from the municipality's endeavor to ensure the achievement of the desired goals of community participation and to reflect the expected image of the morals and culture of the participants, conditions and controls for available electronic participation have been set.
Here are the guidelines for community participation:
- The participation should be characterized by seriousness, objectivity, clarity and brevity, and the comment should be focused on enriching the topic under discussion.
- The participation should be written in clear language, taking into account the rules of the classical Arabic language and spelling as much as possible.
- Participation must adhere to the teachings and etiquette of the true Islamic religion, national customs and traditions, and the prevailing laws of the state.
- Commitment to the etiquette of dialogue, and avoiding racism, sectarianism, tribalism, slander, muttering, and belittling others and their efforts.
- Do not send the post more than once.
- Be careful and accurate when writing religious texts (Quranic verses and hadiths) in the posts to prevent distortion or error in writing them, while not using them in other than their correct places.
- Respect the laws and intellectual property rights and copies, and clarify the references and sources used in the intervention or participation.
- Not to publish personal data such as names, contact details and addresses, and not to market to any other party.
- Not to misuse the Municipality 's systems for electronic participation in a way that affects its performance, level of security, speed, or continuity, or depriving others of benefiting.
Online community participation tools and channels
Al-Qassim Municipality provides many electronic community participation tools such as comments, suggestions, opinion polls, directed questionnaires, and complaints, in addition to social media channels (Twitter - Instagram - YouTube - Facebook) and volunteer services and direct communication through communication, in addition to the community participation platform Baladi portal (Baladi Evaluation - Baladi Ideas - Baladi Decisions)
The municipality may use all or some of these means in the process of electronic participation in decision-making, as it deems appropriate for the subject at hand. The means available to participate in each topic presented for discussion are clarified