Citizens increasingly seek greater involvement in public decision-making processes. Emerging technologies, such as augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR), have the potential to enhance interactions between citizens and administrative bodies. However, public administrations have yet to fully integrate these tools into participatory processes, primarily due to psychological and social barriers. The participation paradox highlights the dificulty of engaging citizens in increasingly complex local processes. While technological advancements ofer new opportunities, administrations often struggle to present their concepts in ways that are accessible and comprehensible to citizens. AR and VR ofer potential to vividly communicate complex processes and foster engagement in participatory processes through its immersive capabilities. First projects, which use AR and VR to visualize public initiatives fail to embed these technologies into their operational workflows. This working paper proposes a conceptual framework designed to systematize citizen-participation and harness immersive technologies to foster greater transparency, interactivity, and engagement in public administration. The framework aims to streamline participatory processes, reinforcing collaboration between citizens, administrations, and scientific institutions. By bridging this gap, the framework seeks to address current shortcomings and advance the integration of innovative AR/VR technologies into public participation.
Citizens increasingly seek involvement in public decision-making processes [
While immersive technologies have been tested in visualizing public initiatives, few eforts have integrated them into broader participatory frameworks that support administrative decision-making. Most existing literature focuses either on technological capabilities or isolated user experiences, rather than developing comprehensive, operational frameworks for public sector application. To bridge this (B. Niehaves) https://www.uni-bremen.de (R. Palombo); https://www.uni-bremen.de (J. Westermann); https://www.uni-bremen.de
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ISSN1613-0073 gap, there is a need for a holistic framework that not only leverages the full potential of AR/VR but also aligns with administrative workflows and participatory principles.
Accordingly, this paper addresses the following research question:
RQ1: How can a framework for immersive technologies be conceptualized to enhance citizen participation in administrative planning processes and contribute to more informed decision-making?
In response to this question, this study introduces a conceptual framework for the use of immersive technologies, specifically AR and VR, to enhance citizen participation and support more informed administrative decision-making. Building on insights from existing participation platforms and literature, the proposed framework addresses the lack of structured, transferable approaches that integrate immersive media into participatory processes. The key contribution lies in the development of a design concept that systematizes participation through immersive technologies while remaining adaptable to diverse administrative contexts. The framework is grounded in design science principles and includes actionable steps intended to guide both researchers and practitioners in the implementation of immersive participation platforms.
Virtual reality is defined as a set of technologies that enable individuals to interact optimally in real
time using natural senses and skills with 3D-displayed databases [
AR encompasses a wide range of devices and technologies. In commercial use, AR applications for
mobile phones are prevalent. Since its breakthrough in 2019 through the mobile app Pokémon Go, a
variety of location-based AR applications have emerged [
A central problem in the interaction between citizens and administrations is the participation paradox. It describes the dilemma between what is contributed and what is received in participation projects [11]. Public administrations may primarily aim to address the needs of citizens. However, involving citizens becomes increasingly challenging due to the rising complexity and efort required at later stages in the participation chain [12]. This creates a discrepancy between the input from administrations, which aim to serve citizens (top-down), and the citizens’ capacity to contribute efectively. Current developments in digital participation indicate a shift, evolving from democratically legitimized administrative entities into hubs of democratic and participatory engagement [13]. Two key worst-case scenarios must be considered. The first is the hold-up situation, where progress stalls because two parties cannot reach an agreement over time due to misaligned and escalating requirements. The second is the free-rider problem, where one party, typically the administration, acts independently without adequately involving other stakeholders in critical decisions [14].
Immersive technologies blur the line between the physical and virtual world, which can induce a
sense of immersion in users [15]. Immersion can foster engagement with a certain topic and present
information in a vivid way [
This study adopts a design science research (DSR) methodology to develop a conceptual framework for applying immersive technologies to foster participatory engagement in public decision-making. The DSR approach follows an iterative process of problem identification, exploration of existing solutions, artifact conceptualization, and preparation for evaluation in future implementation contexts. To establish a foundation for the framework, we conducted an exploratory study of existing AR/VR participation projects within the public sector. The European context was chosen as the primary focus for this exploration due to its strong tradition of promoting civil society participation [17][18] and its continued support for digital innovation through institutional policies and funding programs [19][20][21]. This policy landscape provides a fertile testing ground for emerging technologies, including immersive media, to be embedded in participatory governance structures.
Our initial identification process was conducted through structured desk research. This process
yielded a dataset of 133 AR/VR projects implemented across various areas of public administration. To
refine this dataset, we applied targeted inclusion criteria: projects were retained if they (1) explicitly
aimed to foster citizen participation, and (2) used AR/VR technologies as core tools to support these
participatory functions, rather than as peripheral or purely illustrative media. Applying these criteria
reduced the dataset to 17 projects, representing approximately 13% of the total identified. Information
on both our initial dataset as well as on our currated dataset can be accessed in the following repository:
https://tinyurl.com/mw97xmdc
This curated subset serves as the empirical foundation for our framework development, as these cases
ofer focused insights into the design intentions, implementation strategies, and challenges associated
with immersive participation technologies. Importantly, these projects were selected not for their
thematic domain but for their participatory orientation, enabling us to analyze broader patterns across
contexts. Thematically, the majority of the projects focused on urban planning, where AR/VR is widely
applied due to its suitability for visualizing spatial data and its potential to reduce risk in high-stakes
environments such as infrastructure development [
These diverse examples collectively informed the development of a conceptual framework that seeks to systematize the use of immersive technologies in participatory governance, while remaining adaptable to diferent administrative domains and use cases.
Although a considerable number of AR/VR participation projects have been identified, only a few have
implemented a streamlined and efective participation process using immersive technology, providing
clear operational approaches or recommendations. Among the best-researched projects is
’TakePart’, supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). This project provides
valuable insights into participatory methods. In Take-Part, two public facilities, the Karlsruhe Zoo
and the public hospital in Karlsruhe, were planned and presented to citizens using an experimental
participation platform. This platform enables citizens to virtually visit the planned areas and interact
with a coordinator regarding the 3D concepts. Fegert et al. [
Energy
Geodata
Current public participation projects primarily use VR in experimental settings to explore the potential
of the technology. One major issue with many AR/VR initiatives is the high entry barrier faced
by technologically inexperienced municipalities and communities [
The conceptual framework presented here is grounded in the analysis of 17 AR/VR-based public sector projects. Our findings indicate that most projects focus on isolated participation stages, often limited to visualization or ideation, without connecting them into a coherent participation flow. These patterns revealed a gap in current practice and shaped the need for an integrated, full-cycle participation framework.
To address this gap, we turn to Design Science as a methodological foundation for developing such
a framework. In the context of public participation, Design Science can bridge diferent perspectives
and enable knowledge transfer between scientific scholars and political agents while developing a
functional system for day-to-day operations. Within the context of participatory governance, three main
stakeholder groups must be considered: citizens, administrations, and scientific researchers. Balancing
the expectations and requirements of these groups is a complex task. For instance, the Stuttgart
21 protests revealed the critical need for transparent citizen communication in public infrastructure
projects [
The DSRIS framework by Kuechler and Vaishnavi [22] ofers a methodological framework comprising of five iterative stages: problem awareness, suggestion, development, evaluation, and conclusion. Design Science emphasizes generating scientifically grounded artifacts through repeatable, evaluative processes. However, public sector applications present specific challenges. These include the high coordination efort required by central institutions and the dificulty of sustaining multi-cycle processes among citizens and administrators who often expect fast, tangible outcomes [ 27]. Additionally, participation systems must mitigate governance dilemmas such as free-riding or hold-up scenarios [14], making adaptability and resilience key design considerations.
To address the limitations of Design Science in dynamic participatory contexts, we integrate Design Thinking as a complementary methodology. Design Thinking introduces a human-centered, agile process that aligns well with early-stage ideation, rapid prototyping, and iterative user feedback. Its fivephase structure, empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test, mirrors the fluidity of civic participation processes and facilitates continual engagement with end users [28]. Design Thinking and Design Science were selected for their complementary characteristics: the former prioritizes practical usability and responsiveness, while the latter ensures conceptual depth and methodological rigor. Although integrating both approaches is complex, particularly in the public sector where agility is constrained by regulation, we propose an architecture where Design Thinking guides interaction and iteration, and Design Science supports evaluation and structured learning.
With these core elements defined, we now present a more detailed description of the central components. A key aspect of Design Thinking is storytelling, which facilitates idea development through stakeholder interaction. Storytelling inspires participants and provides concrete details that help visualize the context [29]. Presenting continuous feedback is challenging and can fail due to increasing complexity [14]. To mitigate this, structured feedback rounds help refine ideas. Each step in the process generates artifacts that document agreements between stakeholders and organizations. Agile processes are slowly being integrated into public administration, but agility also requires flexibility, which often conflicts with rigid administrative procedures [ 30]. Public institutions difer from private-sector organizations due to legal restrictions and data privacy concerns [31].
Therefore, we propose a framework that simplifies administrative processes and serves as an interaction layer over existing planning procedures. The proposed platform establishes an agile innovation process based on the Design Thinking paradigm. The central technological concept is an immersive ITech-room, where ideas are generated and presented. The concept of the ITech-room is connected to the participation platform and can function as a physical participation station in public development areas. These stations may be placed in urban centers, transportation hubs, or locations requiring citizen involvement in planning public facilities.
The framework comprises of six central views. In the empathize view, the system provides tools to clarify the scope and context of the problem. The goal is to understand the current situation of a participation project and to establish a shared baseline. An AR/VR system can bring this context to life and create a common understanding of the existing field conditions. The immersive environment includes functionalities for visualizing real-world conditions and for integrating 3D scans.
In the define view, citizens and administrators move from shared understanding to clear problem definition in a given participation context. Virtual tools allow both parties to highlight critical pain points directly in the 3D artifact. Additionally, all annotations made in the virtual environment are compiled into a central document, helping to narrow down and prioritize key issues. Each party provides a response document summarizing the main concerns within the design space.
In the ideation view, participants may generate ideas with divergent and convergent idea generation functionalities. Ideas can be placed on top of the 3D-artefact of the design view to enhance the problem space with possible solutions. This view contains two phases. In the first phase, citizens and administrations receive the chance to generate divergent ideas. In the second phase, the ideas are narrowed down to a limited number of alternatives [32].
After the ideation phase, ideas are selected through a structured voting process. The administration predefines the number of voting iterations. Citizens and administrations vote for five ideas from a pool of generated ideas. After voting, a discussion phase is initiated to exchange arguments. A second voting round follows, narrowing the options to one to three ideas.
These ideas may be further developed in the prototyping phase. When the administration is confident with a prototype, it starts an evaluation phase for this prototype, to verify the impact with the citizens [33]. The most promising virtual prototypes are continuously refined in the evaluation phase. This phase integrates the ideation and presentation functions from previous stages, adapting them to a feedback-oriented context. Both stakeholders, citizens and administrators, have the opportunity to assess a concept before it enters production. The evaluation process continues until the project’s completion, with virtual representations being regularly updated.
During prototyping, ideas can be developed using a toolbox containing 3D models. This allows citizens and administrators to collaboratively create virtual environments with basic interactive elements, such as weather efects, trafic sounds, and simple logic functions. The implementation can build upon existing SDKs and software frameworks to ensure compatibility and ease of use.
For scientific institutions, four key entry points are considered to refine the participation process. The extent to which insights can be integrated into the process may be discussed between partners. Scientific contributions can follow Pefers et al. (2007) by adopting a problem-centered approach to better understand specific participation challenges [ 34]. Subsequently, objective-centered solutions can be explored to address these challenges efectively. In terms of prototype development, the design and development phase can be supported by scientifically backed methods. Finally, client- and context-driven prototype development can be enhanced through continuous observation and iterative refinement based on citizen feedback.
This paper presents an efort aimed at conceptualizing a framework for the use of immersive technologies to enhance citizen participation and support informed administrative decision-making. Grounded in a design science approach, the framework builds on insights from existing AR/VR-based participation projects and proposes a structured, yet adaptable, design concept. The resulting model outlines granular, actionable steps for integrating immersive technologies into participatory processes, with the goal of making these processes more transparent, engaging, and responsive.
At this stage, the framework remains conceptual and exploratory. While it is informed by a systematic review of existing projects, it has not yet undergone empirical validation. To advance this research, a critical next step involves the pilot deployment of the proposed framework in a real-world, controlled setting. Such a pilot would allow for the evaluation of the framework’s usability, efectiveness, and adaptability in practical administrative contexts. Close collaboration with public institutions will be essential to establish appropriate testing environments.
Given the central role of immersive interaction in shaping participatory experiences, co-development with citizens is vital to ensure that the framework aligns with the expectations and needs of its intended users. This includes iterative prototyping and continuous citizen feedback throughout the development and testing phases. Importantly, the framework is not intended to replace existing planning procedures but to complement them. Future development will require the creation of robust interfaces to integrate administrative systems and data sources seamlessly into the participatory process.
In addition to legal and organizational considerations, the technical setup must be outlined in detail before implementation. This includes developing a data framework encompassing the structures, formats, and quality standards required for platform integration. Furthermore, we will explore partnerships with GovTech startups and venture clients. These startups bring an inherently agile mindset, and lessons learned from this initiative could inform other agile projects in the public sector. Finally, a modular approach to platform design may encourage divergent thinking in participation strategies, helping to address challenges without relying on the same paradigms that created them. This separation could promote innovative solutions and broader applicability across diverse public-sector initiatives.
During the preparation of this work, the authors used Grammarly, DeepL, and ChatGPT in order to: Grammar and spelling check, Paraphrase and reword. After using this service, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the publication’s content. [33] S. Gibbons, Design thinking 101, 2016. URL: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-thinking/. [34] K. Pefers, T. Tuunanen, M. A. Rothenberger, S. Chatterjee, A design science research methodology for information systems research, Journal of Management Information Systems 24 (2007) 45–77. doi:10.2753/MIS0742- 1222240302.