This article reports on a preliminary
analysis of Australian third sector, or non-profit, organisations’
attempts to mobilise citizen engagement using online technologies.
Recent debates about the nature and importance of citizen
engagement, and the impacts of online technologies on
citizen engagement, are reviewed in order to identify
the significance of these technologies to third sector
organisations. Drawing on a content analysis of 50 Australian
third sector organisations’ websites, I then consider
the ways in which these organisations are, or are not,
utilising online technological capacity to mobilise citizen
engagement with their organisational activities. The research
concludes that, while the organisations reviewed are utilising
the capacity of online technologies to present information
about their offline activities, they are less consistent
in using these technologies to mobilise civic engagement
in new ways. The implications of the research findings
are discussed in relation to the future of the Australian
third sector and public policy.
Keywords: third sector; civic engagement;
online activism
