The paper presents an attempt to develop an e-participation evaluation technique that considers institutional design, compatible with large- and small-N analysis, as well as useful for policy-makers. Based on the new institutionalism and previous research, we assess the development of access, embeddedness and control features of e-participation. The framework is tested on 85 Russian regional e-participation portals, followed by the analysis of factors that might explain the variation. Possible applications and future research are also discussed.