City as a Platform and the Role of Participative Democracy in Big Romanian Cities

Abstract

AbstractThe article investigates the main contributions of digital transformation, technologies, and platform logic in the way public institutions implement participative democracy with a primary focus on citizens as both beneficiaries and users of those platforms. We specifically look at the way in which participative instruments make use of platforms and digital technologies. The article is based on triangulation between participative democracy, platform logic, and digital technologies in Romanian public institutions, as a new framework to engage multiple stakeholders in the decision-making process. From the perspective of institutional management, this chapter investigates what are the main challenges of participative democracy and how technology, digital innovation, transformation, and platform logic can facilitate the process and be part of new strategic approaches, with a focus on Cluj-Napoca, the second biggest city in Romania. We aim to analyze the necessary internal institutional changes, frameworks, and strategies that facilitate adoption of new models and concepts and the challenges that public institutions face in adapting to a more participatory and integrative approach to policy making. Based on interviews and statistical data analysis, we investigate the degree of participation, engagement in the participatory process, benefits for stakeholders, and obstacles encountered in the implementation.KeywordsGovernment as a platformCity as a platformParticipatory democracyParticipatory budgeting