Abstract
A renewed interest has appeared in citizen co-production of public services due to financial pressure on governments. While social media are considered an important facilitator, many digital participatory platforms (DPPs) have been developed to facilitate co-production between citizens and governments in the context of urban development. Previous studies have delivered a fragmented overview of DPPs in a few socio-spatial contexts and failed to take stock of the rise of DPPs. This article aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of the availability and functionalities of DPPs. Through a systematic review, 113 active DPPs have been identified, analysed, and classified within a citizen-government relationship typology. Almost a quarter of these DPPs demonstrate a realistic potential for online and offline co-production between governments and citizens. The article critically analyses the characteristics of these DPPs and explores their real-world applications in urban development. The article concludes with directions for further research.
Highlights
While there is an abundance of literature on the use of social media for citizen-government relationships, this paper focuses on a more specific type of ICT: digital participatory platforms (DPPs – see Section 2 for definition), that aim to bring together public and private actors (Ertiö, 2015; Desouza & Bhagwatwar, 2014)
While social media are considered as an important facilitator in this respect, a plethora of digital participatory platforms (DPPs) has been developed to enable collaboration and co-production between citizens and governments
Previous research has revealed the promise of the Internet to “enable co-production on an unprecedented scale” (Linders, 2012, p. 446), but reviews have yielded a fragmented picture of DPPs in only a few specific socio-spatial contexts like the United States of America and some parts of Europe
Summary
Collaboration and participation of citizens in governments’ activities at all levels has received increasing levels of attention in many disciplinary fields such as public administration and government studies, urban planning, public service design, computer science, and information technology (e.g. Bryer & Zavattaro, 2011; Gil de Zúñiga et al, 2010; Linders, 2012; Magro, 2012; Munthe-Kaas & Hoffmann, 2016; Sanders & Stappers, 2008; Slotterback, 2011; Verschuere et al, 2012). Bryer & Zavattaro, 2011; Gil de Zúñiga et al, 2010; Linders, 2012; Magro, 2012; Munthe-Kaas & Hoffmann, 2016; Sanders & Stappers, 2008; Slotterback, 2011; Verschuere et al, 2012). Much of this attention derives from the potential contribution of new social media, digital platforms and other ICTs to the interactions between (national and local) governments and citizens. In line with this stance, mobile applications and platforms created by professional developers through government challenges, prizes, apps competitions, and hackathons - where governments make their data available to produce new ideas and solutions - are widespread and common (see e.g. Challenge. gov; New York City Big Apps; Europe Open Data Challenge, Rotterdam Park Hackathon, San Diego Apps Challenges, Code for America)
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