Increase Citizen Participation Research Articles

Citizen Participation in A Smart City: The Seoul Case

The ultimate objective of governments that adopt the smart city approach is to improve the living conditions of citizens. Therefore, the realization of the smart city vision is largely an issue related to citizens. Thus, the increasing success of smart cities that become prominent in the world by effectively ensuring citizen engagement beyond prioritizing the technology use attests to this. This study aims to reveal the role and importance of citizen participation in smart cities within the framework of the example of Seoul Smart City, the capital of South Korea. In this context, the prominent citizen participation practices and features of the Seoul smart city are mentioned. In the study, which was created with the qualitative method, a descriptive method was used in the direction of the literature review, the information about the smart city on the website of Seoul Municipality, and the information from the Digital City plans. According to the results of the study, it has been seen that the Seoul Municipality has succeeded in increasing citizen participation with the mobile applications implemented in Seoul, which facilitate the education of citizens. However, it has been determined that there are still insufficient field study examples showing the level of influence of bottom-up decisions in Seoul.

Impact of Social Media on Indian Politics after Covid-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted Indian politics, particularly regarding the role of social media. This research paper explores the effects of social media on Indian politics in the post-pandemic era. It examines how social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp have become essential tools for political communication, citizen engagement, and electoral campaigns. The paper discusses the positive aspects of social media, such as direct connectivity between politicians and constituents, increased citizen participation, and the amplification of marginalized voices. However, it also addresses challenges, including the spread of misinformation, privacy concerns, and algorithmic biases. The literature review studies political mobilization, polarization, electoral campaigns, privacy, and data security. Overall, this research aims to provide insights into the multifaceted impact of social media on Indian politics after the COVID-19 pandemic and identify opportunities to leverage these platforms effectively while mitigating risks.

Co-creation and learning: an assessment of the pedagogical proposals in collaborative interactive non-fiction

Audiovisual co-creation has always had a pedagogical nature, which has been maintained in its adaptation to digital communication, although it is applied in different ways. This study analyses the pedagogical proposals in collaborative interactive non-fiction in the digital environment, and compares them with previous projects of participatory practices. As case studies we selected five interactive audiovisual projects that stand out for their educational intent and their preparation of teaching resources, and analyzed their pedagogical proposals. First, we looked at pedagogy in pre-digital or analogical collaborative creation, which was used to develop an original analytical table. We used this table to study the five collaborative projects through three identified categories. The results show that these categories continue in initiatives today, although the findings show a shift in the pedagogy about audiovisuals, particularly concerning the technical aspects, as well as a weakening of the connection between learning and participation in the collective production. Finally, we can highlight that combining educational practices with collaborative production on the Internet is important to increase citizen participation and give a social perspective to this audiovisual modality.

Understanding citizen investment in renewable energy communities

This research investigates factors driving citizen participation in renewable energy communities (RECs) using demographically representative surveys including a discrete choice experiment on attributes of RECs and a contingent valuation experiment on intended amounts of investment in RECs in France, Germany, and Poland. We investigate, in particular, whether municipalities can incentivize citizens to invest in RECs by offering to match their investments and examine the effect of small probabilities of losing the entire investment. Further, we analyze the role of preferences, capabilities, and social factors that have not or only scarcely been studied in the context of RECs. Our results provide evidence that matching by the municipality has a positive effect on citizen investment. Further, ruling out even small risks of losing the entire investment may substantially increase citizen participation in RECs. The experiments suggest that investments in RECs are related to willingness to take risks and willingness to take losses. Individual capabilities (i.e. financial literacy, experience), social norms, place identity, and trust in local government also seem to spur citizen investment in RECs.

Conserving the Councillor: A Case for Widespread Local Officeholding

Guided by participatory and deliberative conceptions of democracy, local governments have embraced the need for increased citizen participation in decision‐making. Yet, at the same time, a systematic reduction in the number of councillor seats has seen a precipitous decline in opportunities to participate in the council chamber. With specific reference to the Australian case, this paper seeks to explain this incongruity, suggesting that the answer lies in the wide adoption of democratic theorists' narrow conceptualisation of the role of the councillor. Viewed solely as representatives, whether in the corporate, mirror, or delegate mode, councillors are valued only insofar as they prove instrumental to an efficient and responsive system of governance. Their participation, itself, is not intrinsically valued. Drawing on novel and extant empirical evidence to demonstrate the participatory virtues of officeholding, this paper argues that when due regard is afforded to councillors' participatory role, a normative case for widespread — and more inclusive — officeholding emerges.

Technological Innovations for Citizen Environmental Participation: Case of Poland

Citizen science is a social innovation that has recently been recognized by social initiatives as a possible tool to increase participation, build knowledge, and raise civic awareness. In order to work efficiently, citizen science requires the adoption of proper technological solutions by a critical mass of people. According to the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, people are more likely to adopt a technology that is compatible with their norms, values, and beliefs. In our research, we studied technological solutions that Polish environmental civic initiatives are using in order to diagnose their potential to implement citizen science projects and increase citizen participation. We interviewed 28 board representatives, managers, and initiators of social movements and conducted desk research of 65 social movements in Poland. Every technological solution was recorded and later categorized. The diagnostic analysis of the technological advancement of grassroots movements in Poland reveals that the full potential for launching citizen science projects has not yet been reached. First of all, the recognition of the citizen science approach is still low. Secondly, grassroots movements operate using standard and easily accessible technological solutions, rarely developing tailored and more advanced technologies that would enable people to be involved in citizen science projects.

국내 사이버안보법 입법 현황과 제언사항

With the continuous development of modern society and economy, the people in the new era have greater aspirations for a better life. Tourism has become a kind of people's spiritual pursuit for a better life. At the same time, with the improvement of people's living standard and the change of consumption concept, the number of people who travel on ice and snow in winter and like ice and snow sports is increasing year by year.
 Under such an opportunity, the development and utilization of snow and ice resources has been the focus of the central and local governments for many years. The rapid development of our ice and snow industry is supported by the policies of the central and local governments. However, behind the rapid development of ice and snow industry, there are a series of problems and deficiencies that need to be solved urgently.
 The development of the snow and ice industry should be protected from several aspects--such as: the development and protection of snow and ice resources in accordance with the law, the establishment and improvement of laws and regulations for the development of the mass snow and ice industry, the clarification of the legal status of snow and ice resources, the improvement of the diversified dispute settlement mechanism, and the increase of citizen participation--so that the development and protection of snow and ice resources can achieve a win-win goal of economic and social benefits.

IMPACT: Ideal Measures for Participation and Awareness of Climate Change: Stronger Together Citizen participation in achieving the European Green Deal in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion

Context: The European Green Deal is a tool to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. To reach this goal, action is needed on all organizational levels. At the same time, temperatures keep rising, and the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion (EMR) suffered from heavy floods in the summer of 2021and extreme weather events are expected to increase. This is an example of a cross-border issue and therefore shows the need for cross-border climate action. The EMR could be a showcase for climate action and collaboration for other border regions across Europe and worldwide. Policy Options: Citizens often do not feel responsible for taking climate action; however, everyone should contribute to achieving the biggest results in tackling climate change. Therefore, three policy options are presented to increase citizen participation in climate action: local climate measurements, sustainable food consumption, less food waste, and sustainable cities through urban gardening. These policy areas deserve more attention and have room for improvement. Recommendations: Encourage the implementation of citizen science projects in the EMR. Gather insights on the region's greenhouse gas emissions. Provide more sustainable food in institutional canteens and reduce food waste. Use social media as a tool to provide information about sustainable food. Use urban areas for urban gardening projects. Create community sustainability challenges.

Optimizing the Role of ICT and Citizen Participation: Analysis of Smart City Governance Implementation in Jakarta, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The implementation of Smart City Governance (SCG) in Southeast Asia has gained attention as a way to improve urban life by integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and citizen participation. This study examines the implementation of SCG in two Southeast Asian cities, Jakarta, Indonesia, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, through online news articles analysis and data Twitter. The study employs a qualitative research method using NVivo 12 Plus software for data analysis. The study finds that the use of ICT in smart city governance in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur has increased citizen participation through social media and government apps, especially Twitter. Analysis of Twitter data highlights the importance of monitoring public sentiment and differences in views related to the implementation of smart city governance. Citizen participation has a significant impact in improving transparency and the quality of public services. Digital inclusion is key in ensuring inclusive citizen participation and overcoming gaps in access. The study recommends that Jakarta can learn from Kuala Lumpur's success and enhance its communication strategies to increase public awareness and participation while also improving the quality and accessibility of ICT services to facilitate citizen engagement. This research provides insights for policymakers and practitioners in the development of SCG in Southeast Asia.

Budgetary allocation and social services deterioration in the fourth Nigerian republic (1999 to 2021)

The deterioration in the education and health sectors is alarming and a concern to major stakeholders in Nigeria. This study examined the effect of the budgetary allocation based on 20% United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) benchmark for education and 15% 2001 African Union Abuja declaration on the social services deterioration in the fourth Nigerian republic. Specifically, the study examined the effect of budgetary allocation efficiency in education and health sectors on human development index from 1999 – 2021. Corruption perspective index (CPI) and gross national income (GNI) per capita was introduced as control variables. Robust multiple regression analysis was used to analyzed the data. Results revealed that budget allocation efficiency in the education sector has significant negative effect on human development index while budgetary allocation efficiency on the health sector has positive significant effect on human development index. The implication of these findings is that the Nigerian state didn’t take education serious or that endemic corruption and budgetary indiscipline has overwhelmed the entire process. We recommend that state of emergency should be declared on education funding to avert further degeneration; funding of health sector should be increased at least to the level of the 2001 Abuja declaration; and increase citizen participation in the budgetary process to address the menace of corruption to foster accountability and transparency. Keywords: Budgetary allocation, Social services deterioration, Corruption, Human Development Index (HDI), Gross National Income (GNI) per Capita DOI: 10.7176/DCS/12-7-06 Publication date: November 30 th 2022

Understanding social innovation activities for energy transition: Evidence from experiences of social innovation agents in South Korea

Even though social innovations activities have been garnering global interest, their implications on energy transition remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to define social innovation activities that can support energy transition. We interviewed 19 social innovation agents, and the grounded theory (GT) method was applied to define the social innovation activities applicable for energy transition through inductive reasoning. Our results revealed that social innovation activities for energy transition could be defined as the entire interaction process between the pragmatic actions of agents and the participation of citizens. Notably, social innovation activities for energy transition could increase citizen participation and help economies to transition from conventional to alternative energy production and use systems. Thus, these activities lead to significant changes in the behaviors and attitudes of citizens, which are the prime factors when incorporating a subsequent structural change. Our study can provide a reliable framework to understand social innovation activities for energy transition and guide both agents and policy practitioners in decision-making, to improve and smoothen energy transition in South Korea.

EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY STRATEGY ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION: A PANACEA FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION IN INKOSI LANGALIBALELE MUNICIPALITY

Over the past twenty years, service delivery has increasingly received much attention to promoting positive social effects that address social inclusion and exclusion issues. A growing body of research suggests that central to the need to improve service delivery, at both national and local government level, is the need to guarantee that all groups within the community are integrated in the sustainable development effort development trajectory. This paper investigates the role of service delivery in fostering social inclusion in a typical local municipality in post-apartheid South Africa. The study used a qualitative case study approach to examine the role of service delivery in promoting and ensuring inclusive communities in Inkosi Langalibalele Municipality. In-depth interviews(n=26) including community members (n=16) and councillors (n=10) were conducted to understand the impact of service delivery towards social inclusion. The research had two main interests: (i) to unpack the service delivery strategies is implemented in the Inkosi Langalibalele Municipality; and (ii) To find out if these service delivery strategies are enhancing the prospects of social inclusion. Three broad strategies were identified from the data: increasing citizen participation, flexible response to service user complaints, and partnering with other players and outsourcing services. The results of this study reveal that, while the strategies may have enhanced the prospects of an inclusive municipality, the Ilangalibalele municipality needs to do more to ensure that their strategies are equitable and thus inclusive and foster social inclusion.

Digitalization of Political Participation of Citizens of the European Union as an Tool to Overcome the Democratic Deficit

The article carried out a comprehensive study of the potential, opportunities and prospects for digitalization of the political participation of citizens of the European Union as a tool to overcome the deficit of democracy. It has been established that the semantic markers of the process of digitalization of political participation are associated with the goal of overcoming the deficit of democracy in the EU and can be defined through a set of principles: human-centrism; solidarity and inclusion; freedom of choice; political participation in the democratic process at all levels; safety; constancy. It is proved that overcoming the deficit of democracy with the help of digitalization tools of political participation has clearly shown the risks and dangers of a digital divide that deepens politically significant cleavages: economically developed regions of the EU – economically depressed regions of the EU; access to a secure digital environment – lack of access to a secure digital environment. The active development of the Internet infrastructure in the EU has not significantly affected the simplification of access for older people, citizens with a lower level of education and citizens with disabilities to e-democracy digital platforms, therefore ensuring the widest possible access to e-participation platforms is a promising direction for EU policy. At the same time, EU policy efforts to increase citizen participation in policymaking should not be based solely on Internet strategies, but should increase the credibility and legitimacy of EU institutions in the economically less developed regions of a united Europe. Using the SWOT analysis method of e-participation tools in the EU, it is substantiated that the European Citizens' Initiative, the European Parliamentary Platform and the advisory petition platform “Your Voice in Europe” have a certain “parity” in the ratio of strengths and weaknesses for each of these tools. Weaknesses and threats can be leveled due to the development of their capabilities in the medium term. In particular, the potential of e-participation tools lies in enhancing the flexibility and convenience of the respective digital platforms; development and implementation of strategies for competitive mobilization and involvement of citizens; detailing the processing of proposals after their acceptance; summarizing and analyzing the data contained in the petitions; creation of a multi-level system of petitions, allowing to correlate local, national and European interests; deployment of discursive interaction between citizens and EU institutions at all stages of using e-participation tools; formalization of the connection between the processes of participation and decision-making. It has been established that the prospects for deepening the process of digitalization of political participation as a tool to overcome the deficit of democracy are determined by the formed request for all the variability of forms of political participation in the EU policy space, which is directly related to the deployment of the public space of European politics and the functional approval of the institution of European citizenship.

Citizens at the forefront of the constitutional debate: Voluntary citizen participation determinants and emergent content in Chile.

In the past few decades, constitution-making processes have shifted from being undertakings performed by elites and closed off from the public to ones incorporating democratic mechanisms. Little is known, however, about the determinants of voluntary public participation and how they affect the outcomes of the deliberative process in terms of content and quality. Here, we study the process of constituent involvement in the rewriting of Chile’s constitution in 2016. A total of 106, 412 citizens in 8, 113 different local encounters voluntarily congregated in groups of ten or more to collectively determine what social rights should be considered for inclusion in the new constitution, deliberating and then articulating in the written word why should be included. We brought our data to statistical regression models at the municipality level, the results show that the main determinants associated with increasing citizen participation are educational level, engagement in politics, support for the government, and Internet access. In contrast, population density and the share of Evangelical Christians in the general population decrease citizen participation. Then, we further analyze the written arguments for each collectively-selected constitutional rights. The findings suggest that groups from socioeconomically developed municipalities (with higher educational levels and where the main economic activities are more distant from natural resources), on average, deliberate consistently more about themes, concepts, and ideas compared to groups from less developed municipalities. These results provide an empirical ground on the driver factors of voluntary citizen participation and on the benefits and disadvantages of deliberative democracy. Hence, results can inform the organization of new deliberative processes.

Citizen participation matters. Bureaucratic discretion matters more

AbstractNew Public Governance theory increases citizen participation and expands bureaucrats' roles in the work of government. Citizen participation creates new mechanisms for citizens to influence the policy process. Bureaucrats' expanded roles allow for broader bureaucratic discretion over policy implementation. When citizens' and bureaucrats' views on public management decisions collide, whose views prevail? Do citizen volunteers or bureaucrats have greater influence over public decisions? We answer this question by studying the U.S. Department of Energy's initiative to engage citizens in environmental clean‐up decisions. We assess 10 years of meeting records and administrative decisions using a three‐step, mixed‐method analysis to identify, weigh, and test the influence of citizen participation and bureaucratic discretion. The results indicate that while citizen participation matters, bureaucratic discretion has a more significant influence over administrative decision‐making. The findings expose holes in New Public Governance theory, which has implications for democracy and demands deeper thought into structuring citizen participation.

Social Engagement with climate change: principles for effective visual representation on social media

ABSTRACT Climate change communication on social media plays a prominent role in efforts undertaken by state agencies, NGOs, and international organizations, to make citizens aware of this phenomenon. The images used to communicate climate change are of great importance, since they can help to effectively raise citizen awareness. Building upon news values theory and the concept of availability heuristics, this research paper aims to identify principles that can be used for effective visual communication of climate change on social media on a cross-national scale, based upon analyses of characteristics of images that foster interaction on Twitter. We conducted a content analysis of a random selection of images (photographs, illustrations, and graphics, n = 380), posted on Twitter that were included in the so-called ‘top tweets’ about climate change. The results indicate that the types of images that are used on social media are relatively similar to those employed by conventional media, although images of identifiable people are less frequently shown on social media. We also deduced that four practical principles are especially relevant to foster user interaction on Twitter through images: (i) show ‘real people’ (i.e. non-staged images of people that transmit real emotions), (ii) tell a story, (iii) include a local connection, and (iv) show impacts or actions by people who are directly affected. These practical principles are based on the more general principles of meaningfulness and personification, two foundations that can help to overcome some of the main barriers to citizens’ perception of climate change as a relevant issue with serious consequences in their lives. Campaigns on social media that use imagery based on these practical and general principles can be effective in communicating the shared responsibility to address climate change. This can have a relevant impact on social perception, since it can encourage citizens to care about climate, which is regarded as necessary to increase participation in climate action. Key policy insights Social media can play a prominent role in campaigns to make citizens aware of climate change. Images can help to effectively raise citizen awareness of climate change. Four practical principles can be effective in increasing user interaction on social media with images about climate: show ‘real’ people, tell a story, include a local connection, and show people who are directly affected. Visual campaigns based on the more general principles of meaningfulness and personification can be effective in representing climate change as a relevant issue in citizens’ lives. These practical and more general principles can have a relevant impact on the social perception of climate change and increase citizen participation in climate debate and action.

Does public opinion shape public policy? Effect of citizen dissent on legislative outcomes

In South Korea, the Advance Notice Legislation (ANL) system requires by law that a public announcement be issued on any proposed bill that is likely to affect the fundamental rights, duties, and/or daily life of the general public. By investigating the effects of public dissent submitted via the online ANL system in South Korea, this study attempts to address the critical issue of how to increase citizen participation in the political process and to offer a possible strategy that modern democratic governments can employ in this regard. The findings suggest that citizens will actively participate in the political process to make their voices heard when an appropriate participatory mechanism is available, but they will be more active if the administration encourages citizen participation with various policies and institutions. In other words, formal and informal institutions actively interact to affect the behavior of actors both within and outside the political arena.

Pricing decisions in peer-to-peer and prosumer-centred electricity markets: Experimental analysis in Germany and the United Kingdom

Prosumer-centred electricity market models such as peer-to-peer communities can enable optimized supply and demand of locally generated electricity as well as an active participation of citizens in the energy transition. An important element of active participation is the improved ability of community members to identify and choose who they transact with in a much more granular way than is usual. Despite this key novelty and the social core of prosumer-centred markets, little is known about how citizens would trade with different actors involved in the system. This article reports a preregistered cross-national experiment investigating individual trading preferences in a peer-to-peer community with a variety of private and non-private trading actors. The data from the United Kingdom (n = 441) and Germany (n = 440) shows that set buying and selling prices strongly vary, pointing to three systematically different trading strategies that individuals apply as a function of involved trading actor. Findings moreover reveal that trading decisions are determined by individuals’ political orientation, place attachment, and climate change beliefs as well as individual differences in trust in the involved trading actor. Finally, the results illustrate high consistency in trading preferences across nations. However, nation-level differences emerged when decisions were made publicly visible, emphasising the need to consider context-effects in peer-to-peer system design. The findings have implications for the development of prosumer-centred energy models and the design of interventions to increase citizen participation across national contexts.

Od tradičných k inovatívnym formám participácie: fenoménu slacktivizmu

The long-term interest of the most modern democratic political systems is based on finding ways to support the increase in citizen participation in public affairs. It is related to the crisis of representative democracy which manifests itself besides others by apathy toward various political activities. Innovative forms of participation represent one of the tools to mitigate the crisis and support a part of the population's interest in public affairs. The result of the research is the finding that online activism had an impact on the Slovak parliamentary election 2020 in terms of political awareness and in addition to traditional media, online campaigns had a significant mobilizing influence on voter turnout. The negative aspect of online participation remains the slacktivism phenomenon which does not influence the changes in society.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SMART CITY PROGRAM TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SERVICES IN SEMARANG CITY

This study aims to determine the implementation of Semarang Smart City in improving public services. This study uses qualitative research methods sourced from various literature or literature studies in answering the research results. The findings found that Smart living with free WIFI service, an ambulance is available 24 hours a day. Smart living is responsive to various community reports, such as reports on water pumps that don't flow. Bright Environment successfully manages a harmonious, comfortable, and clean Environment by turning a slum village into a healthier and cleaner city. Smart mobility with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service aims to provide an alternative mode of transportation that is reliable and safe for the citizens of Semarang City. The implementation of good governance is the existence of services starting from the management of children's birth certificates, death certificates, Electronic ID cards, and various other public services that provide convenience for the people of Semarang. Intelligent people develop formal education in schools and universities that are evenly distributed to citizens based on IT, such as the implementation of e-learning, providing internet access as a source of information, and free schools for elementary and junior high school students. An innovative Economy is realized through increasing access, equity, relevance, and quality of essential social services, improving the quality and competitiveness of the workforce, controlling the number and rate of population growth, and increasing citizen participation.