Public and civic engagement activities are widely seen as critical in building trust in public institutions, social capital and social cohesion in local communities, greater legitimacy in public decision making processes and more effective use of resources, as well as community and individual empowerment. These assumed benefits are so widely believed that government and civil society activities are often seen as illegitimate if they do not include some form of citizen engagement. The case studies in this paper seek to highlight and illustrate the many forms of citizen engagement in social innovation. From participatory budgeting in Germany, to co-design processes in Australia, to the Social Invention Competition in South Korea – there are numerous institutions and organisations that are engaging citizens in the process of developing and then sustaining new solutions to social challenges.
Posted on: 1 June 2013 Authors: Anna Davies,