Innovation-in-Europes-Cities_Bloomberg-Mayors-Challenge1

Five Core ThemesCivic EngagementFacilitating citizen actionAs the layer of government closest to citizens, cityauthorities are best positioned to build partnershipsand encourage greater involvement in improvingthe quality of life in cities. Cities are investing inthis opportunity. At the same time, civil societyhas played an increasingly important role in cocreatingand implementing solutions that formpart of a growing movement of citizen engagementacross Europe. Many proposals reflect this widermovement, with novel ideas to give citizens andresidents the tools to collaborate more effectivelywith each other and with government to strengthenlocal democracy, and also to unlock latent citizencapacity as a resource for solving city problems.Despite very different socio-economic contexts,Ruse, Bulgaria; Gdańsk, Poland and Oulu,Finland proposed using smartphone applicationsto enable citizens to vote on projects or proposesolutions that could then be voted on, while Athens,Greece aimed to encourage a volunteer cultureto reform local government from the bottom up.The Hague, the Netherlands suggested ways ofallowing citizens to allocate taxes by direct voting,while Berlin, Germany and Wrocław, Polandconsidered using gamification to encourage citizensto invest in democratic opportunities. Milan, Italylooked at incorporating public input to improvepublic services, while Ghent, Belgium focused onco-creation projects between citizens and localgovernment. Sponsoring start-ups to solve cityproblems in València, Spain and Messina, Italywere suggested as ways of bringing organisationsand citizens closer to local government. Umeå,Sweden proposed using open data to increase thepotential of citizens and NGOs to participate inareas of government, while Dublin, Ireland andPeterborough, United Kingdom sought to provideinfrastructure to enable participation. An approachthat went across municipal borders in Catania, Italyimagined effectively linking to neighbouring townsto share solutions and resources.A significant proportion of cities requiredsome form of resident participation to successfullycomplete city projects. Several ideas focusedspecifically on how to galvanise citizens to takeresponsibility for projects normally in the domainof local government. These tended to be localisedefforts to beautify the area, improve communitysafety or support local voices. Genoa, Italydeveloped proposals to use community brainpowerto find new functions for the former port and heavyindustrial areas with the aim of retaining youngresidents in the city, while Montpellier, France“Resident participation isnecessary to successfullydeliver ambitious city projects,involving residents to reducecosts, improving user experienceand creating an increasedsense of public ownership.”planned to use public garden improvements asa way of integrating more young people into thecity’s social life. Collaboration projects like themunicipal WebTV proposed by Botoșani, Romaniawere designed to increase citizen input in localpolitics, and Novi Sad, Serbia investigated the selfdigitisingof historical materials to promote residentawareness and the preservation of local culture.These examples confirm the growingrecognition that resident participation is necessaryto successfully deliver ambitious city projects, atthe same time as capitalising on local resources,involving residents to reduce costs, improving userexperience and creating an increased sense of publicownership of spaces and projects.Finalist proposalsGdańsk, PolandGdańsk is trying to improve public trust andinvolvement in local government and communityprojects. Democracy Accelerator is a websitethat will allow citizens to submit ideas forenhancing the city. It envisages trainingassistance, which may include offers of financialsupport or volunteered time, to increase thestrength of proposals before allowing the publicto further develop projects and ultimately tovote on their inclusion in the city budget. As anexample of co-governance, this project wouldrequire the city council to vote on the projectsproposed by citizens and subsequently workwith them to implement the most popular ideas.City employees would also receive training tobetter engage with citizens to help successfullyimplement promising solutions.The Hague, the NetherlandsThe Hague is keen to reverse growing apathytowards government and has suggested Citizensin Action – Democracy 3.0 as a tool to givecitizens power over the allocation of 2-3% oflocal taxes by allowing citizen proposals tobe subject to vote. Unlike an individual taxbreak, this idea would encourage citizens toengage with each other to influence how theircity develops. Additional revenue could begenerated through crowd-funding or crowdsourcing,further encouraging ownership andcollaboration. The capacity to implement thisproject is supported by DIGID (Digital Identity),which helps identify Dutch citizens on the Internetand is mandatory for electronic tax returns,highlighting how local governance innovationmay require national support and infrastructure.24