In this paper, we apply a civic perspective and social innovation theory to examine how residents of a Dutch village experiencing rural depopulation and austerity reforms evaluate a civic initiative aimed at improving liveability, and what explains their evaluation. Using multivariate statistical analysis, …

Many countries experience waning public trust in government, while digitisation of society is on the rise and public authorities continue to further digitise their services. If governments do not pay enough attention to the perspective of citizens and adopt a citizen-centric approach while designing …

Citizens have responded to newcomers in the Netherlands with acts of solidarity and programmes to support integration, often in response to increasingly restrictive government policies. In a previously published study by the primary author, a critical discourse analysis was conducted of texts used in …

Purpose Social media have become a key part of placemaking. Placemaking revolves around collaboration between multiple stakeholders, which requires ongoing two-way communication between local government and citizens. Although social media offer promising tools for local governments and public professionals …

Despite the great potential of data platforms to help solve societal issues, the actual usage of data platforms is still limited due to the lack of consideration of socio-technical aspects. To understand requirements from multiple actors on a vitality data platform, semi-structured interviews were conducted …

Rwanda is landlocked and does not have other resources, so the population depends on agriculture as the main economic activity. It is from agriculture that the majority of the people get food for their survival. However, people in the country have been practising subsistence agriculture using traditional …

By using information technology, local governments can develop alternative forms of citizen engagement. Civic crowdfunding campaigns supported by online platforms enable citizens to participate financially in social projects and can be matched with government funding. As such, an alternative for subsidies …

A vital element of liberal democracy is the relationship between a government and its citizens, which is often characterised by the concept of political support or its reverse, political alienation. Ideally, this relationship should display political support since this indicates a high level of trust …

There is a dualism in current policy discourses on public health between neoliberal conceptions of health, and health as a product of social conditions. These conceptions also co-exist in the narratives of citizens. In this qualitative study carried out in the Netherlands, we analysed how people living …

Self-organisation in environmental service delivery is increasingly being promoted as an alternative to centralised service delivery. This article argues that self-organised environmental service delivery must be understood in the context of legal rules, especially environmental legislation. The article’s …