Unleashing the intelligence of cities by social innovation and civic crowdfunding

Public resources to address communities’ needs are increasingly scarce. The digitalization of economies has led to an increasingly distance between citizens and public entities. However, the use of ICT by citizens and public authorities must be able to unleash social innovation potential. These are interrelated concepts that could boost the involvement of people in the economic, social, cultural and political decision-making processes of a community. Based on two case studies described in this article, the authors aim to explore the potential of civic crowdfunding for increasing participation and the collaboration of citizens, firms and government. The analysis shows that civic crowdfunding platforms could be a useful tool for public administration enhance the engagement of communities in the solution of their problems. Civic crowdfunding platforms encourage the development of new ideas for common interest as well as the collection of the resources needed for implementing social innovations. Additionally, these civic platforms may be used to strengthen community ties and leverage the bonds among stakeholders and members of the community ecosystem.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Building smarter cities through social entrepreneurship

The objective of the present study is to examine the extent to which social ventures are able to increase the “smartness” of cities. To achieve this goal, we adopt a qualitative approach using a case study method to obtain valuable insights about different characteristics and strategies of Cais (a non-profit association dedicated to helping disadvantaged people in urban areas). Through our analysis of Cais’s activities, we assess whether its social interventions match the dimensions proposed by Giffinger et al. (2007) to rank smart cities’ performance; specifically, it has smart: economy, people, governance, mobility, environment, and living. The research shows that the action pursued comprises elements from all the above-mentioned dimensions. Further, the analysis reveals that Cais reinforces the smartness of the city in which it acts (in terms of attributes such as living, economy, people, and environment).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Gwent Tertiary College Business; February 1998

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