Abstract:
Empowering civic groups may lead to better
outcomes than a centralized decision-making in a society
where the social power is concentrated in the hands of a
few. But effective collective action is almost always
conditioned by the collaboration with functional state
institutions which are forced to cede a certain amount of
authority, power and finance in favour of communities
they no longer totally control. The question emerges: how
can we understand and nurture citizen engagement
projects for successful public services in a current
political society? The present paper explores the public
participation typology with the final scope of developing
a new citizen engagement model.