128
F. De Filippi et al.
11.2 International Policies and Action Plans on Civic
Engagement and Social Innovation in Urban
Development
The rising people’s demand to have access and to be involved in decisions dealing
with their own urban context led European Union (EU) institutions to consider the role
of participation for its policies. Although urban planning is not a specific European
policy, competence, actually economic, social and territorial cohesion all have a
strong urban dimension: as the vast majority of Europeans live in or depend on cities,
their developments cannot be isolated from a wider European policy framework
(European Commission, DG Regional Policy 2011b).
The URBACT III Operational Programme 2014–2020 includes among its specific
objectives to ensure a participatory approach through the involvement of the relevant
stakeholders in the action-planning process (URBACT Study 2015; URBACT II
2015) .
Also at international level, the United Nations Agenda (Transforming our world:
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development) includes participation among postmillennial Goals. Indeed, one of them (16) aims to ‘Promote peaceful and inclusive
societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build
effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels’—together with its commitment (16.7) to ‘responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decisionmaking at all levels’.
Furthermore, it cannot be avoided to consider the arising of platforms, software
and applications, often seen as solutions to societal needs: they enable exchange,
communication and the creation of a community of citizens and other stakeholders on
shared interests and concerns. They are seen as tools to empower citizens, including
marginalized groups, improve public services and at the same time ensure equal
access to information and promote democracy (European Commission 2015).
For this reason, EU bodies began recognizing the role of ICT to foster new forms
of civic engagement in urban planning, as a social innovation and to support social
innovations.
Within the Europe 2020 Strategy, the Digital Agenda recognizes the key role of
public administrations in creating the condition to foster social innovation, becoming
more and more ‘open, flexible and collaborative in their relations with citizens’ and
promoting the ‘eGovernment to increase their efficiency and effectiveness and to
constantly improve public services in a way that caters for user’s different needs’. At
a time of highly constrained public resources, ICT is seen as a tool to help the public
sector develop innovative ways of delivering its services to citizens while unleashing
efficiencies and driving down costs.
Within the 2020 Digital Agenda, it has been launched the European eGovernment Action Plan 2011–2015—harnessing ICT to promote smart, sustainable and
innovative Government [COM(2010) 743 final]. Based on the Malmö Ministerial
Declaration of 2009, it sets out the objectives for public administrations to invite
third parties to collaborate on the development of eGovernment services, strengthen
F. De Filippi et al.
11.2 International Policies and Action Plans on Civic
Engagement and Social Innovation in Urban
Development
The rising people’s demand to have access and to be involved in decisions dealing
with their own urban context led European Union (EU) institutions to consider the role
of participation for its policies. Although urban planning is not a specific European
policy, competence, actually economic, social and territorial cohesion all have a
strong urban dimension: as the vast majority of Europeans live in or depend on cities,
their developments cannot be isolated from a wider European policy framework
(European Commission, DG Regional Policy 2011b).
The URBACT III Operational Programme 2014–2020 includes among its specific
objectives to ensure a participatory approach through the involvement of the relevant
stakeholders in the action-planning process (URBACT Study 2015; URBACT II
2015) .
Also at international level, the United Nations Agenda (Transforming our world:
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development) includes participation among postmillennial Goals. Indeed, one of them (16) aims to ‘Promote peaceful and inclusive
societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build
effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels’—together with its commitment (16.7) to ‘responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decisionmaking at all levels’.
Furthermore, it cannot be avoided to consider the arising of platforms, software
and applications, often seen as solutions to societal needs: they enable exchange,
communication and the creation of a community of citizens and other stakeholders on
shared interests and concerns. They are seen as tools to empower citizens, including
marginalized groups, improve public services and at the same time ensure equal
access to information and promote democracy (European Commission 2015).
For this reason, EU bodies began recognizing the role of ICT to foster new forms
of civic engagement in urban planning, as a social innovation and to support social
innovations.
Within the Europe 2020 Strategy, the Digital Agenda recognizes the key role of
public administrations in creating the condition to foster social innovation, becoming
more and more ‘open, flexible and collaborative in their relations with citizens’ and
promoting the ‘eGovernment to increase their efficiency and effectiveness and to
constantly improve public services in a way that caters for user’s different needs’. At
a time of highly constrained public resources, ICT is seen as a tool to help the public
sector develop innovative ways of delivering its services to citizens while unleashing
efficiencies and driving down costs.
Within the 2020 Digital Agenda, it has been launched the European eGovernment Action Plan 2011–2015—harnessing ICT to promote smart, sustainable and
innovative Government [COM(2010) 743 final]. Based on the Malmö Ministerial
Declaration of 2009, it sets out the objectives for public administrations to invite
third parties to collaborate on the development of eGovernment services, strengthen