Citizen Involvement in Public Services Design

Abstract

In the last years new relational systems between citizens and Institutions have been arising. One of the main effects of such transformation is an increasing citizen engagement in designing public services. The motivations, modes, and effects concerning this practice are relevant research topics addressing political, social, and economic issues. In this paper the authors present the SPAC3 project, as it involved the citizens in the design process. The project aims to allow families of the Municipality of Bergamo (Italy) to access services and information dedicated to them in a more effective way. Here, the authors will focus on the analysis carried out in the project, by pointing out the methodology and the main achieved outcomes, and the features of the identified solution. In the end, the SPAC3 project has been a good opportunity to think about the complex relationship between citizens and Institutions in order to strengthen it.