2020 and Beyond: Managing the intersection of technology and citizen engagement

The rapid evolution of digital technologies has been changing relationships between citizen_engagement.jpggovernments and citizens around the world.  These shifts make it the right time to pose the key question a new World Bank publication explores:

“Will digital technologies, both those that are already widespread and those that are still emerging, have substantial impacts on the way citizens engage and the ways in which power is sought, used, or contested?”

The report, Emerging Digital Technologies and Citizen Participation, benefits from the insights of 30 leading scholars and practitioners, and explores what technology might mean for citizen engagement and politics in the coming years.

Continue reading

How Citizens Are Shaping Budget Priorities in a Kenyan County

Milka Losia knew it was the river’s fault that her brother died. The culprit was the dirty kenya-PB-story-main-780x439 brown water they had no choice but to drink.

‘Our village needs a hospital, people are dying,” said Benson Naitalima, a farmer.

Of course hospitals are important, Milka thought. But if it wasn’t for the dirty river water, they wouldn’t have needed a hospital in the first place. People like her brother would be alive and, Milka wouldn’t be caring for his orphaned children.

Continue reading

Free World Bank Course on Citizen Engagement

The World Bank Group is bringing a second delivery of the free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Citizen Engagement to be launched on February 1.Financial Education

Government works best when citizens are directly engaged in policymaking and public service delivery. What conditions are necessary for inclusive and effective citizen engagement? Can it positively improve people’s lives? This course provides an overview of citizen engagement, critically analyzing how it can be leveraged most effectively to achieve development results.

Continue reading