Digital Civics: Citizen Empowerment With and Through Technology

Summary

The current economic crisis has thrown the relationship between citizens, communities and the state into sharp relief. Digital Civics is an emerging cross-disciplinary area of research that seeking to understand the role that digital technologies can play in supporting relational models of service provision, organization and citizen empowerment. In particular, how digital technologies can scaffold a move from transactional to relational service models, and the potential of such models to reconfigure power relations between citizens, communities and the state. Through examples of Digital Civics systems. that question conventional models of service provision, this SIG aims to bring together researchers and practitioners to critically discuss and explore the theoretical underpinnings, development and deployment of digital tools, platforms and processes within a Digital Civics research agenda.

Keywords: Politics; social sustainability; digital civics; social justice.