The potential of Civic Tech to foster social innovation

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of international Civic Tech to foster social innovation. The exploratory study deepens the insights on the goals the digital platforms are striving to achieve in the society. The following groups of tasks were identified during the research: 1) improving government functions, which refers to digitalization of public services, improved organizational capabilities of public institutions and improved public decision-making processes; 2) improving quality of life which refers to civic technologies aiming at improving day-to-day activities of citizens e.g. healthcare services, education, accessibility, etc.; 3) tackling complex challenges in societies (e.g., closing the gender gap, sexual harassment) and increasing awareness about such issues, etc. This research project contributes theoretically and empirically to the research stream of co-creation by focusing on the ICT-enabled collective actions of citizens, communities, governmental organizations, business entities, NGOs and other stakeholders in the creation of public value.