"Plaza Mayor" is an innovative multi-channel citizen participation project used by the public administration to collect citizens' proposals. Both face-to-face and digital media were used simultaneously to give a voice to the entire Asturian population. The data analysis methodology used allows for an immediate implementation of the results obtained, as well as the reuse of the information in the future.
Innovation Summary
Innovation Overview
The main innovation developed in the "Plaza Mayor" project is its ability to give the opportunity to participate to all citizens who wish to do so, overcoming possible inequalities or existing difficulties that hinder full citizen participation. The innovation lies in the simultaneous use of different face-to-face and digital channels that give the entire population the opportunity to participate while carrying out outreach and training work on citizen participation. The project involved the use of a web page, the presence of agents located in different towns in Asturias (Oviedo, Gijón, Avilés, Pola Siero, Mieres, Llanes, Navia, Ribadesella and Luarca), and a social media plan. The primary beneficiary of this project has been the Asturian society. It was an opportunity to inform about needs and concerns of the citizenry. In order to analyse the proposals the project established a systematic categorization methodology whose main premise was the reuse of public sector information (RISP).
Innovation Description
What Makes Your Project Innovative?
The main innovation of this project is the design of a multi-channel citizen participation project. The use of simultaneous channels, face-to-face and digital, gave the entire population the opportunity to participate. Furthermore, the information analysis method used is a great opportunity to increase administrative transparency, having a reinforcing effect on democratic values and enabling citizen participation in public policies.
What is the current status of your innovation?
The "Plaza Mayor" project has ended. The administrative units have made the corresponding proposals to their field of action. Currently, the proposals have been considered and integrated into the services and public policies in order to improve them.
Innovation Development
Collaborations & Partnerships
The success of this project lies in the participation of citizens and the collaboration of the different town councils for the installation of face-to-face information points.
Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries
The principal beneficiary of this project has been the Public Administration. It has had the opportunity to collect the citizens' proposals. The project also promoted the empowerment of citizens as an active element in public governance and improved the reuse of public information at the service of society. The project contributed to the international community's goals as its line of work was aligned to the 2030 Agenda, in particular to SDG objectives number 5, 10, 16 and 17.
Innovation Reflections
Results, Outcomes & Impacts
The Consultation obtained nearly two thousand proposals from the entire regional territory. The validity and effectiveness of the Consultation was achieved because of the good representation of the different population groups according to gender, age or place of residence. This result confirms that the use of different simultaneous channels contributed to the Consultation's goals of inclusivity and representativeness. In addition, the capacity for systematic analysis, categorized by thematic areas, has allowed for the effective implementation of the results obtained.
Challenges and Failures
To augment citizen participation, one of the aspects to be improved would be to increase the number of localities with the presence of information agent and the involvement of other public bodies such as libraries or telecenters.
Conditions for Success
For the heterogeneity of the citizen population to be represented in the Consultation's results, it is essential to expand the range of channels of communication and of citizen participation. This because of the different contexts across the geographical dispersion, that includes a significant percentage of the elderly population, together with a significant population in rural areas where it is more difficult to involve citizens in public life. For this reason, knowledge of the territory has been a key factor in adapting the project's design to the existing conditions. In addition, the premise of reusing information is a key condition for success, as it has improved the development of a systematic analysis methodology to incorporate the proposals made, as well as their usefulness in the medium and long term.
Replication
On future occasions when a Consultation is called for, the multichannel consultation model will be used, as well as the use of the systematic analysis methodology.
Lessons Learned
The investment of material and human resources to improve participation allows for a greater capillarity of public administration in society. The public administration has to assume an active role as an agent of change for the construction of an empowered and informed society.
Status:
- Implementation - making the innovation happen
- Diffusing Lessons - using what was learnt to inform other projects and understanding how the innovation can be applied in other ways
Innovation provided by:
Media:
Date Published:
29 July 2023