Engaging Citizens: A Game Changer for Development

开始时间: 04/22/2022 持续时间: 5 weeks

所在平台: CourseraArchive 课程类别: 人文 大学或机构: The World Bank

课程主页: https://www.coursera.org/course/engagecitizen

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课程详情

Recent events have shown that the relationship between government and citizens is in need of repair. In just the last few years, we have witnessed calls from all over the world, from the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street to the Open Government Partnership, for governments to become more open, accountable and responsive by deepening their engagement with citizens. As a result, interest in citizen engagement programs for effective development has gained momentum. This MOOC has been developed to explore what is meant by citizen engagement, and how it can be used to enhance development impact.

The 4-week course brings together a diverse range of experts to provide students with a comprehensive overview of citizen engagement. It begins by synthesizing the theories and concepts that underlie citizen engagement, and goes on to explore how citizens can engage in both policymaking and public service delivery. Finally, it investigates how recent innovations are shaking up the field, through detailing both successes and failures of these new approaches. Our presenters, leaders in academia, government, and civil society, provide a wide range of perspectives and real-world experience to give participants a deeper understanding of whether enhanced citizen engagement can truly enhance the process of development. Participants will also have the opportunity to collaborate with one another and design their own citizen engagement initiatives, thereby putting theories learned in the course into practice.

We have partnered with the London School of Economics (LSE), Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Participedia, three leading institutions in the Citizen Engagement field, to collaborate on the design and facilitation of this course.

课程大纲

Overview
The overview will provide a course roadmap and explain the rationale behind this course—why this topic, and why now?

Week 1) Citizen Engagement: What It Is and Why It Matters
This module looks at the theoretical underpinnings of citizen engagement and how it can lead to social change. It begins by exploring the definitions and history of citizen engagement, and asks broad questions around the ‘social contract’, e.g. “What obligations do governments have to citizens and vice versa, and how does citizen engagement fit into this?” It also looks at different conceptions of citizen engagement, including citizen engagement as a political right, and places particular emphasis on the role of citizen engagement in achieving development outcomes. Lastly, it analyzes the contextual factors that are needed for citizen engagement to be effective, and answers the question of when and why it works in practice.

Week 2) Engaging Citizens for Improved Policymaking
This module explores the role of citizen engagement in policymaking and the mechanisms by which governments become more responsive to citizens. It first explores the role that citizens can play in actively shaping public policy, and then provides a review and analysis of both traditional and alternative methodologies being implemented to increase citizen engagement during policymaking processes. Finally, the module examines a number of current case studies that incorporate citizen voices in policymaking from around the world.

Week 3) Can Engaging Citizens Bring Better Services?
This module examines the role of citizen engagement in public service delivery. It first unpacks different conceptions of the government-citizen relationship and explores the ways in which citizens can serve as active agents of, rather than passive recipients in, the delivery of public services. It then provides an in-depth look at a range of citizen engagement projects in this area by exploring the methods, tools, barriers to inclusion and factors for success of these programs, particularly in developing country contexts.

Week 4) Innovations in Citizen Engagement
Having outlined the role of citizen engagement at different stages of the policy cycle, the final module investigates recent innovations in citizen engagement. It explores some of the most popular trends in citizen engagement, including crowdsourcing, geo-mapping and OpenData initiatives, and provides insight into why many of these recent innovationshave either succeeded or failed to meet their objectives. It is in this final module that we pose the question “Is Citizen Engagement A Game Changer for Development?” We conclude the course with a Call to Action from high-profile leaders in government and civil society, providing tangible next steps for course participants to build on this knowledge and deepen their involvement.

Course Tracks

Depending on your level of interest, you can choose to participate in one of two tracks:

• Track 1: Citizen Engagement Champions (1-2 hours/week)
• Track 2: Policy and Leadership (2-4 hours/week)

Students can move from the Citizen Engagement Champions track to the Policy and Leadership track at any point during the course. We encourage students to join the Policy and Leadership track to gain deeper knowledge and practical experience.

Track 1 – Citizen Engagement Champions

Target Audience
This track is suitable for anyone with a general interest in citizen engagement. It provides insight into underlying concepts and current trends in citizen engagement, as well as opportunities for students to expand their knowledge in four thematic areas.

Track-Specific Objectives
• To understand the theoretical underpinnings of citizen engagement and why it is a critical component of good governance.
• To evaluate current citizen engagement initiatives for development around the world.

Assignments
• Assignments focus on facilitating an understanding of mandatory course material (video talks and core readings) through multiple choice quizzes and peer-reviewed short answer responses.
• Additional ungraded assignments and activities designed for students in the Citizen Engagement Champions track are also suggested.

Track 2 – Policy and Leadership

Target Audience
This track is designed for those wishing to gain greater practical experience in citizen engagement, as well as to develop networks of practice with counterparts from around the world. Our hope is that this track will catalyze the launch of real-world initiatives.

Track-Specific Objectives
• To understand the theoretical underpinnings of citizen engagement and why it is a critical component of good governance.
• To evaluate current citizen engagement initiatives for development around the world.
• To build networks of practice and catalyze collaboration among students.
• To allow students an opportunity to design and create a citizen engagement project that could be implemented in their community.

Assignments
• Assignments focus on facilitating an understanding of mandatory course material (video talks and core readings) through multiple choice quizzes and peer-reviewed short answer responses.
• Students must also design a citizen engagement project and represent it creatively online through a digital artifact
• Additional ungraded assignments and activities designed for students in the Policy and Leadership track are also suggested.

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