New information and communication technologies contribute to the engagement, which will happen at the local level – through increasingly digital cities. 

This session will explore how technologies – such as smartphones and mobile access, collaboration and social media, business intelligence and analytics, and cloud computing technologies in the form of both software and platforms as a service –enable and enhance constituent engagement, transforming government and methods of governance. Beyond just individual citizens, technologies and new governance models also enable governments to improve business environments and reach out to both small businesses and larger enterprises.   Specific best practices such as Transport for London’s Developers’ Area enabling citizen-sourced applications, Boston’s Citizens Connect for citizen reporting, NYC Big App competition, Rio de Janeiro’s Rio Idéais initiative, Portland Oregon’s use of the Kickstarter platform to encourage social entrepreneurship, online participatory budgeting and the use of budget simulation games, and other constituent engagement initiatives will be discussed.

Key takeaways of this session:

- Complex socio-economic dynamics challenge current governance models.
- Governance through constituent engagement goes beyond eGovernment services.
- Consumerization of IT – through mobile and social technologies – expands tools for governments to reach and engage their constituents, and vice versa.