Citizen Engagement and Trust:A Study among Citizen Panel Members in Three Dutch Municipalities

Citizen engagement is a key component of democracy, especially in local governments. It is seen as a way to generate input and support, and to find creative solutions to problems and challenges governments face. Currently, Western democracies are witnessing a challenge in which citizens have less trust in their government. This explorative study examines if citizen engagement is a valuable strategy based on citizen panels of three Dutch municipalities. Four different direct forms of citizen engagement are studied: (1) attending a council meeting, (2) an information meeting, (3) conversation wi... Mehr ...