Coproducing spatial information: Exploring government approaches and motivations at the local level

Abstract

Recent government initiatives like e-government and open government have led to broader adoption of geospatial tools including mapping platforms to access, use, and analyze open data. These advancements open channels for coproduction in the form of sharing information, change notifications, opinions, or requests to government, based on citizen observation and local knowledge. Though current government initiatives have substantial potentials for coproduction, the practical adoption and implementation of such practices vary reflecting the purposes, contexts, and motivations of those involved. This paper aims to understand how local governments are following different approaches to coproduce information with citizens and what motivates local governments in this process. We report findings based on interviews with 11 cities from the USA and Canada, which reveal four main approaches: the collection of new data, observation of changes, collection of opinions, and observation of preferences involving both explicit and implicit processes. Although these four approaches result from interactions between citizens and government, our findings also indicate a key role to be played by technology and partner organizations.