Participation of citizens in the creation of public services in Małopolska and Piacenza

Abstract

In recent years, the participation of citizens in public life plays an increasingly important role in the management, in particular in local government units at the local level. Changes in the needs and demands of citizens have led to the fact that social participation has effectively transformed itself into active, effective and multidirectional action. Local communities are becoming more aware of the fact that their active participation in public life, based on multilevel and multi-sectoral cooperation, depends on the quality of public services. The purpose of this paper is to show opportunities and different solutions of influence citizens on the shaping of public services in selected local governments units on the same level in Italy (Piacenza) and Poland (poviats in Małopolska).