Civic Crowdfunding and Local Government: an Examination Into Projects, Scope, and Implications for Local Government
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Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations School of Public Service Fall 2016 Civic Crowdfunding and Local Government: An Examination into Projects, Scope, and Implications for Local Government Martin Mayer Old Dominion University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/publicservice_etds Part of the Political Science Commons, Public Administration Commons, and the Public Policy Commons Recommended Citation Mayer, Martin. "Civic Crowdfunding and Local Government: An Examination into Projects, Scope, and Implications for Local Government" (2016). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Dissertation, School of Public Service, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/24bn-hp91 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/publicservice_etds/5 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Public Service at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CIVIC CROWDFUNDING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT: AN EXAMINATION INTO PROJECTS, SCOPE, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT by Martin Mayer B.A. May 2008, The University of Akron M.P.A. May 2010, The University of Akron A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC SERVICE OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY December 2016 Approved by: _________________________ Dr. Meagan Jordan (Director) _________________________ Dr. David Chapman (Member) ________________________ Dr. Ben Clark (Member) ABSTRACT CIVIC CROWDFUNDING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT: AN EXAMINATION INTO PROJECTS, SCOPE, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT Martin Mayer Old Dominion University, 2016 Director: Dr. Meagan Jordan Recently, through the development of online technology, civic crowdfunding has emerged as a way in which to connect citizens to community problems and projects. The growth and early success of the field underscores the importance of better understanding civic crowdfunding, how it works, and how it may impact local government. Through a mixed- methods design, this study investigates the growing field of civic crowdfunding in an effort to better understand what types of projects are proposed, where they are proposed, and why some civic crowdfunding proposals may be successful while others are not. Strengths and challenges of civic crowdfunding are discussed, as well as implications for participants, local government, and the growth of the field. The results highlight several different types of projects being proposed on civic crowdfunding platforms with the most prevalent being sustainability projects. These projects are generally low in cost, non-controversial, and visible within the proposing community. The results further reveal money and engagement to be the most important factors in determining project success. The lower the project goal, the more money raised, and the more individuals participating in a given campaign all have significant impacts on whether a project proposal achieves its funding goal. Finally, implications are discussed and ideas for future research are offered. iii Copyright, 2016, Martin Mayer, All Rights Reserved. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are several people who have contributed to the successful completion of this dissertation. First and foremost I would like to thank my wife, Julie, and daughter, Addison, as well as my parents for their support, encouragement, and patience throughout this process. I extend sincere gratitude to my dissertation chair, Dr. Meagan Jordan, for her tireless support and guidance. I also want to thank the members of my committee, Dr. David Chapman, and Dr. Ben Clark for all of their help and suggestions throughout the development of this manuscript. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………. viii LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………..ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................... 4 Project Type ............................................................................................................................. 4 Project Success ........................................................................................................................ 4 Justification for the Study .............................................................................................................. 5 Data and Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 7 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................ 9 The Wisdom of the Crowd ............................................................................................................ 9 Collective Intelligence and Public Value .................................................................................... 11 Crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding Defined ............................................................................... 15 Crowdfunding, a History ............................................................................................................. 21 The Academic Development of Civic Crowdfunding ................................................................. 27 Early Crowdsourcing Literature ............................................................................................ 28 The Beginning of Private Sector Crowdfunding Research ................................................... 28 Civic Crowdfunding as a Tool for Local Government .......................................................... 29 The New Public Service .............................................................................................................. 31 The New Public Service and Civic Crowdfunding ..................................................................... 33 Citizen Engagement ............................................................................................................... 34 Democratic Citizenship ......................................................................................................... 36 Incorporating Multiple Actors and Sectors ........................................................................... 37 Contemporary Challenges for Local Government ...................................................................... 39 Civic Crowdfunding, Local Government, and the Community .................................................. 43 Strengths ................................................................................................................................ 43 Concerns ................................................................................................................................ 45 Implications ................................................................................................................................. 49 For Local Government ........................................................................................................... 49 vi For Citizens............................................................................................................................ 54 The Characteristics of a Successful Civic Crowdfunding Campaign ......................................... 55 Wide Spread Project Appeal.................................................................................................. 55 Multifaceted Marketing Approach ........................................................................................ 56 Mutual Awareness ................................................................................................................. 57 Mutual Benefit ....................................................................................................................... 58 Participation ........................................................................................................................... 58 Real Time Updates ................................................................................................................ 59 Rewards ................................................................................................................................. 60 Visible Problems.................................................................................................................... 61 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................ 62 Research Methodology ................................................................................................................ 62 Qualitative Analysis Methodology .............................................................................................. 62 Research Question and Hypotheses ....................................................................................... 63 Data Collection ...................................................................................................................... 64 Overview of the Qualitative Analysis ..................................................................................