02384nas a2200277   4500008004100000022001400041245010500055210006900160260004200229300001000271490000700281520151800288653002301806653002101829653002701850653001901877653002401896653003101920653002501951653002001976653002101996100002302017700001502040700002102055856003002076       2020                        eng d  a1927-032100aUnderstanding Civic Crowdfunding as a Mechanism for Leveraging Civic Engagement and Urban Innovation0 aUnderstanding Civic Crowdfunding as a Mechanism for Leveraging C  aOttawabTalent First Networkc05/2020  a51-660 v103 aThis article studies the emergence of government-initiated civic crowdfunding platforms. Such platforms can be considered as governmental responses for bottom-up peer-to-peer support mechanisms related to urban innovation, which also allows top-down governance and governmental support systems for civic entrepreneurship. To better understand the implications of these innovative ICT-enabled interaction interfaces for collective urban innovation, this study investigates participation inequalities from the perspective of campaign instigators, using in-depth interviews (N=28), and from the perspective of the citizen-funder, using a survey (N=265). The analysis shows that urban crowdfunding practices mainly contribute to higher-level development of collective identities with increased neighborhood capacities. Although participation in such ICT-enabled interaction interfaces could reinforce digital inequalities and existing power balances, this research shows a more nuanced perspective, in which online and offline practices intertwine. Furthermore, while civic crowdfunding campaigns are driven by a traditional 'participation elite', the deliberation process on development projects involves new publics that are not typically engaged in civic activities. Hence, civic crowdfunding formulates a new mode of civic engagement in which institutional involvement acts as a trust broker between civic funders and civic entrepreneurs, as well as adding legitimacy to innovation processes in the public sphere.10aCivic crowdfunding10aCivic engagement10aCivic entrepreneurship10aCivic identity10aDigital citizenship10aParticipation inequalities10aPeer-to-peer economy10aSocial cohesion10aUrban innovation1 aBaccarne, Bastiaan1 aEvens, Tom1 aDe Marez, Lieven  utimreview.ca/article/1356