Conference / Meeting

Creating Public Value in Regional Policy: Bringing citizens back in

Guest Lecture Series
15 March 2022
Start time 
2:15 pm
Palazzo Paolo Prodi - Via Tommaso Gar 14, Trento
Room 001
Organizer: 
School of International Studies
Target audience: 
Everyone
Attendance: 
Free

Abstract

In this paper we apply a novel citizen-centred and multi-dimensional approach to investigate public value creation in regional policy, drawing on 47 focus groups with citizens in 16 European regions. We analyse the public values involved in regional policy through an interpretive perspective on citizen deliberation. The analysis demonstrates that goal attainment is a positive and widely held value but undermined by negative evaluations of institutional performance and democratic values. Based on citizen accounts, we find that a public value management approach involving responsiveness to citizen needs through co-creation would contribute to democratic and socio-political public value creation. We conclude that public value creation strategies would profit from a balanced appraisal of
citizens’ perceptions across multiple public value dimensions, and the integration of participatory democratic innovations to institutionalize the genuine co-creation of public value

Speaker

Andreja Pegan - University of Primorska (Slovenia)

Bio

Andreja has PhD in Political Science. Her main research interest is in EU politics, focusing on the links between citizens, elected representatives and public policy in a multilevel governance setting.
She has been involved in a European project exploring how European citizens perceive and value the regional investments made through EU’s Cohesion policy. Through research work in another EU-funded project, she obtained expertise on the role of public administrators and strategic planning in the implementation of collaborative forms of governance (e.g. co-creation and co-production). In addition,  Andreja has ample experience in conducting and analysing qualitative data (interviews and focus groups) and expertise in the design and analysis of surveys. Andreja is well-versed in public speaking, having presented at several academic conferences, at the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions.