A series of recently published blog posts provide an insight into the work of ICLEI Members Hamburg (Germany) and Rome (Italy), as well as the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London (UK), to encourage citizen participation through the use of open data. Published by the EU-funded smarticipate project, the cities provide their take on the challenges they face, as well as steps being taken to overcome them.

Patricia Hernandez, international relations expert with the City of Rome, believes that there is a need to tackle bureaucracy in the Italian capital. “The bureaucracy is so complex and old-fashioned that it just slows down the whole process. The good will is there from politicians, the initiative is there from citizens, but in reality the formalities hinder the whole process,” she said. Ms Hernandez hopes that the smarticipate platform will cut through the layers of bureaucracy that have been holding back citizen engagement.

Dr Nicole Schubbe, Project Manager with the Agency for Geoinformation and Surveying of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, is positive about the future of the project, saying that the smarticipate platform will "provide citizens with a greater insight into city planning processes, and will allow them to put forward their own ideas for consideration."

To view the live case studies, visit the smarticipate website.