Towards Efficient Local Governments: A Systematic Review of Citizen Participation in Municipal Management

Abstract

This systematic review addresses the problem of low citizen participation in municipal management, despite the existence of several legal instruments that empower organized civil society. The main objective is to analyze the progress of citizen participation in municipal management, identifying the degree of participation in different contexts. An exhaustive search was carried out in the SCOPUS database, using Boolean search strategies to identify relevant articles. Seventy documents were processed with R software and the Bibliometrix library; to analyze bibliometric data such as authors, affiliations, keywords and publication trends. Of which 30 documents were considered for use. The search for information provides different approaches in the research. The results show that there is dissatisfaction among the population, highlighting the need to continue to strengthen local democracy, improve the quality of local public policies, increase social inclusion and develop institutional and citizen capacities. In conclusion, although there are numerous studies on citizen participation and municipal management, there is still a need to institutionalize citizen participation with regulatory frameworks and permanent structures that guarantee participation beyond temporary political wills, develop participatory digital platforms, promote citizen training, evaluate the impact of participation and avoid political capture or manipulation. This would allow for teamwork between municipal authorities and organized civil society and thus improve the quality of life of the population.