New tools to improve the collaboration at the local level. Contributions from the Commons





2019 - Current



The interest for the commons, the common good and the urban commons have increased in the last years in all sectors (academia, social movements but also public authorities). The new public management tools from the commons theories and practices have great potential for democratizing and transforming public management at the local level. For this reason, we think it’s more necessary than ever to rethink and redesign the decision-making processes and civic participation at the municipal level, promoting a new citizens-administration collaboration paradigm.


The research project explores and analyzes the current management models in three main matters: housing, energy, and water, that have incorporated commoning practices. Taking that as the starting point, we will explore, through the voice and experience of the actors involved, the challenges and opportunities of a new collaboration paradigm from the commons theories.


The research project is led by Dr. Marco Aparicio (University of Girona and president of the DESC Observatory). The project is funded by the Grant Call DEMOC 2018 from the Generalitat de Catalunya.