Suchergebnisse

The Laurence and Lynne Brown Democracy Medal recognizes individuals, groups, and organizations that produce innovations to further democracy. The inaugural medal winner, the Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP), is an innovative not-for-profit organization that promotes participatory budgeting, an inclusive process that empowers community members to make informed decisions about public spending. More than 46,000 people in communities across the United States have decided how to spend $45 million through programs that PBP helped spark over the last five years. This book provides a history of the organization's origins and its vision, highlighting its successes in fostering grassroots budgeting campaigns in such cities as New York, Boston, and Chicago

Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tel Aviv--the global hubs of entrepreneurial activity--all bear the marks of government investment. Yet, for every public intervention that spurs entrepreneurial activity, there are many failed efforts that waste untold billions in taxpayer dollars. When has governmental sponsorship succeeded in boosting growth, and when has it fallen terribly short? Should the government be involved in such undertakings at all? Boulevard of Broken Dreams is the first extensive look at the ways governments have supported entrepreneurs and venture capitalists across decades and continents. Josh Lerner, one of the foremost experts in the field, provides valuable insights into why some public initiatives work while others are hobbled by pitfalls, and he offers suggestions for how public ventures should be implemented in the future. Discussing the complex history of Silicon Valley and other pioneering centers of venture capital, Lerner uncovers the extent of government influence in prompting growth. He examines the public strategies used to advance new ventures, points to the challenges of these endeavors, and reveals the common flaws undermining far too many programs--poor design, a lack of understanding for the entrepreneurial process, and implementation problems. Lerner explains why governments cannot dictate how venture markets evolve, and why they must balance their positions as catalysts with an awareness of their limited ability to stimulate the entrepreneurial sector. As governments worldwide seek to spur economic growth in ever more aggressive ways, Boulevard of Broken Dreams offers an important caution. The book argues for a careful approach to government support of entrepreneurial activities, so that the mistakes of earlier efforts are not repeated.

In recent decades, progressive city administrations and urban shantytowns have both proliferated across Latin America. Many leftist local governments have tried to improve shantytown conditions, but ineffective engagement of residents has often undermined these efforts. Games and game techniques can enhance participation in these urban development programs as they already have for broader Latin American movements for participatory democracy such as Freire's popular education, Boal's Theater of the Oppressed, and participatory budgeting in Brazil. A case study of the Argentine development program Rosario Habitat shows how games can animate people, challenge their assumptions, and establish collaborative social ties. The program also illustrates how the lessons of game design can be extended even deeper by redesigning the entire participatory process to be more gamelike. This game approach has enabled Rosario Habitat to forge fairer and more informed community agreements and to spark more active and meaningful participation. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright holder.]

In recent decades, progressive city administrations and urban shantytowns have both proliferated across Latin America. Many leftist local governments have tried to improve shantytown conditions, but ineffective engagement of residents has often undermined these efforts. Games and game techniques can enhance participation in these urban development programs as they already have for broader Latin American movements for participatory democracy such as Freire's popular education, Boal's Theater of the Oppressed, and participatory budgeting in Brazil. A case study of the Argentine development program Rosario Hábitat shows how games can animate people, challenge their assumptions, and establish collaborative social ties. The program also illustrates how the lessons of game design can be extended even deeper by redesigning the entire participatory process to be more gamelike. This game approach has enabled Rosario Hábitat to forge fairer and more informed community agreements and to spark more active and meaningful participation. En las décadas recientes se ha visto la proliferación de ambos, los gobiernos urbanos de ende progresista y los asentamientos informales de la urbe. Muchos gobiernos locales de izquierda han intentado mejorar las condiciones de las villas miserias, pero estos esfuerzos quedan socavados por la falta de compromiso con los residentes. Los juegos y las técnicas del juego pueden aumentar la participación en los programas de desarrollo urbano como ya se ha hecho en los movimientos latinoamericanos de democracia participativa, como son las de educación popular de Paolo Freire, el Teatro del Oprimido de Boal, y el presupuesto participativo de Brasil. Un caso de desarrollo urbano en Argentina, Rosario Hábitat, demuestra en como los juegos animan a la gente, le dan reto a sus suposiciones, y establecen lazos de colaboración social, y en como pueden, a partir del diseño del juego, extenderse hasta volver a diseñar el proceso participativo entero. Este acercamiento por vía de los juegos permitió que Rosario Hábitat forjara acuerdos comunitarios mas justos y mejor informados, dándole chispa a una mayor y significativa participación.