Crowdfunding in the Public Sector - Theory and Best Practices

In recent years, crowdfunding has become important and it has been enthusiastically used not only by commercial organizations but also by the public sector. This alternative source of financing in times of constrained government budgets enables citizens to vote with their dollars online to bring ideas into reality. This book sheds light on the developing concept of crowdfunding in the public sector, with an overview of current academic discussions and best practices on crowdfunding in the public sector. The volume approaches crowdfunding in the public sector from an integrated perspective, addressing the dearth of publications on the subject. The book gathers a wealth of theoretical information, ideas, best practices and lessons learned in the context of executing concrete crowdfunding projects, and assess methodological approaches to integrating the topic of crowdfunding in public organizations curricula. The book provides definitions, insights and examples of this managerial perspective resulting in a theoretical framework of crowdfunding in the public sector. The contributors also explore different crowdfunding applications in public sectors such as local government, higher education, schools, arts & culture organizations, healthcare, energy sector, and police services, which are presented in several case studies. This is a unique book in the field that points the way forward both for policymakers and for the research community in terms of thinking about crowdfunding in the public sector and the complex issues surrounding its development.



Regina Lenart-Gansiniec is an Associate Professor at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. As a scientist, she conducts research within strategic management, focused on organizational learning and knowledge management, crowdsourcing and organizational unlearning. Her interest as well as the research projects granted by National Science Centre in Poland and European Commission targets educational sector including higher education. Reviewer and member of the Editorial Board of many recognized scientific journals and scientific conferences in Poland and in the world (Scopus, Web of Science). She is the Editor-in-Chief of 'International Journal of Contemporary Management'. She is a member of European Group for Organizational Studies, and International Society for Professional Innovation Management. 
Jin Chen is Professor for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategy at Tsinghua University (China). Jin Chen is also the Director of Research Center for Technological Innovation of Tsinghua University. He has been awarded a Special Government Allowance from the State Council of China, the Huo Yingdong Youth Teacher Prize and the 'Young university teachers award' from the Ministry of Education of China. In 2014, Jin Chen was honored as a distinguished professor of Chang Jiang scholars as the first scholar in the field of technological innovation management.  His research and teaching mainly focuses on management of technological innovation, and he hundreds papers at the leading journals like Research Policy, Technovation, R&D Management, IEEE transactions on Engineering Management et al. He is founding editor of International Journal of Innovation Studies and Editor in Chief of International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, and Co-Editor for Global Transitions.