Civic crowdfunding for local governments: Trends and perspectives from a bibliometric analysis

Over the past decade, civic crowdfunding has begun to be used as an alternative tool to mobilize funding from citizens for public projects. Among the various forms of public-private co-operation, civic crowdfunding could represent a very innovative model for funding some public services and supporting social innovation initiatives. Civic crowdfunding is a multifaceted phenomenon which has been under-explored and is far from well-defined in both theory and practice. This article presents a global picture of academic research on the issue of civic crowdfunding by using a combination of statistical tools, including a bibliometric analysis approach. The authors provide a robust map of the civic crowdfunding field, presenting conceptual developments and trends. The authors’ literature review highlights several research gaps that need to be addressed.