The rising stars of social innovations: How do local governments facilitate citizen initiatives to thrive? The case of waste management in Brussels and Hong Kong

Waste management is an important issue in cities. The achievement of a zero-waste future relies on the collective actions of individual households. Indeed, citizens are initiating social innovations in waste management in their communities. However, citizen initiatives (CIs) encounter strategic and operational barriers in the process of social innovation. They often seek support from local governments to overcome these barriers. These initiatives need a “facilitative” local government that is responsive and enables the initiatives to thrive without too much interference from them. Yet, there is a lack of conceptual and empirical understanding of such a new facilitative role of local governments. Furthermore, we do not know whether and how this facilitative role differs between different types of CIs and between different policy contexts. Based on 24 in-depth interviews with CIs and government officials, this study explores the various facilitative practices offered by the Brussels and Hong Kong local governments, explains patterns of facilitative practices between different types of CIs, and clarifies how divergence in policy contexts influences what, why, and how much the local government can facilitate CIs. This study finds that common facilitative practices include financial and administrative assistance, but certain barriers requiring actions from the government and other actors remain unresolved. Local governments need to review their facilitative role to provide more effective support to CIs as new agents of sustainable urban development at the community level.