Citizens coproduction, service self-provision and the state 2.0

Citizens' engagement and citizens' participation are rapidly becoming catch-all concepts, buzzwords continuously recurring in public policy discourses, also due to the widespread diffusion and use of social media that are claimed to have the potential to increase citizens' participation in public sector processes, including policy development and policy implementation. By assuming the concept of co-production as the lens through which to look at citizens' participation in civic life, the paper shows how, when supported by a real redistribution of power between government and citizens, citizens' participation can determine a transformational impact on the same nature of government, up to the so called "Do It Yourself government" and "user-generated state". Based on a conceptual research approach and with reference to the relevant literature, the paper discusses what such transformation could amount to and what role ICTs (social media) can play in the government transformation processes.