About
My research focuses on power, participation, and democracy. I wrote my PhD on what happened when a state in Brazil let its citizens decide how budget funds should be spent, and I have studied citizen participation in poor urban areas.
In addition, I have researched the use of social media and digital tools for democratic participation, as well as children and young people’s participation in Norwegian counties and municipalities. Among other things, I have mapped the influence youth councils have on politicians’ decisions. Currently, I am investigating the feasibility of large-scale citizen participation.
I have been working as an applied researcher since 2008 and therefore have extensive experience evaluating a wide range of initiatives in the municipal and state sectors. I am proficient in both qualitative and quantitative methods. My specialties include case studies and the use of artificial intelligence in research.
Feel free to contact me if you would like a talk on participatory governance, or on the participation of children and young people. I am also happy to be interviewed by journalists!
Field of study
Democracy Public policy Power Youth Research Participation Childrens participation Participation Organizing of municipalities
Research groups
Research projects
Completed research projects
-
Democratic Urban Development in the Digital Age (DEMUDIG)
The DEMUDIG project investigates the extent and influence of citizen participation through ICT and social media in urban governance.
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Hovik, Sissel
;
Legard, Sveinung
(2026).
The role of new media technologies in citizen participation.
Matusitz, Jonathan (Ed.).
Research Handbook on Public Communication. p. 311-326.
Edward Elgar Publishing.
https://doi.org/https://www.elgaronline.com/edcoll
Hovik, Sissel
;
Legard, Sveinung
; Bertelsen, Inger Miriam
(2023).
Area-based initiatives and urban democracy.
Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning.
Vol. 144.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104638
Legard, Sveinung
; McShane, Ian; Manuel, Ruano José
(2022).
What explains the degree of e-participation? A comparison of the adoption of digital participation platforms in Oslo, Melbourne and Madrid.
Information Polity.
Vol. 28.
https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-220035
Legard, Sveinung
(2022).
Displacement and citizen participation: A comparison of the enactment of e-participation platforms in Oslo and Madrid.
Hovik, Sissel; Giannoumis, G. Anthony; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin; Fuente, José Manuel Ruano de la; McShane, Ian; Legard, Sveinung (Ed.).
Citizen participation in the information society. Comparing modes and blends of participatory channels in urban development.
Palgrave Macmillan.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4485297
Legard, Sveinung
;
Hovik, Sissel
(2022).
The impact of digital participation on democratic urban governance.
Hovik, Sissel; Giannoumis, G. Anthony; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin; Fuente, José Manuel Ruano de la; McShane, Ian; Legard, Sveinung (Ed.).
Citizen participation in the information society. Comparing modes and blends of participatory channels in urban development.
Palgrave Macmillan.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/5176566
Legard, Sveinung
(2022).
Controlled and responsive interactivity: what politicians and bureaucrats in Oslo say about their social media use, and what this might mean for democracy.
Hovik, Sissel; Giannoumis, G. Anthony; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin; Fuente, José Manuel Ruano de la; McShane, Ian; Legard, Sveinung (Ed.).
Citizen participation in the information society. Comparing modes and blends of participatory channels in urban development.
Palgrave Macmillan.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4974984
Hovik, Sissel
; Giannoumis, G. Anthony;
Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin
; Fuente, José Manuel Ruano de la; McShane, Ian;
Legard, Sveinung
(2022).
Citizen participation in the information society. Comparing modes and blends of participatory channels in urban development.
ISBN: 9783030999391.
Palgrave Macmillan.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/5207007
Hovik, Sissel
;
Legard, Sveinung
; McShane, Ian; Middha, Bhavna;
Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin
; Fuente, José Manuel Ruano de la
(2022).
Participation and influence in urban development: Does city e-participation strategy matter?.
Hovik, Sissel; Giannoumis, G. Anthony; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Kristin; Fuente, José Manuel Ruano de la; McShane, Ian; Legard, Sveinung (Ed.).
Citizen participation in the information society. Comparing modes and blends of participatory channels in urban development.
Palgrave Macmillan.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3430422
Legard, Sveinung
; Goldfrank, Benjamin
(2021).
The Systemic Turn and Participatory Budgeting: The Case of Rio Grande do sul.
Journal of Latin American Studies.
Vol. 53.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022216X20000954
Legard, Sveinung
(2018).
Translation and Institutional Change: What Happened when Participatory Budgeting Came to the Nordic Countries?.
Engelstad, Fredrik; Holst, Cathrine; Aakvaag, Gunnar C. (Ed.).
Democratic State and Democratic Society.
De Gruyter Open.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110634082-009
