Civic crowdfunding, social marketing and the co-creation of public value

The issue of illegitimately appropriated pieces of art is very relevant for Italy, whose artistic patrimony is one of the largest in the world. This paper presents a project for improving the protection and retrieval of stolen art, based on the employment of a co-production perspective, engaging different actors and sectors in the process, and on the use of civic crowdfunding as a co-financing and social marketing tool. Thus, citizens take an active role in the co-creation of public value, as highlighted by Esposito et al. (2015), who find a strong link between social interaction, the aforementioned co-creation of public value, and the success of civic crowdfunding projects. Civic crowdfunding can be employed as a new financial tool for the enhancement of social inclusion and civic participation and engagement, with the perspective of fostering cooperation and collaboration between all sectors of society. [Publishers' text].