Social Responsibility in the Public Administration is an emerging phenomenon responding to the challenges and opportunities for public institutions faced by the rapidly evolving world. The general and ambitious global goal of sustainability is at risk because inequality is increasing among countries, but also within countries at the regional and local levels. Facing this problem, the aim of this paper is to approach how the social responsibility of local governments is impacting citizens’ participation as a way of managing the required transformation to sustainable development. In order to contribute to seed light in the field, a pilot study was carried out, employing partial least squares as an exploratory method, with an ad hoc structural equation model, and with a sample of 256 inhabitants in three municipalities in Extremadura (Spain). The findings are promising for place marketing, local public management and democracy reinforcement because it is empirically demonstrated that the municipality’s orientation towards responsibility impacts citizen´s connection, attraction, and identification with the municipality, increasing citizen participation.

Access to safe drinking water is essential to good health, a basic human right, and a component of effective policy for health protection. Improving the quality of local public water and waste services is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation). This study aims to know the degree of satisfaction of domestic users who receive services related to water and waste in municipalities with less than 20,000 inhabitants in the province of Badajoz (Spain). We carry out this research because the perception of municipal services provided by the public administration is usually negative and deficient. The case study PROMEDIO, the consortium formula, is described as a successful partnership to improve the quality of local public water and waste services. For this purpose, a detailed analysis of the different aspects involved in the relationship between the users and the services provided is carried out. The consortium was found to increase citizens’ satisfaction with the services provided, given the close relationship between the municipality and the users.