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Putting the Public Back into Governance: The Challenges of Citizen Participation and Its Future
Abstract
The past two decades have seen a proliferation of large- and small-scale experiments in participatory governance. This article takes stock of claims about the potential of citizen participation to advance three values of democratic governance: effectiveness, legitimacy, and social justice. Increasing constraints on the public sector in many societies, combined with increasing demand for individual engagement and the affordances of digital technology, have paved the way for participatory innovations aimed at effective governance. Deepening legitimation deficits of representative government create opportunities for legitimacy-enhancing forms of citizen participation, but so far, the effect of participation on legitimacy is unclear. Efforts to increase social justice through citizen participation face the greatest obstacles. The article concludes by highlighting three challenges to creating successful participatory governance: the absence of systematic leadership, the lack of popular or elite consensus on the place of direct citizen participation, and the limited scope and powers of participatory innovations.
... It measures, from localized perspectives, what people regard important for their basic needs and safety and how they assess their level of achievement in relation to that, and evaluates the opportunities, access and resources someone has to improve their well-being vis-à-vis those of others (OECD, 2013;Pouw, 2020;Pouw & McGregor, 2014;Stiglitz et al., 2018;Veenhoven, 2007). This approach relies on meaningful citizen participation as it aims to measure the well-being representative of citizens' understandings and perspectives (Fung, 2015;Gaber, 2019;Manzo & Perkins, 2006;Sollis et al., 2022;Veneri & Murtin, 2016). It requires epistemological power to be shared equally among diverse groups of citizens (Corburn, 2003;Simon-Kumar, 2018). ...
... Citizen participation gained popularity to enable democratic engagement and increase the effectiveness and legitimacy of complex problem-solving (Arnstein, 1969;Day, 1997;Fischer & Levi-Faur, 2012;Fung, 2015;Rossi & Tuurnas, 2021;Sollis, 2023;Termeer et al., 2019). It may also be used to redistribute power to community groups, reduce social exclusion and foster citizen empowerment (Brandsen et al., 2018;Gaber, 2019;Goodlad et al., 2005;Leino & Puumala, 2020). ...
... It may also be used to redistribute power to community groups, reduce social exclusion and foster citizen empowerment (Brandsen et al., 2018;Gaber, 2019;Goodlad et al., 2005;Leino & Puumala, 2020). The potential for citizen empowerment, however, strongly depends on the level of participation, how power is distributed and who participates and who does not (Arnstein, 1969;Fung, 2015;Sollis, 2023). Poorly designed participation processes may enhance the power of already powerful groups and push more radical egalitarian forms away (Lund, 2017). ...
... The alleged crisis of representative democracy has given rise to democratic innovations that reimagine and deepen the role of citizens in policy-making (Smith, 2009). We conceptualise these innovations as forms of citizen participation that vary in format and process (Fung, 2006(Fung, , 2015Veri, 2023). Key design choices encompass the method of participant selection, the mode of participation and decision-making, or the extent of power rendered (Arnstein, 1969;Fung, 2006Fung, , 2015Veri, 2023). ...
... We conceptualise these innovations as forms of citizen participation that vary in format and process (Fung, 2006(Fung, , 2015Veri, 2023). Key design choices encompass the method of participant selection, the mode of participation and decision-making, or the extent of power rendered (Arnstein, 1969;Fung, 2006Fung, , 2015Veri, 2023). These participatory instruments encompass distinct types including deliberative mini-publics, participatory budgets, referenda, and citizen initiatives, forms of collaborative governance and hybrids aided by digital participation (Elstub & Escobar, 2019). ...
... Participatory governance and representative democracy operate alongside one another, making (local) democracy increasingly hybrid (Arnstein, 1969;Bächtiger et al., 2018;Fung, 2006Fung, , 2015Smith, 2009). This involves maintaining a foundation of representation while incorporating participatory elements. ...
The increasing use of participatory arrangements in local governance challenges the position and role of elected politicians. This article examines how local elected politicians think they should behave in such a shifting environment. It assembles images and sets of roles blending existing theoretical approaches. We test these conceptions empirically in a survey of local elected politicians in Flanders (Belgium). Our results show that representatives identify with a variety of images. They thus tend to endorse a broad range of roles in participatory governance. Ultimately, we end up with two main comprehensive and integrated sets: “meta-governor” and “resistor.” Variations in these sets can partially be explained by the position of politicians and their ideological convictions.
... Community engagement in governance entails the active involvement of local stakeholders, including individuals, civil society organizations, and policymakers, in decision-making processes related to public services, such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure development (Schön, 2019). This participatory approach fosters democratic governance by encouraging transparency, accountability, and inclusivity in policymaking (Fung, 2015). When communities actively contribute to governance, they help shape policies that reflect their needs, aspirations, and cultural values, leading to more effective and sustainable public service delivery (Gaventa, 2019). ...
... Addressing these challenges requires capacity-building initiatives, government commitment to transparency, and the empowerment of marginalized groups to engage in governance processes (World Bank, 2021). Ultimately, a governance model that prioritizes community engagement strengthens democratic institutions, enhances public trust, and ensures that development policies align with the genuine needs of the people (Fung, 2015). ...
... This involvement fosters a sense of ownership, leading to higher participation and commitment to learning, particularly among marginalized and disadvantaged groups (Gaventa, 2019). When local stakeholders, including community leaders, civil society organizations, and policymakers, collaborate in adult education initiatives, they help shape curricula that align with the community's economic, social, and cultural needs (Fung, 2015). For instance, vocational training programs designed with community input are more likely to address labour market demands, ensuring that graduates acquire skills relevant to their local economies (OECD, 2019). ...
... When individuals are given the opportunity to express their views and contribute to decision-making, they have a greater sense of fairness and ownership over the outcome, increasing the likelihood that they support the final decisions (Beierle 1999;Webler and Tuler 2000;Batson et al. 2002;van der Does 2023). Moreover, public participation indirectly shapes policy outcomes by upholding key public values such as legitimacy, effective governance, and justice (Fung 2006(Fung , 2015. Public participation encourages individuals with strong civic values to engage with the public interest issues presented in the policy process (Bobbio 2019). ...
... We selected public participation and compensation as the focal policy instruments due to their theoretical significance and practical relevance. Theoretically, public participation is a cornerstone of democratic governance, fostering transparency, trust, and legitimacy in policy-making processes (Fung 2006(Fung , 2015, whereas compensation addresses fairness and equity by mitigating the tangible costs or externalities experienced by local communities (Mansfield et al. 2002;Lehtonen and Kojo 2019). Practically, these instruments are particularly pertinent in the context of NPP construction, where stakeholder concerns regarding safety, environmental impact, and socioeconomic costs are paramount, especially in recent Chinese practice (Wu 2017;. ...
... Our findings further suggest that policy mixes with consistent behavioral assumptions not only outperform single policy instruments with the same behavioral assumption but also achieve better outcomes through strategic combinations. While altruistic policy mixes are as effective as egoistic instruments in increasing public acceptance, they offer additional benefits that make them particularly attractive, such as enhancing community cohesion and trust (Fung 2006(Fung , 2015Lehtonen and Kojo 2019;Hoti et al. 2021). These positive spillover effects generate broader social benefits, making altruistic policy mixes a compelling option for policymakers (Batson and Shaw 1991;Beierle 1999;Webler and Tuler 2000;van der Werff and Steg 2016). ...
In practice, multiple policy instruments are often combined to achieve complex goals. However, predicting whether policy mixes will have complementary or conflicting effects remains a theoretical challenge, especially in those aimed at changing individuals' cognition and behavior. We provide novel theoretical and empirical insights into policy mix effectiveness by defining and differentiating the behavioral assumptions embedded in policy instruments, arguing that outcomes depend not only on the assumptions within each instrument but also on the consistency of assumptions across instruments. We conducted a survey experiment in a Chinese city preparing to build a nuclear power plant (NPP; n = 417). After testing participants' acceptance of NPP construction across different policy mix scenarios (combining egoistic and altruistic instruments), we found that mixes grounded in consistent behavioral assumptions more effectively increased public acceptance. Thus, consistent behavioral assumptions across policy instruments should be a core principle when designing policy mixes targeting behavioral change.
... Die Bürger:innenschaft stellt eine wesentliche Akteursgruppe für das Erreichen kommunaler Klimaschutzziele dar, weshalb die Frage nach der optimalen Ausgestaltung von Mitwirkungsprozessen von entscheidender Relevanz ist. Die Reichweite der Partizipation ist von der Zielgruppenorientierung und Auswahl der Beteiligten, der Ausgestaltung des Mitwirkungsverfahrens und ihrer Einbindung in politische Entscheidungsprozesse abhängig (Fung 2006(Fung , 2015. Besonders geeignet sind zielgruppenspezifische Formate unter Einbezug benachteiligter Gruppen und grundsätzlich deliberative Prozesse, die zu einer größeren Legitimation von Transformationsprozessen beitragen können (Glaas et al. 2022;Hegger et al. 2022;Reed et al. 2018). ...
... Ein weiteres Gütekriterium ist das Vorwissen von Teilnehmenden: Grundsätzlich trägt ihre Informiertheit zu gewinnbringenden Partizipationsprozessen bei (Fung 2006(Fung , 2015. Um Hintergrundwissen zu generieren und einen dialogorientierten Austausch zu fördern, war eine Vielfalt an Fachvorträgen zur Klimakrise und Nachhaltigkeitstransformation von Wissenschaftler:innen, Mitarbeitenden der Stadtverwaltung, zivilgesellschaftlichen Initiativen und Aktivist:innen in das Format der Klimaforen integriert. ...
... Ist die Wirkung der Partizipation für Teilnehmende nicht erkennbar, besteht die Gefahr, dass Bürger:innen von politischen Entscheidungsprozessen enttäuscht und zukünftiges Engagement unterbunden werden. Letztlich kann somit die Legitimität politischer Prozesse geschwächt werden (Bell und Reed 2022;Fung 2015;Kiss et al. 2022). Im Rahmen von "Bonn4Future" wurde zwar ein großes Interesse an den Ergebnissen der Klimaforen durch kommunale Akteure wie die Oberbürgermeisterin unterstrichen. ...
Zusammenfassung
Die kommunalen Bekenntnisse zur Klimaneutralität im Sinne einer nachhaltigen Stadtentwicklung werden in den vergangenen Jahren immer zahlreicher. Die Bürger:innenschaft ist dabei vielerorts eine wichtige Akteursgruppe, die Transformationsprozesse hin zur Klimaneutralität mitverhandelt. In Bonn hat sich der Stadtrat das Ziel der kommunalen Klimaneutralität bis zum Jahr 2035 gesetzt. Die Bonner Transition Town Initiative Bonn im Wandel e. V. hat mit Unterstützung eines breiten Bündnisses daraufhin das zweijährige Mitwirkungsverfahren „Bonn4Future – Wir fürs Klima“ beantragt, konzipiert und in Kooperation mit der Stadtverwaltung durchgeführt. Auf Basis eines Mixed Methods-Ansatzes der begleitenden wissenschaftlichen Evaluation wird analysiert, inwiefern das kooperative Beteiligungsverfahren zu einer breiten Partizipation und politischen Teilhabe beitragen konnte.
Ausgehend von einer Einführung zu kommunalen Beteiligungsprozessen im Kontext von Klimaneutralität und möglichen Gütekriterien für die Prozessgestaltung analysieren wir die Umsetzung des Mitwirkungsverfahrens „Bonn4Future“ und zeigen Herausforderungen des Prozesses auf. Auf Basis der Ergebnisse lassen sich Handlungsempfehlungen ableiten, wie kommunale und zivilgesellschaftliche Akteure im Rahmen einer Kollaboration und breiten Mitwirkung der zentralen Aufgabe der urbanen Klimaanpassung begegnen können. Insgesamt kann ein breit angelegtes Partizipationsverfahren mit genügend Ressourcen einen möglichen Ausgangspunkt für einen längerfristig kooperativen Modus von organisierter Zivilgesellschaft, Verwaltung und Kommunalpolitik darstellen.
... Study result is similar to finding by Fung, that digital platform may influence social transformation where Increasing citizen participation is sometimes seen as a way to increase the efficacy of regulation, improve the provision of public goods and services, and bolster outcomes in areas such as health, and education that straddle the boundaries between public and private, social and individual. Many participatory democrats hope that participatory governance reforms will also advance social justice [9]. It is here that direct citizen participation faces its greatest challenge [9]. ...
... Many participatory democrats hope that participatory governance reforms will also advance social justice [9]. It is here that direct citizen participation faces its greatest challenge [9]. The digital platforms must allow politicians to create the political conditions under which powerful organizations and leaders are motivated to advance social justice [9]. ...
... It is here that direct citizen participation faces its greatest challenge [9]. The digital platforms must allow politicians to create the political conditions under which powerful organizations and leaders are motivated to advance social justice [9]. ...
Technology has modernized citizens’ social networks and interaction gaining active engagement to security management. Internet evolution popularity have revolutionized public policing through technology creating superhuman over security challenges. Paper aims to examine the versatility and misuse of technology in community policing in Malawi. This is qualitative study that purposely selected five published papers from a research “Community policing, citizen’s participation, and information communication technology in Muloza, Malawi.” Systematic review of published papers through content analysis will identify and consolidate work to date and guide future research on the topic. Data analysis followed transcription, coding, codes grouped into sub themes, sub themes into themes answering research questions. Respondents answered to (a) what are versatilities of information communication technology in security? (b) What are misuses of information communications technology in security? Through frame theory of communication, social disorganization and participatory democracy theories results indicate (1) technologies store, replicate, disseminate data for depositing evidence (2) Empower citizens to (a) communicate, share information between citizens and police, (b) be aware of rights violations, safety needs, (c) allow people’s involvement in rights violations, (d) facilitate citizen’s involvement in crime prevention, (e) maintain community dialogue and engagement, (f) help citizens look for faster emergency response times (g) promote evidence sharing with authorities. (3) Revolutionize communications allowing use SMS, WhatsApp, Telephone calls, pictures, videos, VNs, promoting wide, formal and non-formal channels improving accountability and transparency according real-time updates, responses, capacity. (4) Enhance citizens’ engagement to (i) reporting, requesting transport to police, (ii) organizing patrols (iii) mobilizing help during neighborhoods activities. (5) Encourage citizens to participate virtually allowing citizens (i) improve communications between police and community, (ii) identify a wider variety of insecurities (Transparency), (iii) promote the effective use of limited resources, (iv) move beyond the customary bureaucratic procedures, (v) improve participation of women, minorities, and vulnerable population, (vi) contribute to empowerment of the community. Technology misuse in security were; (a) some officials could inform suspects about intended ambushes (b) some citizens could fabricate false information to deceive others (d) some citizens used social media to deal with marginalized groups (e) some officials and citizens could disseminate and replicate confidential organization official client information. Other studies have concluded technology may help reduce corruption through wide formal and non-formal interactions. Currently, technology empower, revolutionize, transform citizens to get involved to fight corruption. Recommends more civic education to masses on need to adopt use of digital platform of community policing.
... The 1980s and 1990s represented, globally, a particular combination of two socio-political and spatial phenomena which significantly impacted democratic institutions. First, the deepening of a crisis in representative democracy, (Rolnik, 2011;Fung, 2015) especially in the central nations -, manifested in part of the population's loss of interest in elections, diminished popular engagement with political parties and the rise of neoliberalism, the latter perceived to instigate a sharper "capture" of democracy by capitalist logic (Santos, 2020). Second and contrary to that, the emergence of a "third wave of democracy" at the global level (Huntington, 1991), expanding to several countries previously under authoritarian regimes or fragile democracies, allowed the liberal political canon to be placed in contact with other social and spatial realities and undergo diverse experiments (Held, 2006). ...
... Even if the redistribution of expenses and public services toward the urban peripheries are the mainand most measurable -manifestation of that principle, this is not the exclusive avenue for social justice, especially given the limitation of resources normally deliberated via PB, even when they correspond to a significant part of local investments (Wampler, 2003;Cabannes, 2015;Carlos, 2015). Additionally, other elements must be considered, such as social inclusion, control of the population over decision-making, effective execution of projects and the types of such projects (Fung, 2015;Mattei;Santolamazza;Grandis;Wampler;McNulty;Touchton, 2021). Nevertheless, this combination, associated with the previously discussed inherently territorial factor in PB, points to the need to discuss PB's advances from the perspective of spatial (or territorial) justice. ...
Participatory budgeting (PB) is considered one of the main democratic innovations in urban management developed in the last decades. Today, most experiences lack the core values that guided the creation of PB in the city of Porto Alegre (Brazil): inversion of priorities and social justice. Based on the assumption that PB is an institutional and political object of dispute for power within a territory, it is argued that it must be studied under the lens of territorial justice. A qualitative study was conducted (document analysis, fieldwork, and interviews) in two mid-sized cities with deliberative PBs, Araraquara (São Paulo, Brazil) and Vallejo (California, USA). The results point out a significant difference between the case studies, but also to PB's relevant potential as a tool for territorial justice, demanding a context of massive institutional and political support.
Keywords: participatory budgeting; territorial justice; inversion of priorities; comparative analysis; urban management.
... To overcome these shortcomings, increasing attention has recently been paid to engaging citizens in co-assessment exercises-that is, interactive forms of public service performance measurement-in line with the general trend toward the spread of participatory democracy and co-production (Bovaird 2007;Fung 2015;Nabatchi et al. 2017), to take into consideration, and account for, societal plural values and interests (Bracci et al. 2021;Steccolini 2019;van Helden and Steccolini 2024). Accordingly, public sector organizations have increasingly involved citizens and other stakeholders in performance measurement through initiatives such as responding to opinion surveys, contributing to the development of performance measures (Ammons and Madej 2018;Ho and Coates 2004), taking part in local consultations (Ferry et al. 2019), and similar schemes. ...
... The distinctive feature of government-led initiatives is that the government is the owner of the process and decides who is involved, when, and how, as well as to what extent this impacts decisions and public service delivery (Edelenbos et al. 2018;King and Cruickshank 2012). Government-led initiatives have often been studied in the literature on participatory governance (Arnstein 1969;Fung 2015;Fung and Wright 2001) and co-production (Alford 2014;Bovaird 2007;Nabatchi et al. 2017;Pestoff et al. 2012;Sicilia et al. 2016). Within the latter, different phases have been identified-co-commission, co-design, codelivery, and co-assessment-during which lay actors and the government can co-produce state services. ...
Citizens' participation and direct initiatives are on the rise, including in assessing public service performance. Performance measurement and government‐citizen interactions have been traditionally studied separately in public administration scholarship. To bridge this gap, this article integrates these two bodies of literature, proposing a typology of approaches to government‐citizen interactions in public service performance assessment and highlighting their features. It also discusses the possible synergies and trade‐offs emerging at the intersection between “interaction” and “assessment.” In particular, the article focuses on how relevance, reliability, and understandability shape and are shaped by the interaction between governments and citizens in both government‐led and citizen‐led initiatives of performance assessment. Finally, the paper puts forward a research agenda for the study of interactive forms of public service performance measurement.
... Similarly, Onyeozili (2005) asserts that the disconnect between policymakers and implementers leads to inconsistencies and inefficiencies in service delivery. Effective policy formation should integrate input from diverse stakeholders to ensure that policies are practical and address grassroots challenges (Ansell & Gash, 2008;Fung, 2015). ...
... In Nigeria, however, the lack of synergy between federal, state, and local governments creates gaps in policy implementation (Onyeozili, 2005;Ukwueze, 2016). Fung (2015) highlights the importance of participatory governance in bridging these gaps. By involving streetlevel bureaucrats and other stakeholders in the policy-making process, governments can enhance the alignment between policy goals and implementation realities. ...
This study examines the systemic impacts of policy formation on street-level bureaucracy in Nigeria, with a focus on understanding the challenges and opportunities associated with multi-level governance. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data, the study explores the experiences of street-level bureaucrats and the effectiveness of policy processes across federal, state, and local levels. The findings reveal significant gaps in resource allocation, stakeholder engagement, and alignment of policies with local realities. Street-level bureaucrats reported increased workloads, operational inefficiencies, and diminished job satisfaction due to inadequate funding, unclear guidelines, and limited capacity-building opportunities. Qualitative data highlighted the disconnect between top-down policymaking and the actual needs of local communities. The study recommends enhancing stakeholder engagement, tailoring policies to local needs, increasing resource allocation, and promoting decentralized governance to improve policy implementation. Regular training programs and stronger accountability mechanisms are also emphasized as critical strategies for addressing systemic challenges. By fostering a collaborative and inclusive approach to policymaking, Nigeria can enhance the efficiency of its public administration and empower street-level bureaucrats to deliver more effective public services.
... Participation also facilitates the diffusion of innovations by creating networks of support and collaboration among stakeholders. By comparison, in policy studies, participation is seen as a mechanism for enhancing the legitimacy and accountability of decision-making processes (Fung 2015). Insights from recent interdisciplinary studies suggest that transformational responses to climate change need to move beyond incremental adjustments, embracing broader systemic changes that engage communities at multiple levels (Gillard et al. 2016). ...
... First, participatory governance plays a pivotal role in enhancing the democratic legitimacy of energy transitions by ensuring that a wide range of stakeholders-including citizens, industry representatives, and policymakers-are actively engaged in the decision-making process. This inclusivity fosters socially robust and adaptable policies, creating pathways for diverse stakeholders to co-create transition strategies and increasing the legitimacy of the overall process (Fung 2015). ...
This article offers a comprehensive examination of integrating transition studies and policy studies in the context of energy transitions , highlighting the importance of participatory governance, reflexive policy frameworks, and innovation ecosystems. By combining insights from transition studies, such as niche innovations, multilevel governance, and socio-technical regime shifts, with policy studies' institutional analysis, the paper provides a holistic framework using Germany's Energiewende as a case study. It explores how participatory governance enhances legitimacy and how reflexive governance adapts to emerging challenges, sustaining long-term transitions. The Energiewende demonstrates the value of inclusive governance, where stakeholder engagement bolsters both policy legitimacy and social acceptance. This approach also shows that empowering local communities can lead to increased trust and cooperation in implementing policies. By leveraging frameworks that support innovation ecosystems, Germany has been able to integrate renewable technologies into existing infrastructures. Additionally, aligning local initiatives with national policies has proven critical in maintaining momentum in transitions. The integration of transition and policy studies reveals that leveraging multilevel frameworks is essential to accelerate sustainable technologies while ensuring equitable stakeholder participation. Further, adaptive measures in the Energiewende highlight how iterative feedback supports continuous learning and flexibility in transition pathways. This integration underscores the necessity of balancing technological innovation with social equity to ensure a just and sustainable transition. This paper argues that integrating these fields offers a better explanatory framework and practical strategies for overcoming transition obstacles. It concludes with recommendations for future research and policy development, emphasizing inclusivity, adaptability, and innovation in creating sustainable systems.
... This trend enhances the legitimacy of decisions (Michels & De Graaf, 2010). Research suggests that participatory mechanisms, such as collaborative leadership and budgeting, empower communities and lead to better policy outcomes (Fung, 2015). These frameworks build trust between local governments and citizens by encouraging greater involvement in governance processes (Healy, 2023). ...
... Similarly, in Botswana, traditional leadership structures engage communities at the grassroots level. This approach balances modernisation needs with indigenous governance systems' cultural and historical significance (Fung, 2015). The relationship between participatory leadership and governance is particularly important in education. ...
Background: This research examines the changing focus in academic studies on governance, leadership, and participatory approaches. There is a growing emphasis on sustainability and climate change. The goal is to track the evolution of these themes and understand their current relevance and interconnections. Objective: The study aims to analyse trends in governance, leadership, and participatory approaches. It identifies central and declining themes and their roles in addressing contemporary challenges. Methods: To map research trends, we conducted a bibliometric analysis using co-citation, co-occurrence, and strategic diagrams. Tools like R (biblioshiny) and VosViewer were used over time to visualise connections between key themes. Articles from Scopus spanning from 2003 to 2024 were analysed to determine the prominence and development of these themes. Results: Leadership has emerged as a dominant theme, especially in governance and health-related research. Governance and participatory approaches, once central, are now receiving less attention. However, sustainability and climate change have become key areas, with governance frameworks addressing global environmental concerns. Conclusions: The study concludes that leadership is a driving force in current research. Governance and participatory approaches still hold value, particularly when combined with sustainability frameworks. Future research should focus on how these frameworks can evolve to meet modern global challenges. Keywords: Bibliometric analysis, leadership, governance, participatory approach, sustainability, climate change, thematic evolution
... It improves democracy by pushing beyond representative forms, fostering direct engagement in public affairs (Gaventa & Barrett, 2018). Citizens who engage in local governance, for example, are more likely to feel linked to government activities, promoting a feeling of ownership and legitimacy in political processes (Fung, 2015). ...
... In many circumstances, residents are not supplied with adequate information or are ignorant of chances for engagement. This knowledge imbalance inhibits their capacity to interact effectively (Fung, 2015). Furthermore, governments may purposely suppress information, lowering openness and undermining public monitoring. ...
This study explores how citizen participation and accountability influence the socio-economic development of district assemblies in Ghana, with a particular emphasis on the Asokwa Municipality in the Ashanti region. Through a case study approach, the study explores how the active engagement of citizens in decision-making processes and the transparency and accountability of local government officials influence development outcomes in the Asokwa Municipality.
Primary and secondary sources of data were utilized for the studies. For the primary data, a total of 95 participants from the Asokwa Municipality were engaged for the studies, while data gathered from relevant literature, online platforms, books, journals, etc., served as the secondary source of data. A multistage sampling method was adopted by the researcher to select participants for the studies.
The key findings of the study highlighted the relevance of political participation and accountability as a tool for the socio-economic development of district assemblies in Ghana.
Recommendations derived from the studies emphasize the critical role of frequent education in the local government process in Ghana. The study contributes to the broader discourse on democratic governance and development in Ghana, offering recommendations for enhancing citizen participation and accountability to drive socio-economic progress.
... Digital leadership Digital leadership is a leadership concept that utilizes digital technology to encourage active community participation in decision-making processes and public services (Fung, 2015). By leveraging digital technologies such as participatory platforms, social media, and online-based applications, digital leadership enables easier interaction between government and society, and expands the accessibility and inclusivity of public participation. ...
Digital leadership has become an important aspect in the transformation of the public sector in Indonesia. In the ever-growing digital era, leaders who are able to adopt and utilize information and communication technology effectively have the potential to achieve significant progress in public services. This abstract illustrates the importance of digital leadership in increasing the effectiveness of public services in Indonesia. This research involves literature study and data analysis related to digital leadership and the public sector in Indonesia. Research findings show that digital leadership can accelerate the digital transformation of the public sector and bring various benefits to society. Technology-oriented leaders are able to utilize digital tools to increase transparency, accountability, efficiency and public participation in the decision-making process. It is hoped that the results of this research will provide insight for public leaders, practitioners and academics to understand the important role of digital leadership in increasing the effectiveness of public services in Indonesia. By strengthening digital leadership, it is hoped that the public sector can adapt quickly to technological developments and provide public services that are more effective, efficient and responsive to community needs.
... Advisory and decision-making processes in governance are becoming increasingly inclusive, empowered, and transparent Even though final decisions and accountability usually remain with a senior jurisdictional authority (for example, at the federal level in Canada, a Departmental Minister), consultative, collaborative, and co-management processes have been used increasingly in natural resource management and conservation (Hernes et al. 2005;Jentoft et al. 2010;Fung 2015;Baird et al. 2019;Vanstappen 2019;Nunen 2020;Crosman et al. 2022;Lombard et al. 2023;Salomon et al. 2023). Long-standing bi-lateral consultations with industry representatives interacting with government scientists and managers have expanded into diverse forms of dialogue and negotiations, as major environmental and other types of nongovernment organizations, Indigenous Bands and other local communities also gained places at these tables (Bakker et al. 2019;Vanstappen 2019;Turnhout et al. 2020;Parsons et al. 2021) and began to be included in expert processes informing the consultations and negotiations. ...
Governance processes for management of living resources are increasingly inclusive and participatory, with more use of integrated risk-based approaches. Progress has been challenged by diverse participants holding different values, evidence rooted in different knowledge systems, and participants placed in adversarial roles. Drawing together developments in risk equivalence, the concept of safe operating space, and viability theory, Risk Equivalent Safe Operating Spaces address these challenges. Within the framework diverse perspectives can express their desired ecological, economic, and social outcomes using their own values and indicators. The aggregate suite of all indicators delineates a multidimensional space within which each perspective can describe their relative risk tolerances along each axis, using evidence from all relevant knowledge systems. The “present state” of the socio-ecological system is identified within this space, along with zones of equivalent risk for each perspective, and (if it exists) a zone of Safe Operating Space (SOS) within some acceptable risk tolerance for all perspectives. Pathways can be developed that first seek equivalent risk for all perspectives, then lead towards the center of the common, shared SOS. Where certain perspectives or dimensions of the multidimensional space have explicit priority, the pathways can prioritize minimizing these risks.
... In addition, engagement can not be neglected as important aspect since stopping users from using social media platforms altogether is not a realistic or even desirable goal. Akin to the involvement of stakeholders in the development of new content recommendation algorithms, balancing interventions in algorithmic decision-making with freedom of expression should involve a societal consensus-building process to enhance legitimacy.64,65 Recently, conjoint survey experiments have been used to resolve content moderation dilemmas in the context of misinformation73 and could also be employed to solicit the preferences of people regarding the balance of freedom of expression and interventions to reduce the risk to civic discourse. ...
In the face of mounting evidence for a relationship between social media platforms and detrimental societal outcomes such as polarization, the erosion of trust in institutions, and the spread of misinformation, this perspective argues for the design of alternative content recommendation algorithms that serve the societal good and a lively democratic discourse. We propose to approach the design of content recommendation algorithms through the lens of fostering a healthy civic discourse, which serves to identify dimensions of relevance to guide the development of content recommendation algorithms. This approach lends alternative content recommendation algorithms legitimacy by being rooted in the EU's novel Digital Services Act and by aligning content recommendation with democratic values. We explore the trade‐off between interventions in content recommendation and freedom of expression and propose a research agenda that uses approaches from multistakeholder metric construction and scenario‐based risk assessment to find situation‐dependent just balances between individual rights and societal outcomes.
... Moreover, more citizen engagement in local government operations through participation and involvement will enhance democratic governance and accountability (Fung, 2015). Processes of participatory budgeting, citizen consultations, and community-driven development projects may be used to increase citizens' participation in decision-making processes. ...
This study examines the East India Company's multi-functional role in framing India's civil service system. The objective is to study the channels through which the East India Company operated in India and its influence on the development of India’s bureaucracy in general and its civil service in particular. Through a gateway to historical archives, government documents, and scholarly literature, this work examines the impact of the Company's roles on the civil service and administration structures of India. A comprehensive analysis revealed clearly that the East India Company had had a major impact on the Indian civil service system. The results exposed the elaborate network of the colonizers, the indigenous bureaucracy, and the politico-social setting that largely created the administrative history of India during the colonial period. The study relied on archival research and content analysis to identify landmark policies, including the initiation of competitive examinations, the implementation of merit-based recruitment, and the establishment of administrative hierarchies. These policies to a greater extent influenced the organization and the working process of the civil service of India during the British colonial period. The study improves understanding of the complexities of India's administrative past and its connections to the current problems in governance.
... Hal yang penting adalah mengelola hubungan antar pemangku kepentingan untuk peran dan keuntungan (Garrod et al., 2012;Wagner & Peters, 2009). Akan tetapi jika terjadi hambatan dalam kolaborasi antar stakeholder dapat menambah dana dan waktu (Fung, 2015;Garrod et al., 2012). Kolaborasi antar aktor sangat penting untuk tata kelola yang baik karena pariwisata dikenal mewakili industri yang terfragmentasi dengan beragam aktor yang bersama-sama menyediakan layanan pariwisata. ...
Abstrak: Pengembangan Pariwisata Melalui Collaborative governance di Kabupaten Magelang. Pariwisata merupakan salah satu sektor terbesar yang dapat meningkatkan pertumbuhan ekonomi secara cepat. Pariwisata merupakan salah satu sektor potensial yang perlu untuk dikembangkan termasuk di Magelang. Collaborative governance menjadi topik yang semakin penting dalam pengembangan pariwisata. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengidentifikasi proses dan factor keberhasilan collaborative governance dalam pengembangan pariwisata. Metode penelitian menggunakan studi literatur dan dianalisis dengan analsisis content. Temuan dalam penelitian menunjukkan bahwa collaborative governance terselenggara dengan melihat aspek kepercayaan, komitmen, kepemimpinan, dan kelembagaan. Kepercayaan antar pihak terkait menjadi awal terbentuknya komitmen untuk melaksanakan kerjasama. Kepemimpinan diperlukan dalam proses kolaborasi. Collaborative governance diwujudkan dengan kelembagaan dalam pengelolaan pariwisata. Keberhasilan collaborative governance sangat dipengaruhi oleh regulasi, pemetaan dan peran stakeholder, serta komunikasi yang terjalin. Regulasi akan memudahkan penentuan stakeholder beserta perannya dan menciptakan komunikasi yang baik antar stakeholder. Kata kunci: collaborative governance; pariwisata; proses; keberhasilan; magelang Abstract: Tourism Development Through Collaborative governance in Magelang Regency. Tourism is one of the largest sectors that can increase economic growth rapidly. Tourism is one of the potential sectors that need to be developed, including in Magelang. Collaborative governance is becoming an increasingly important topic in tourism development. The purpose of this study is to identify the processes and success factors of collaborative governance in tourism development. The research method uses literature study and analyzed by content analysis. The findings in the study indicate that collaborative governance is implemented by looking at aspects of trust, commitment, leadership, and institutions. Trust between related parties is the beginning of the formation of a commitment to carry out cooperation. Leadership is needed in the collaborative process. Collaborative governance is realized through institutions in tourism management. The success of collaborative governance is strongly influenced by regulations, mapping and stakeholder roles, as well as communication. Regulations will facilitate the determination of stakeholder and their roles and create good communication between stakeholder. Keyword: collaborative governance; tourism; process; success; magelang
... Empirical studies have demonstrated that enhanced transparency correlates with increased public trust and improved service delivery outcomes (Grimmelikhuijsen et al., 2013). In the context of local governance, these principles are particularly salient due to the proximity of local authorities to the citizenry and the direct impact of their decisions on daily life (Fung, 2015). ...
This study explores how integrated information systems enhance accountability and transparency in local governance, focusing on the case of Surabaya City, Indonesia. As public demands for open and efficient administration increase, local governments are under pressure to adopt digital tools that support transparent decision-making and accessible public services. This research adopts a literature review method, systematically analyzing scholarly sources published in the last decade related to digital governance, e-government, and information system integration. Findings indicate that the implementation of integrated information systems contributes significantly to reducing bureaucratic opacity and improving public trust. Surabaya City has emerged as a national model due to its progressive use of digital platforms to promote real-time data sharing and citizen engagement. Key enabling factors include strong political leadership, cross-sectoral collaboration, and investment in digital infrastructure. However, challenges remain in ensuring data interoperability, cybersecurity, and capacity building among public servants. The study highlights critical insights from both domestic and international experiences, offering a comparative lens for analysis. By synthesizing existing literature, this research provides a conceptual foundation for policymakers seeking to enhance local governance through technology. The findings underscore the need for a comprehensive and adaptive strategy to sustain digital transformation in the public sector.
... Inclusiveness is also about to what degree the views and impulses from the participation are being channelled into the decision process. Inclusiveness could be related to the planning authorities' abilities to (1) mobilise new groups that otherwise are difficult to reach, (2) their ability to create new arenas for communication and collaboration and (3) how the experiences from the participation are fed into the formal and decision-making part of the planning process (Fung, 2015). ...
... These democratic theories, while analytically separate, all have similar ontological and epistemological concerns. They seek to complement representative institutions and public agencies by advancing three values of democratic governance: effectiveness, legitimacy, and social justice (Fung, 2015). ...
This article introduces assemblage theory as a theoretical frame and analytical lens to study
democratic innovations and capture the dynamism and complexity of democratic innovations.
Assemblage theory places emphasis on non-linearity, contingency, situatedness and relationality.
We argue that an assemblage perspective can further understanding of how different participatory
spaces and practices coexist, interact, and change, as assemblages of various human, non-human
and material elements. Assemblage can help pay attention to how participatory processes embed
in new contexts and the level of disruption they might generate. It supports a pragmatic research
agenda grounded in fine-grained analysis of the temporality and emergence of participation, focusing
on processes that lead to (dis)embeddedness of a participatory culture and conditions that affect
capacities for participation. In this way, it can inform approaches to democratic innovations that
are sensitive to contextual factors, promoting a diversity of participatory practices to strengthen
inclusivity
... For these reasons, though justly authorised laws and societal ideals represent elements of what AI systems must align to, these bodies of work may also need to be supplemented by more localised and subject-specific processes that provide a fuller specification of the relevant principles for different kinds of AI application. Indeed, there are already many calls for initiatives of this kind, most notably for the clarification of relevant principles via 'alignment assemblies' modelled on citizens assemblies (Collective Intelligence, 2024;Fung, 2015). In these cases, public deliberation aims to generate more granular principles for AI that are tailored to its particular characteristics or deployment scenario, and that are also -to varying degrees -actively affirmed (Huang, 2024). ...
The normative challenge of AI alignment centres upon what goals or values ought to be encoded in AI systems to govern their behaviour. A number of answers have been proposed, including the notion that AI must be aligned with human intentions or that it should aim to be helpful, honest and harmless. Nonetheless, both accounts suffer from critical weaknesses. On the one hand, they are incomplete: neither specification provides adequate guidance to AI systems, deployed across various domains with multiple parties. On the other hand, the justification for these approaches is questionable and, we argue, of the wrong kind. More specifically, neither approach takes seriously the need to justify the operation of AI systems to those affected by their actions – or what this means for pluralistic societies where people have different underlying beliefs about value. To address these limitations, we propose an alternative account of AI alignment that focuses on fair processes. We argue that principles that are the product of these processes are the appropriate target for alignment. This approach can meet the necessary standard of public justification, generate a fuller set of principles for AI that are sensitive to variation in context, and has explanatory power insofar as it makes sense of our intuitions about AI systems and points to a number of hitherto underappreciated ways in which an AI system may cease to be aligned.
... We see a link between external organisations organising the festival with limited knowledge of neighbours' needs and some informants' experience of the festival as 'symbolic participation' through simulated co-creation (analysis topic 4). For instance, organisers state that they want to create arenas for participation in the local development debate, but, in reality, they face the same challenges as in more traditional participation processes, namely a lack of proper channels for citizens to be heard (Fung, 2015;Røsnes, 2005) and to influence the processes in the early stages (Hanssen and Falleth, 2014). This can create false hope of influencing uninfluenceable processes -a known problem in planning processes where expectations are unclear. ...
While grassroots initiatives often involve extensive community engagement in response to external (un)desired development, there are also several ‘top-down’ initiatives where municipalities or external organisations strive to improve neighbourhood engagement. This article focuses on the latter, an externally initiated neighbourhood street festival in Trondheim, Norway. During this festival, temporary interventions and activities are implemented in public spaces to engage citizens in conversations on local urban development and enhance their sense of belonging to the area. Based on street interviews with neighbours and visitors at the festival and in-depth interviews with involved actors, we investigate what these actions contribute locally. We ask: How do neighbourhood-based festivals influence community engagement? How can we understand the organisation of such initiatives more conceptually? Our analysis suggests that the festival finds itself in a delicate balancing act between simulating a local initiative that does not exist and awakening a latent initiative locally by stimulating action. Based on this tension, we suggest a conceptual framework for neighbourhood initiatives relevant to research and practice in urban development and planning.
... To truly improve government efficiency, a whole-of-society approach is necessary, where both citizens and institutions actively contribute to reform. Government transparency, institutional accountability, and public participation are essential components of a wellfunctioning democracy (Fung, 2015). When citizens engage through participatory budgeting, feedback mechanisms, and watchdog initiatives, they create a culture of accountability that encourages better service. ...
Accountability in public service is a crucial topic in governance, but the common assertion, “I pay my taxes, so I pay your salary,” oversimplifies the complex relationship between taxpayers and public employees. This article challenges the transactional view of governance, emphasizing that taxation is a collective contribution rather than a direct employer-employee relationship. It explores the negative effects of this mindset, including adversarial interactions and unrealistic expectations of government efficiency, while highlighting the broader systemic challenges such as bureaucratic inefficiencies, corruption, and resource constraints. Instead of fostering hostility, the article advocates for a whole-of-society approach—one that promotes civic engagement, transparency, and participatory governance to improve public service. By shifting from entitlement-driven criticism to solution-oriented discourse, citizens and government workers can collaborate to enhance service delivery, policy reforms, and institutional efficiency. The discussion underscores the importance of digital transformation, public-private partnerships, and strengthening oversight institutions to foster accountability. Ultimately, this article encourages a more constructive and cooperative perspective on public service—one that recognizes shared responsibility between the government and its people, leading to a more responsive, transparent, and citizen-centered governance system.
... For example, scholars often call into question the accessibility and representativeness of town hall forums. In-person meetings can exclude citizens with work obligations, lack of childcare, or those without transportation [25,62]. Neblo et al. [132] found that attendees at Town Hall Meetings often have higher levels of education, income, and political interest, exacerbating the issue of representativeness. ...
Recovering from crises, such as hurricanes or wildfires, is a complex process that can take weeks, months, or even decades to overcome. Crises have both acute (immediate) and chronic (long-term) effects on communities. Crisis informatics research often focuses on the immediate response phase of disasters, thereby overlooking the long-term recovery phase, which is critical for understanding the information needs of users undergoing challenges like climate gentrification and housing inequity. We fill this gap by investigating community discourse over eight months following Hurricane Ida in an online neighborhood Facebook group and Town Hall Meetings of a borough in the New York Metropolitan region. Using a mixed methods approach, we examined the use of social media to manage long-term disaster recovery. The findings revealed a significant overlap in topics, underscoring the interconnected nature of online and offline community discourse, and illuminated themes related to the long-term consequences of disasters. We conclude with recommendations aimed at helping designers and government leaders enhance participation across community forums and support recovery in the aftermath of disasters.
... In connection, weak attendance and participation in DRRM activities are recurring issues in disaster preparedness. Literature often identifies apathy, lack of trust in government initiatives, or competing priorities as key reasons for weak participation [31,32]. However, in the case of Lemery's coastal communities, the factors that contributed to this trend were the selective participation process and the availability of individuals to attend this initiative. ...
The Taal Volcanic Eruption in January 2020 posed significant social and economic challenges to the coastal municipality of Lemery, Batangas. This disaster emphasizes the need for targeted management strategies, particularly in coastal communities vulnerable to volcanic eruptions. This study aims to provide a comprehensive baseline for improving future volcanic disaster management by applying a systems thinking approach and integrating disaster readiness into land use planning and zoning to address interconnected risks and minimize vulnerabilities. The study used primary data from key informant interviews, supplemented by secondary data from government reports and academic literature. Using a phenomenological design, thematic analysis was used to generate themes on readiness, response, and recovery mechanisms of coastal communities and the factors affecting them. The findings identified the critical gaps in the municipality's disaster preparedness, response, and recovery mechanisms. Significant findings were (1) total lack of preparedness, (2) individualized response efforts shaped by socioeconomic conditions, and (3) recovery processes that faced barriers from the COVID-19 pandemic, ineffective coordination, and poor resource mobilization. These challenges emphasize the need for a multi-sectoral and cross-boundary approach to disaster risk reduction. Developing an inclusive and context-sensitive disaster management framework can enhance the resilience of coastal communities, thus ensuring better outcomes for future volcanic hazards.
... This corruption harms the community directly through the loss of funds that should be used for development and indirectly through the erosion of public trust in the government. Trust is a critical element of successful governance, and the government must gain public support in implementing development programs (Fung, 2015;Grimmelikhuijsen et al., 2013;Hidayat, 2019). These findings show that under non-democratic leadership, the village government in Mawu Village failed to build public trust, which worsened government performance regarding public services and infrastructure development. ...
This article explores the dynamics of non-democratic political leadership and its implications for development management in Mawu Village, Ambalawi Sub-district, Bima Regency, West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. In many developing countries, including Indonesia, authoritarian leadership is still a common practice in village governance, although its impact on village development has yet to be studied in depth. This study seeks to fill this knowledge gap by analyzing how centralized leadership impacts resource allocation, transparency, and corruption at the local level. Applying a case study approach, the authors collected the data through in-depth interviews and observations. The results show that the concentration of power in a handful of village elites results in unfair and non-transparent resource management, exacerbating socioeconomic inequality in the community. Systematic corrupt practices further hamper sustainable development, erode public trust in village governance, and strengthen oppressive power structures. The findings are expected to serve as a foundation for more inclusive and accountable policy formulation in the context of village development, particularly in areas with non-democratic governance.
... This study illustrates how blockchain-based applications can boost public trust and encourage greater participation, primarily by ensuring the integrity of management decisions and minimizing manipulation risks. It can be concluded that digital solutions have a significant impact on increasing the effectiveness of participatory governance, thus enabling greater public involvement and allowing the public to adapt to new societal challenges [70]. ...
This study focuses on the importance of social innovation in addressing socioeconomic and environmental challenges, as it fosters systemic change and resilience. This study places social innovations in the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and focuses on their potential to create inclusive and sustainable solutions. Using mixed research methods, 400 highly cited articles published between 2014 and 2024 were analyzed. With respect to the results, a thematic analysis identified key mechanisms such as participative governance, stakeholder engagement, and the inclusion of digital technologies as critical success factors. An impact analysis highlighted the important social, environmental, and economic benefits of green innovation and blockchain initiatives. In contrast, a trend analysis revealed the growing alignment between theoretical advances and practical implementations. This analysis also highlighted the importance of adaptability to local contexts, including marginalized groups, and using interdisciplinary approaches.
... In the United Kingdom, responsibilities are devolved to assemblies of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Among these, is the power to determine ways of making decisions (Fung, 2015). Though not devolved, in England, the policy of government is to give citizens a stronger voice in policymaking and, when necessary, transfer control of government assets to citizen groups. ...
The article deploys a desktop approach to examine the Pomona Waste to Energy Project in Harare, demonstrating how corruption within urban governments disproportionately affects public service delivery. The principal secondary sources of data used are policy documents, academic literature and newspaper articles. The key problem relates to the presence of unfettered central government interference in local governance through the Minister responsible for Local Government. The article demonstrates that through the project, privatisation and subsequent forms of public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been sanctioned. Based on the study findings, the article concludes that the design of a city-level management system, that includes democratic structures with checks and balances between the executive and legislature and between state agencies and civil society, must be supplemented by broader citizen participation to ensure that decisions are made in the best interests of the public.
... To comprehend the contemporary landscape of government-citizen interactions, examining historical antecedents is imperative to discern the roots and trajectory of this critical relationship. Throughout history, the dynamics between governments and citizens have undergone transformative shifts spurred by societal, technological, and political changes (Fuchs & Klingemann, 1995;Fung, 2015;Zomer et al., 2020). The initial governance paradigms were marked by a notable absence of widespread citizen involvement, with decision-making predominantly centralised within governmental structures (Be-Ere, 2023). ...
In recent years, governments worldwide have been exploring ways to enhance their interactions with citizens, improve public participation, increase transparency, and ensure accountability in delivering public services. Civic tech, encompassing various digital tools and platforms, has emerged as a transformative force in facilitating government–citizen interactions. Drawing from existing literature and case studies, this chapter provides a comprehensive analysis of the role of civic tech in fostering transparent and accountable governance. It explores the diverse applications of civic tech, ranging from e-participation platforms and open data initiatives to crowdsourcing and collaborative governance. This chapter examines the impact of these technologies on enhancing citizen engagement, promoting transparency, and strengthening accountability mechanisms. Further, the chapter highlights opportunities and challenges associated with leveraging digital technologies in government–civic interactions. It highlights the potential benefits of civic tech, such as increased citizen empowerment, improved service delivery, and better policy outcomes. Additionally, it discusses the key challenges, including issues of accessibility, data privacy, the digital divide, and the potential for technological exclusion. The chapter offers insights and recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers leveraging digital technologies to bridge the gap between government and citizens. It demonstrates the importance of fostering an inclusive and participatory digital ecosystem to realise the full potential of civic tech for transparent and accountable governance in the digital era.
Most public policy frameworks, such as the policy cycle, multiple streams, punctuated equilibrium, policy feedback, and advocacy coalition frameworks, originate from the global north, and their understanding of political elite dynamics remains limited and context-specific. In the global south, particularly in countries like India with distinct constitutional systems and governance structures, this narrow and limited perspective weakens the policy framework’s explanatory power, limiting their ability to address accountability, systemic inequities, and elite manipulation. This study revisits political elites and their will as a socio-political phenomenon, introducing the concept of the ‘policy panopticon’ to describe their pervasive influence on policymaking. The research adopts discourse analysis as its methodological framework to uncover ontological gaps in the public policy frameworks mentioned above. It specifically investigates how these frameworks address the role and influence of political elites and their political will in shaping policy processes. This analysis is based on key indicators derived from a comprehensive literature review of contemporary facets of political class theory, which are then applied within the discourse analysis methodology to examine policy frameworks. The findings highlight that existing policy frameworks fail to account for political willingness, particularly concerning techno-governance artefacts and political class influence. This gap in the literature underscores the need for further theoretical refinement and practical understanding of how political elites shape policy processes within diverse democratic contexts.
Approximately 60% of global ecosystem services are currently degraded or unsustainably managed. Addressing this, Trento’s initiative under the EIT Food research projects focuses on revitalizing abandoned and underutilized open areas, creating productive and recreational landscapes that promote agroecology. These efforts aim to establish inclusive, sustainable, and circular habitats, mitigating climate change risks through natural assets, and enhancing socio-ecological and biodiversity values in peri-urban areas. The research delves into the multifunctionality of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Trento. It highlights its role in providing environmental, economic, and social benefits, such as creating barriers against urban expansion, improving water management, regulating microclimates, diversifying natural environments, and boosting local biodiversity. Furthermore, it serves as a means for local food production, providing employment opportunities and supporting ecosystem services.
Drawing on job demands-resources theory, this study investigates how green tape and servant leadership affect public employees’ well-being. Specifically, green tape (i.e., decreased unreasonable job demands) and servant leadership (i.e., increased supplementary job resources) will positively shape public employees’ well-being via ego depletion and meaningfulness. Based on a three-wave study of public employees in China, results empirically support our expectations. These findings underline the role of green tape and servant leadership in shaping job demands, job resources, and public employees’ well-being, extending existing public administration knowledge. This research suggests that public organizations could benefit from integrating job demands-resources perspective insights into their practices.
While global discontent with democracy has reached its highest rates since 1995, there is no consensus on what is causing so much democratic backsliding. In Brazil, scholars discussing how to reinvigorate citizens's trust in democratic systems emphasize the need for an understanding of political representation to include issues such as recognition, inclusion, and a thorough assessment of institutional affordances provided by the available instruments for mediation of conflictive political interests. Meanwhile, grassroots activists are exploring the space between civil society and the state to reshape political representation through collective candidacies and mandates. The former refers to organized groups of four or more activists campaigning together for a single seat in government office. The latter involves legislative seats run collaboratively by groups committed to sharing their representative power with their constituents during their term in office. Using abductive reasoning to discuss secondary data and review literature, the paper argues that: (a) growing dissatisfaction with democracy stems from a perceived decline in the ability of its established mechanisms to equitably aggregate and negotiate citizens' diverse interests; (b) power‐sharing, civic imaginaries, trust, mistrust, distrust, and interests are key psychopolitical elements that simultaneously inform citizens' skepticism about democratic institutions and are mobilized to rebuild these mechanisms. Presenting these experiments as products of the Brazilian political system's affordances and highlighting their relevance for creating accountable and inclusive institutions, the paper encourages political psychologists to apply their interdisciplinary tools to study democratic innovations emerging at the intersection of theory and practice.
Communication protocols define modes of communication and channels of information flow within an organization. We model communication protocols as a formal signaling game. In our theory, the expected biases in decision-making can cause economic losses due to information manipulation, creating a need for communication protocols which control access to information and technologies that manage this access. The challenge is that these solutions often lead to Kafkaesque institutions—complex and confusing protocols which dampen organizational responsiveness to environmental shifts. This is especially significant in government where performance-based, pecuniary incentive schemes are less feasible or expressly prohibited. We present a case study of open-government initiatives that illustrates the theory, including that such initiatives are more likely to be adopted at lower levels of government, and offer an information-management rationale for federated governance systems (JEL B52, D02, D23, D82, H11).
This study examines the operational functionality of Union Parishad (UP) Standing Committees (SCs) in Bangladesh, with a focus on their roles in local governance and political consolidation. This qualitative study purposively selected 48 participants, comprising representatives from the UP, government officials, NGO representatives, and SC members. Thematic analysis was employed for data interpretation, revealing that SCs, as governance mechanisms, were utilised as tools by the ruling political parties for consolidation, thereby sidestepping their intended roles of accountability and participation. Additionally, the study reveals that NGOs have shifted from capacity building to commercial pursuits and that a patron-client relationship hinders governance access for all classes, benefits certain groups, and silences critical voices. This study found significant differences between the procedures for forming and operating the UP SCs. Local government reforms should be implemented to enhance UP capacity, encourage opposition participation, and reduce the influence of parliamentary members, thereby improving SC performance.
SIPRAJA (Sistem Pelayanan Rakyat Sidoarjo), developed by the Sidoarjo district government, emerged as a digital solution designed to simplify bureaucratic processes and increase citizen engagement. This study analyzes SIPRAJA through a New Public Governance (NPG) perspective, emphasizing a collaborative and citizen-centered approach to promoting inclusive and responsive governance. By integrating various stakeholders, including government agencies, private actors, and communities, SIPRAJA reflects NPG principles that prioritize co-creation and shared responsibility. This article begins by discussing challenges in traditional public administration that impede efficient service delivery. It then introduces SIPRAJA as an innovative response and explores its conceptual basis within the NPG theoretical framework. Through qualitative analysis and secondary data, this study highlights the impact of SIPRAJA in reducing administrative burden, increasing transparency, and building trust among stakeholders. However, challenges such as digital literacy gaps and infrastructure limitations were also identified, emphasizing the need for adaptive strategies. Findings show that SIPRAJA significantly contributed to the transformation of Sidoarjo's public services by promoting participatory governance, improving service accessibility and conforming to global standards for e-governance. Recommendations include increasing digital inclusion, strengthening public-private partnerships and adopting continuous monitoring mechanisms to ensure ongoing success. This research contributes to the discourse on public sector innovation by showing how NPG principles can be operationalized through technology-based initiatives such as SIPRAJA.
This article develops two conceptual models, based on empirical data, for assessing deliberation and decision making within United States adoptions of Participatory Budgeting (PB). The first model is results oriented whereas the second model is process oriented. The two models evince the tension between inclusiveness and efficiency that emerge as U.S. PB tries accommodating the dual goals of improved short-term service delivery and democratic deepening. Each model satisfies one of these deliberate goals better. Results oriented deliberation is more effective at producing viable projects whereas process oriented is better at ensuring that all participants’ voices are heard. Variation suggests that decision-making in PBNYC exceeds citizens’ ability to make collective decisions with rational discourse. Rather, the structural conditions of district constitution, bureaucratic constraints, and facilitator skill impacted decision-making.
From its inception in Brazil in the late 1980s, Participatory Budgeting has now been instituted in over 1500
cities worldwide. This paper discusses what actually travels under the name of Participatory Budgeting. We
rely on science studies for a fundamental insight: it is not enough to simply speak of “diffusion” while
forgetting the way that the circulation and translation of an idea fundamentally transform it (Latour 1987). In
this case, the travel itself has made PB into an attractive and politically malleable device by reducing and
simplifying it to a set of procedures for the democratization of demand-making. The relationship of those
procedures to the administrative machinery is ambiguous, but fundamentally important for the eventual
impact of Participatory Budgeting in any one context.
Every month in every neighborhood in Chicago, residents, teachers, school principals, and police officers gather to deliberate about how to improve their schools and make their streets safer. Residents of poor neighborhoods participate as much or more as those from wealthy ones. All voices are heard. Since the meetings began more than a dozen years ago, they have led not only to safer streets but also to surprising improvements in the city's schools. Chicago's police department and school system have become democratic urban institutions unlike any others in America. Empowered Participationis the compelling chronicle of this unprecedented transformation. It is the first comprehensive empirical analysis of the ways in which participatory democracy can be used to effect social change. Using city-wide data and six neighborhood case studies, the book explores how determined Chicago residents, police officers, teachers, and community groups worked to banish crime and transform a failing city school system into a model for educational reform. The author's conclusion: Properly designed and implemented institutions of participatory democratic governance can spark citizen involvement that in turn generates innovative problem-solving and public action. Their participation makes organizations more fair and effective. Though the book focuses on Chicago's municipal agencies, its lessons are applicable to many American cities. Its findings will prove useful not only in the fields of education and law enforcement, but also to sectors as diverse as environmental regulation, social service provision, and workforce development.
T his article develops two conceptual tools to synthesize democratic theory and the empirical study of institutions. The first is a standard to assess conceptions of democracy called pragmatic equilibrium. A conception of democracy is in pragmatic equilibrium just in case the consequences of its institutional prescriptions realize its values well and better than any other feasible institutional arrangements across a wide range of problems and contexts. Pragmatic equilibrium is a kind of Raw-lsian reflective equilibrium. The second is a method of practical reasoning about the consequences of alternative institutional choices that brings conceptions of democracy closer to pragmatic equilibrium. These two ideas are then applied to four conceptions of democracy— –minimal, aggregative, deliberative, and participatory— –and to two governance problems— –deciding rules of political structure and minority tyranny— –to show how each conception can improve through reflection on the empirical consequences of various institutional arrangements. The tragedy of the world is that those who are imaginative have but slight experience, and those who are experienced have feeble imaginations. Fools act on imagination without knowledge, and pedants act on knowledge without imag-ination. (Alfred North Whitehead, "The Universities and Their Function" [1927]).
Over the past few decades, a new form of governance has emerged to replace adversarial and managerial modes of policy making and implementation. Collaborative governance, as it has come to be known, brings public and private stakeholders together in collective forums with public agencies to engage in consensus-oriented decision making. In this article, we conduct a meta-analytical study of the existing literature on collaborative governance with the goal of elaborating a contingency model of collaborative governance. After reviewing 137 cases of collaborative governance across a range of policy sectors, we identify critical variables that will influence whether or not this mode of governance will produce successful collaboration. These variables include the prior history of conflict or cooperation, the incentives for stakeholders to participate, power and resources imbalances, leadership, and institutional design. We also identify a series of factors that are crucial within the collaborative process itself. These factors include face-to-face dialogue, trust building, and the development of commitment and shared understanding. We found that a virtuous cycle of collaboration tends to develop when collaborative forums focus on “small wins” that deepen trust, commitment, and shared understanding. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of our contingency model for practitioners and for future research on collaborative governance.
In the last two decades, people in a growing number of localities in the United States have developed grassroots ecosystem management (GREM) as a means to resolve policy problems affecting their environment, economy, and communities. Ad hoc and voluntary groups of environmentalists, developers, businesspeople, federal and state resource managers, farmers, loggers, local citizens, and those representing recreation interests use deliberation and consensus to enhance public policy performance. Instead of focusing on specific issues such as air pollution, GREM emphasizes the integrated management of entire watersheds and ecosystems. But what happens to democratic accountability in these collaborative efforts? Despite concerns that they might result in special interest government, the acceleration of environmental degradation, and an end-run around national environmental protection laws, this book suggests otherwise.
Bringing Society Back In establishes a theoretical framework for exploring issues of policy performance and democratic accountability raised by GREM. Through three case studies—the Applegate Partnership in Oregon, the Henry's Fork Watershed Council in Idaho, and the Willapa Alliance in Washington state—it explores the mechanisms used to determine how accountability works. The book finds that by combining traditional and formal governance structures with informal institutions, GREM can be accountable to individuals, communities, surrounding regions, and the nation. The book also identifies conditions under which GREM is most likely to achieve democratic accountability. In addition, it investigates the connection between accountability and policy performance. The evidence suggests that GREM can produce environmental policy outcomes that are supportive not only of the environment and economy, but also of environmental sustainability.
If in a democracy the people have the authority to choose their representatives, then it would seem to follow that they should have the authority to choose the procedures by which they choose their representatives. Yet in nearly all democracies the procedures that govern elections have been established by officials or representatives themselves (Farrell 2001: 176–81; Pilon 2002: 6–13). Legislatures, courts, and commissions rather than popular initiatives or constitutional conventions created and continue to control the electoral process in most democracies. Until recently, attempts to make major changes in any electoral system were rare and rarely succeeded (Norris 2004: 4–6). But in the past decade, electoral reform has been gaining a place on the political agenda in many democracies. In the 1990s, many newly emerging democracies designed their own systems, and nine established democracies made far-reaching changes in their existing systems. Although many of these reforms have been carried out by elites, usually in reaction to contingent political circumstances rather than in the service of a plan to improve the system, citizens themselves have increasingly demanded, and in some cases won, a significant role in the process of reform. The question of who should choose the electoral system – and more specifically the role citizens should play in that choice – is thus timely. Posing it also creates an opportunity to raise some issues in democratic theory and practice that have been often neglected.
"Can a country be a democracy if its government only responds to the preferences of the rich? In an ideal democracy, all citizens should have equal influence on government policy--but as this book demonstrates, America's policymakers respond almost exclusively to the preferences of the economically advantaged. Affluence and Influence definitively explores how political inequality in the United States has evolved over the last several decades and how this growing disparity has been shaped by interest groups, parties, and elections. With sharp analysis and an impressive range of data, Martin Gilens looks at thousands of proposed policy changes, and the degree of support for each among poor, middle-class, and affluent Americans. His findings are staggering: when preferences of low- or middle-income Americans diverge from those of the affluent, there is virtually no relationship between policy outcomes and the desires of less advantaged groups. In contrast, affluent Americans' preferences exhibit a substantial relationship with policy outcomes whether their preferences are shared by lower-income groups or not. Gilens shows that representational inequality is spread widely across different policy domains and time periods. Yet Gilens also shows that under specific circumstances the preferences of the middle class and, to a lesser extent, the poor, do seem to matter. In particular, impending elections--especially presidential elections--and an even partisan division in Congress mitigate representational inequality and boost responsiveness to the preferences of the broader public.
Participatory development has been a much-touted strategy by the world’s donors to developing countries ever since the late 1990s and has absorbed vast sums of money. By illustration, the World Bank alone spent $54 billion on community-driven development projects in the period 1999–2011. The influence of the ‘participatory development’ narrative on the international donor community is striking, given that the evidence base for its success in fighting poverty and providing voice to the world’s marginalized is surprisingly weak. As Galasso and Ravallion (2005) noted, “[t]he enthusiasm in policy circles for devolving decision-making responsibility over anti-poverty programs to the community level has clearly run well ahead of the evidence” (pp. 706–707). In the present report by Ghazala Mansuri and Vijayendra Rao, both lead economists at the World Bank, evidence catches up with the narrative.The authors have made a painstaking effort to collect close to 500 evaluations of large-scale part ...
This article compares variants of republican and liberal theory in order to assess which can make a stronger proprietary claim to the new democratic practice of citizens' assemblies (CAs). I argue that in respect of the categories of representation, liberty and citizenship, CAs are primarily republican in character. The argument is significant for three reasons. First, the political theory terrain is remapped, affirming clear differences between liberal and republican theories while maintaining an appreciation of what they share. Second, a complex intertwining of negative, positive and republican forms of liberty emerges, which runs contrary to an established tendency where modes of liberty are conceived according to excessively narrow parameters. Finally, supporters of the republican revival in political theory acknowledge that its future success depends on real institutional innovations. Yet this challenge has been taken on ‘timidly and inadequately’ in the judgement of one prominent republican. This article presents the CA model as an ideal existing institution worthy of full republican support.
The multifaceted challenges of contemporary governance demand a complex account of the ways in which those who are subject to laws and policies should participate in making them. This article develops a framework for understanding the range of institutional possibilities for public participation. Mechanisms of participation vary along three important dimensions: who participates, how participants communicate with one another and make decisions together, and how discussions are linked with policy or public action. These three dimensions constitute a space in which any particular mechanism of participation can be located. Different regions of this institutional design space are more and less suited to addressing important problems of democratic governance such as legitimacy, justice, and effective administration.
In recent years, a growing number of scholars have urged greater intellectual effort regarding the outcomes, or impacts, being produced, or not produced by collaborative governance arrangements. Some progress has been made with “process” and “social” outcomes, outcomes affecting systemic collaborative capacity, the identification of second- and third-order consequences, and in refining approaches to incorporating and measuring real world environmental improvements. But what about other creative, important, and potentially useful governance outcomes that may well be unique to collaborative governance arrangements? Are we measuring all of the important things? We put this hypothesis to the test by examining four successful cases of collaborative governance in four Western states. The research, by discovering and developing three new types of governance outcomes—enhancing agency resources, developing and transferring technology, and going beyond compliance—suggests that our current frameworks for thinking about and measuring outcomes produced by collaborative governance arrangements are necessarily incomplete.
Networks have assumed a place of prominence in the literature on public and private governing structures. The many positive attributes of networks are often featured—the capacity to solve problems, govern shared resources, create learning opportunities, and address shared goals—and a literature focused on the challenges networks pose for managers seeking to realize these network attributes is developing. The authors share an interest in understanding the potential of networks to govern complex public, or “wicked,” problems. A fundamental challenge to effectively managing any public problem in a networked setting is the transfer, receipt and integration of knowledge across participants. When knowledge is viewed pragmatically, the challenge is particularly acute. This perspective, the authors argue, presents a challenge to the network literature to consider the mind-set of the managers—or collaborative capacity-builders—who are working to achieve solutions to wicked problems. This mind-set guides network managers as they apply their skills, strategies, and tools in order to foster the transfer, receipt, and integration of knowledge across the network and, ultimately, to build long-term collaborative problem-solving capacity.
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Collaborative Governance in Th eory and Practice
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Localizing Development: Does Participation Work
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Deliberative Mini-Publics: Involving Citizens in the Democratic Process
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