Consumer Participation in Administrative Decision Making

Abstract

The term "consumer participation" in public agencies has come to occupy an important place in discussions of administrative theory and practice without any real consensus on how and with what consequences they participate. This article examines the development of this phenomenon in the field of housing. It examines the impact of tenant participation across 750 public housing projects. Data were derived from a survey of housing projects carried out by HUD in 1978. The findings appear to buttress the view that tenant organizations can be effective in increasing the level of resources and services made available to tenants. There is no evidence to support the perspective that consumer participation enhanced the administrative process.