Deliberative Civic Engagement in Public Administration and Policy

Tina Nabatchi

doi:10.16997/jdd.195

Abstract

This article explores deliberative civic engagement in the context of public administration and policy. The field of public administration and policy is seeing a resurgence of interest in deliberative civic engagement among scholars, practitioners, politicians, civic reformers, and others. Deliberative processes have been used to address a range of issues: school redistricting and closings, land use, and the construction of highways, shopping malls, and other projects. Additional topics include race and diversity issues, crime and policing, and involvement of parents in their children’s education. Finally, participatory budgeting, which has been used with success in Porto Alegre, Brazil since 1989 and has been employed in over 1,500 cities around the world, has been one of the most promising forms of deliberative civic engagement. Finally, the article suggests what we must do to build a civic infrastructure to support deliberative civic engagement, including government, but also practitioners and scholars.

Highlights

Within the context of public administration and policy, deliberative civic engagement refers to a wide variety of processes through which members of the public, often in concert with policymakers and stakeholders, come together to engage in constructive, informed, and decisive dialogue about important public issues
The field of public administration is seeing a resurgence of interest in deliberative civic engagement among scholars, practitioners, politicians, civic reformers, and others
Some believe that deliberative civic engagement is a potential remedy for the philosophical and practical shortcomings of current governmental practices, including the limitations of voting, the deteriorating ties among citizens and between citizens and government, and the apparent inability of government to address systemic policy problems (Nabatchi and Munno 2014)

Summary

Introduction

Within the context of public administration and policy, deliberative civic engagement refers to a wide variety of processes through which members of the public, often in concert with policymakers and stakeholders, come together to engage in constructive, informed, and decisive dialogue about important public issues. Deliberative Civic Engagement, Participatory Budgeting, Public Administration, Public Policy

Results

Conclusion