Forms Of Citizen Participation Research Articles

The contribution of civil society organisations to the implementation of the principles of good governance at the local level

The article examines the contribution of civil society organizations to the implementation of the principles of good governance at the local level. The analysis is based on the results of a comparative study on the interaction between civil society organizations and local authorities in the twenty-seven largest municipalities in Bulgaria, which are regional centers. The research presents data on the forms of citizen participation in outlining policies for the development of local communities, modernization of local government institutions, and increasing the accountability of local authorities. The article is based on comparative research data of international NGOs that not only conduct research in this field but also implement initiatives to improve the interaction between civil society and public institutions at the local level. In this regard, the major focus is presented on the good practices identified in the Local Integrity System Index – a comparative study of Transparency International – Bulgaria, which is the national chapter of the international anticorruption organization Transparency International.

Heterotopias of Citizenship as Spaces of Otherness: The Fluid Boundaries Between We and They

Heterotopia is a neologism proposed by Michel Foucault to describe specific cultural and discursive spaces that mirror real life, yet stand in opposition to it. I propose to look at heterotopia through the lens of youth citizenship that is presented in different forms of self-identification in the discursive practices of the selected youth organisations. The article analyses the discursive language of six Ukrainian youth organisations that appear as spaces of their own, drawing on Foucault’s notion of heterotopia. The task of the article is to examine how these contemporary heterotopias are identified through the language and specific keywords used by their members and how this language defines the space in which their members function, as well as gain insight into the categories of We and They, including their role in self-identification and the delineation of boundaries between the different heterotopias. In this article, I argue that the contexts of the use of the categories We and They with which young people name themselves and separate themselves from non-members of the organisation, have a strong influence on their citizen participation strategies. The empirical results show that organizations position and locate themselves as political and community acting-spaces—heterotopias of citizenship—that have responsibilities and act in accordance with their mission. Although the forms of citizen participation they use vary, their ultimate mission seems to be the same, and may be related to a sense of insecurity caused by a political threat from the Other.

The political dimension of food in Spain. A taxonomy of civic and political actions

ABSTRACT Food has become a privileged space for analyzing different forms of citizen participation. This paper reviews typologies of political participation to determine which of them is more useful to classify the strategies of food-based engagement. We propose a taxonomy of civic and political food actions, with particular reference to Spain, integrating traditional and modern actions as well as and collective, online and offline dimensions. We applied a mixed methodology, based on primary sources – a survey of 1,0005 people and 22 in-depth interviews with different profiles of food activists- and secondary sources. The proposed taxonomy of food political participation is useful to map different forms of (non-) participation, latent participation and political participation in food issues that are currently being developed. This classification, by including civic and latent forms of involvement, can serve to guide future empirical studies about food participation that consider not only formal participation, but also factors as: showing propensity to search for information about food issues from an ethical, political, or environmental perspective; identifying with an ideology that promotes ethical, politically and socially responsible food decisions; or developing a political food lifestyle.

Daily Space

Three articles in this issue of Arquitecturas del Sur are dedicated to collective housing, as the housing shortage has led to new and better forms of citizen participation in its solution. The Indigenous Temporary Accommodation in Florianopolis handles an essentially Latin American problem: access for Indigenous people to protected state housing. In this case, the presence of the city’s original inhabitants examines the possibilities of physical and symbolic spaces in the contemporary city and the professional role that looks into the responses. Next, the text on collaborative housing analyzes the case of Spain, and its relationship with public management mechanisms. The case of Gran Canaria looks at mutual aid issues, transfer of use, cooperativism, and citizen participation. In this way, the self-construction system of the Andalusian Junta, a practice that is as effective as it is controversial, and representative of a socialist cooperativism and cohabitation developed by the Barcelona City Council, converge in the debate on cooperative management. The third text looks into one of the latest events disclosed on CORVI’s actions, before its dissolution in 1976. It explores a management model that revealed the role of construction companies as a new player in the habitational process for the case of the Santiago Amengual Neighborhood. A second thematic group in this issue, materialized in its last 3 articles, returns to the structural issues of modern-day architecture, whose presence is diving deeper into the disciplinary debate. The places of memory seem to exceed the margins of an understanding based on heritage discourse. The memory and belonging of daily spaces, turn one to the nodes of memory and collective coherence. This is the case of the Community School – Center of Memory and Integrated Action to Care for the Forest of Galilea and the Territory of Colombia. Likewise, the individual, isolated, and selective expressions examine those unusual experiences where otherness exercises protagonism over experiences in the architecture and city of Santiago de Chile. Finally, revisiting the works of a master like Niemeyer opens the possibility for rereading, through actions based on the Portuguese decisions in two of his works: the urban complex of Pena Furada, in Portugal (1965), and Plaza XV, in Rio de Janeiro (1991).

Participação cidadã e literacia digital crítica dos estudantes universitários

The forms of citizen participation have been reconfigured in recent years. The presence of social networks and digital media in general have favored multiple modes of access to information, expression of ideas and social participation. A necessary reflection to think about a sustainable future requires an assessment of communicative practices in digital media and the challenges in citizen education that globalization entails. This research focused on the analysis of citizen participation practices of university students in digital media and its implications for global citizenship. A mixed investigation with a quantitative-qualitative sequence was proposed. In the first phase, a cross-sectional descriptive study was developed with 740 students from a Colombian university, to whom an electronic questionnaire was applied. In the second qualitative phase, discussion groups were held with 42 students, with the purpose of discussing the findings of the questionnaire from the perspective of the participants. It was found that the practices conducted by the students focus mostly on basic and intermediate levels of citizenship represented in the consultation of online information and expression of the ideological positions in social networks, with high limitations towards higher levels of citizenship referred to concrete actions to impact reality. It is evident that this difficulty in contributing to social changes in the world is due to the lack of education for critical global citizenship. Therefore, critical literacy for the use of digital media is proposed as a citizen educational strategy, considering that it contributes to the construction of a more hopeful vision of the future.

СОЦИАЛЬНАЯ ОБУСЛОВЛЕННОСТЬ СОВРЕМЕННОГО РОССИЙСКОГО ЗАКОНОТВОРЧЕСКОГО ПРОЦЕССА

The article is devoted to the analysis of changes in the Russian legislative process through the prism of changes in the social structure of society. Using the example of the current legislation of the Russian Federation regulating social services for citizens, the methodological design of the study of the social conditionality of the modern legislative process through the definition and assessment of social factors, subjectivity, forms of citizen participation, appeals to expert and public opinion, scientific and analytical justification is proposed. Conclusions are drawn regarding the need for sociological support of the legislative process, the possibilities of using sociological methodology to improve it towards a social orientation through the organization of forms of broad public discussion to ensure a civilized dialogue between the state and society, as well as the achievement of public consent.

Enhancing city vitality by building platforms for interactive political leadership: Experiences and results from a longitudinal design experiment

Efforts made by cities to enhance their vitality are often hampered by local councilors failing to set the political agenda, define pressing problems, and design and implement solutions that spur social cohesion, cultural creativity, and sustainable development. Experimentation with new forms of interactive political leadership may offer a solution by soliciting valuable input from affected citizens. Focusing on a Danish frontrunner municipality, this article reports on a longitudinal design experiment aimed at designing a platform for interactive political leadership and improving the functioning of the arenas for co-created policymaking that it supports. The analysis builds on mixed methods, and the findings advance our knowledge of the institutional design of co-creation and the effectiveness of new forms of citizen participation. The article concludes that design experiments can both produce context-dependent scientific knowledge about what works and enable practitioners to improve concrete efforts to enhance city vitality.

Strengthening Democracy Through Knowledge Mobilization: Participedia – A Citizen-Led Global Platform for Transformative and Democratic Learning

Participedia is a collaborative, digital learning tool for the co-production of knowledge about new forms of citizen participation across the world ( www.participedia.net ). In this paper, we analyse using the platform as a learning resource for adult learners who are democracy practitioners and for undergraduate students. We examine Participedia’s role in advancing transformative civic and democratic learning, and situate our analysis in the current context of democracy and civic space under strain globally. We argue that this pedagogy is crucial in the face of democratic erosion, growing inequality, increased polarization and the rise of right-wing populism. We discuss how Participedia’s multiple channels for learner engagement (e.g., critical case study analysis, self-directed research, reflective writing, case study development based on lived experience, collaborative fellowships) support critical and reflective democratic practice. We show how the Participedia platform contributes to transformative learning outcomes, in particular around social action, active citizenship, participation and democracy.

Integrating Citizen Experiences in Cultural Heritage Archives: Requirements, State of the Art, and Challenges

Digital archives of memory institutions are typically concerned with the cataloguing of artefacts of artistic, historical, and cultural value. Recently, new forms of citizen participation in cultural heritage have emerged, producing a wealth of material spanning from visitors’ experiential feedback on exhibitions and cultural artefacts to digitally mediated interactions like the ones happening on social media platforms. Citizen curation is proposed in the context of the European project SPICE (Social Participation, Cohesion, and Inclusion through Cultural Engagement) as a methodology for producing, collecting, interpreting, and archiving people’s responses to cultural objects, with the aim of favouring the emergence of multiple, sometimes conflicting, viewpoints and motivating users and memory institutions to reflect upon them. We argue that citizen curation urges to rethink the nature of computational infrastructures supporting data management of memory institutions, bringing novel challenges that include issues of distribution, authoritativeness, interdependence, privacy, and rights management. To approach these issues, we survey relevant literature toward a distributed, Linked Data infrastructure, with a focus on identifying the roles and requirements involved in such an infrastructure. We show how existing research can contribute significantly in facing the challenges raised by citizen curation and discuss challenges and opportunities from the socio-technical standpoint.

Increasing The Appreciation Of Fine Art Through Participatory Murals At Perum Arjamukti Singaparna, Tasikmalaya Regency

This paper aims to provide an overview of activities that seek to bring the process of art education directly to the public Community service that started from a discussion between lecturers and youth youth organizations at Perum Arjamukti Kencana in building a tourist village area around Singaparna, Tasikmalaya Regency, from this discussion arose a desire to create activities that involve residents and youth youth groups in arts-related activities. A participatory mural is a mural activity that involves the participation of citizens in its implementation, both before implementation, in its manufacture and after its creation. The method used in this research is descriptive method. The descriptive method used to increase the appreciation of fine arts through participatory murals at Perum Arjamukti Singaparna, Tasikmalaya Regency. The results obtained from research that have been carried out by residents' wishes in the mural participation process are varied, the forms of citizen participation are not only in the form of trying to scratch koas on walls to produce mural images, there are also those who participate in providing consumption, raw materials, documenting works through social media or simply just talking and taking selfies on existing murals.

MECHANISMS OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT: THE NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

A prerequisite for the development of the local community are different forms of citizen participation in achieving goals of interest to the local community and meeting their personal needs at the local level. Citizens can participate in the local community activities directly or indirectly. The direct participation in local life is exercised on the basis of strictly formal legal framework, including civic initiative, referendum, and citizens' assembly. The quality of the relationship between the local community and the citizens largely determines the degree of citizens’ indirect participation in political life. This paper will address the mechanisms of citizen participation at the local level, with specific reference to public debate and public hearings as mechanisms enabling citizens to participate in local decision-making processes, draw attention to problems and difficulties, and insist on the obligation of local self-government bodies to transparently implement some procedures envisaged in the 2018 amendments to the Local Self-Government Act. The paper also elaborates on other forms of citizen participation, such as consultations, information requests, petitions, surveys, and other available forms of citizen participation in public life.

The Importance of Citizen Scientists in the Move Towards Sustainable Diets and a Sustainable Food System

To enhance sustainability, the food system requires significant shifts in the production, processing and supply of food. Ideally, a sustainable food system should operate, not only to protect the biosphere, but also to provide nutritious, high-quality food, and to support social values, an equitable economy, and human and animal health. It should also be governed responsibly within a supportive policy environment. Implementing these shifts is a task of immense scale; but citizen participation/engagement has the potential to help make sustainability a reality through distributed learning, dynamic sensing, and knowledge generation. Technological advancements in sensing and data processing have enabled new forms of citizen participation in research. When food system research is embedded within society it can help us to understand which changes towards sustainability work and which do not. Indeed, citizen engagement in food systems research has the potential to help bring citizens on side, supporting the growth of a food culture of resilience and of sustainable practises (including dietary change). This commentary provides examples of how existing research and alternative food production systems and agroecological practises may provide possible frameworks for citizen participation in food system studies. We highlight potential future food and citizen science approaches. Widening citizen participation and encouraging the involvement of other food system actors, including those in local, national and international governance, is essential to capture the full potential of citizen science in enabling transition to a sustainable food system. For the research community citizen science offers engagement and empowerment of wider communities with science; collecting and analysing data; and creating viable solutions to food system and diet issues.

Does Democratic Innovation Reduce Bias? The G1000 as a New Form of Local Citizen Participation

ABSTRACT Since less well educated citizens are underrepresented in many forms of citizen participation, deliberative ‘mini-publics’ have been introduced as a democratic innovation to redress some of this inequality. Using data from eleven Dutch deliberative mini-publics (G1000s), this study shows that despite attempts to broaden the appeal of the mini-public, a clear educational bias in the output of the deliberations remains; the output largely reflects the wishes and preferences of the more highly educated. Themes like crime and safety, immigration and integration, which are important concerns for many citizens in their local communities, rarely made it onto the G1000 ‘Agenda for the City’. From a perspective of democratic legitimacy, this finding is worrisome. The paper concludes with some suggestions that combine the strength of a deliberative setting with equality and external democratic legitimacy to overcome this problem.

Bürgerräte – Abhilfe gegen die Repräsentationskrise oder demokratiepolitisches Feigenblatt?

Since the 1990s, direct democracy has been the favored method to combat the weakness of representative institutions in Germany . In recent years, its proponents-not least the Greens and the SPD-have had a change of heart . Instead of plebiscitary measures, they now favor deliberative forms of citizen participation that are not binding for the decision makers and can be triggered “from above” by administrative and/or parliamentary institu­tions . Advocates moreover emphasize the advantage of the random selection of participants that is meant to ensure a high degree of social representativeness . The strengthening of the self-efficacy of the citizens that is supposed to be the main benefit of their participation can, however, only occur when citizens’ recommendations are actually reflected in the political decisions . The citizen councils held or initiated at the federal level in Germany in 2019 and 2021 fail to meet this intended objective and appear to primarily serve as a democratic fig­leaf .

Role of the Sub-Municipal Government in Croatia – Learning from a Positive Experience

Sub-municipal government is an instrument that complements traditional forms of citizen participation and as such contributes to the democratization of the decision-making process on local interests. The main task of sub-municipal government in Croatia is to serve as the consulta­tion and communication mechanism within local units, allowing alternative representation of small communities’ interest, parallel with local councils. However, sub-municipal government has a rather weak position in terms of autonomy, financing, low transparency, size and other. Nevertheless, examples of some Croatian cities demonstrate the democratization potential of sub-municipal government. In this paper, a survey has been conducted in the city of Rijeka (third biggest in Croatia) with questionnaire being send to all of its sub-municipal units. The goal of the survey was to assess which roles sub-municipal units have. The results have shown that the role of sub-municipal local units as activators of local activities is the most developed one. The results are then used to provide guidance for further improvement of sub-municipal system in Croatia.

Participatory Urban Planning: What Would Make Planners Trust the Citizens?

Based on the critical stance of citizens towards urban planning, growing attention has been directed towards new forms of citizen participation. A key expectation is that advanced digital technologies will reconnect citizens and decision makers and enhance trust in planning. However, empirical evidence suggests participation by itself does not foster trust, and many scholars refer to a general weakness of these initiatives to deliver the expected outcomes. Considering that trust is reciprocal, this article will switch focus and concentrate on planners’ attitudes towards citizens. Do urban planners generally think that citizens are trustworthy? Even though studies show that public officials are more trusting than people in general, it is possible that they do not trust citizens when interacting with government. However, empirical evidence is scarce. While there is plenty of research on citizens’ trust in government, public officials trust in citizens has received little scholarly attention. To address this gap, we will draw on a survey targeted to a representative sample of public managers in Swedish local government (N = 1430). First, urban planners will be compared with other public officials when it comes to their level of trust toward citizens’ ability, integrity and benevolence. In order to understand variations in trust, a set of institutional factors will thereafter be tested, along with more commonly used individual factors. In light of the empirical findings, the final section of the article returns to the idea of e-participation as a trust-building strategy. What would make planners trust the citizens in participatory urban planning?

Who Supports Citizens Selected by Lot to be the Main Policymakers? A Study of French Citizens

AbstractDespite their multiplication over the last 15 years, studies on the support for assemblies composed of citizens selected by lot are rare and the few that exist analyse citizens’ attitudes towards such mini-publics as consultative bodies associated with traditional representative institutions. In this article, we examine support for citizens selected by lot as new policymakers who take the most important political decisions instead of political representatives. We contrast support for this radical democratic innovation with support for two other reforms that increase citizen participation: generic support for a greater involvement of citizens in policymaking, and specific support for citizen-initiated referendums. The goal is to understand whether the drivers of support for citizens selected by lot overlap or differ from the drivers of support for other forms of citizen participation. We rely upon data from the 2017 French Election Study.

РЕАЛІЗАЦІЯ РЕФОРМИ ДЕРЖАВНОЇ СЛУЖБИ ЩОДО БІЛЬШОЇ УЧАСТІ ГРОМАДЯН В ІНВЕСТИЦІЙНИХ ПРОЦЕСАХ ДЛЯ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКОЇ ТА ЄВРОАТЛАНТИЧНОЇ ІНТЕГРАЦІЇ УКРАЇНИ

The purpose of the article is to analyze the implementation of civil service reform to increase citizen participation in investment processes for European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine. Methodology. Various forms of citizen participation in public administration processes, which allows to form a good balance of advantages and disadvantages in this process for the implementation of European integration reforms is based on the methods of theoretical generalization, grouping and comparison have been researched. The analysis of the main advantages and disadvantages of promoting citizen participation in public administration processes is based on the methodology of system analysis and synthesis. Results. It was identified on the basis of the analysis of the main advantages and disadvantages that the advantages of citizen participation in public administration processes far outweigh the disadvantages to ensure better quality of services and living standards of citizens. The main shortcomings of citizen participation in public administration processes have been studied, which will help solve the problems of citizen participation in public administration processes in the context of European integration. Various forms of citizen participation in public administration processes have been developed in order to form a good balance of advantages and disadvantages in this process in order to implement European integration reforms. Different levels of citizen participation in public administration processes are analyzed, which contributes to the effective involvement of citizens in public administration processes for the implementation of European integration reforms. It was found that supporting the processes of socio-economic reform of the civil service through the strategy of public administration will help to implement the main European administrative reforms of public administration in Ukraine. Based on the analysis, it is concluded that supporting the transformation processes in Ukraine by investing in civil service reform helps to build the basic European principles of public administration in Ukraine. It is substantiated that measures to support civil society will be possible due to the training of civil servants, which will provide an opportunity to build the stable and efficient economy of Ukraine. Scientific novelty. The expediency of creating different levels of citizen participation in public administration processes is substantiated: informing, consulting, recommendations, joint development of plans, joint decisions, delegation. Practical significance. The results of the study form the scientific and practical basis for conducting various analytical and forecasting studies in terms of justifying greater participation of citizens in investment processes of public administration.

From Motives to Actions: A Study of Citizen Engagement in Health and Human Service Contracts

ABSTRACT Analyzing data from 93 semi-structured interviews, this paper identifies common forms of citizen participation, motives driving these efforts, uses of feedback, and engagement challenges. It also explores interrelationships among these aspects of participation. The findings suggest that organizations with more motives for engagement offered a wider array of opportunities for participation and used the input in more ways. In addition, organizations more active in engaging citizens and using feedback were more likely to experience challenges. This study highlights the complexity of public participation and encourages public and private managers to be informed about its many benefits and barriers.

РОЛЬ ЕЛЕКТРОННОЇ УЧАСТІ У ФОРМУВАННІ ГРОМАДЯНСЬКОГО СУСПІЛЬСТВА

Стрімкий інформаційно-технічний розвиток суспільства значно змінив та удосконалив форми участі громадян: до звичних мітингів, демонстрацій, громадських зборів додалися інструмент електронних петицій, участь в електронних консультаціях та форумах. Інтернет розширив можливості політичної участі, нові комунікаційні технології дали змогу громадянам (громадським організаціям, ЗМІ, експертним групам) бути активними учасниками політичного життя, поглибити діалог між державною владою та суспільством. Електронна участь дозволяє досягти ширшої аудиторії за короткі проміжки часу; за допомогою нових технологій можна підтримувати та розвивати політичні комунікаційні канали; оперативно забезпечувати громадян надійною інформацією щодо політичних подій в державі, при цьому форма оприлюднення інформації є більш доступною та зрозумілою для пересічного громадянина. У статті розглянуто нові інструменти політичного залучення громадян до формування державної політики, канали електронної участі та їх мобілізаційний ефект.