Public Participation In Decision-making Research Articles

Geovisual evaluation of public participation in decision making: The grapevine

This article reports on a three-dimensional (time–space) geovisual analytic called a “grapevine.” People often use metaphors to describe the temporal and spatial structure of online discussions, e.g., “threads” growing as a result of message exchanges. We created a visualization to evaluate the temporal and spatial structure of online message exchanges based on the shape of a grapevine naturally cultivated in a vineyard. Our grapevine visualization extends up through time with features like buds, nodes, tendrils, and leaves produced as a result of message posting, replying, and voting. Using a rotatable and fully interactive three-dimensional GIS (Geographic Information System) environment, a geovisual analyst can evaluate the quality of deliberation in the grapevine visualization by looking for productive patterns in fine-grained human–computer–human interaction (HCHI) data and then sub-sampling the productive parts for content analysis. We present an example of how we used the technique in a study of participatory interactions during an online field experiment about improving transportation in the central Puget Sound region of Washington called the Let's Improve Transportation (LIT) Challenge. We conclude with insights about how our grapevine could be applied as a general purpose technique for evaluation of any participatory learning, thinking, or decision making situation.

Power to the people

Nurses have been elected to their NHS boards in a pilot scheme to encourage public participation in decision making.

Transnational environmental activism in Central Asia: the coupling of domestic law and international conventions

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, local environmental activism in Central Asia was widespread. While environmental activists had managed to create mutually beneficial alliances with the titular elite during the Soviet period, these alliances disintegrated as the Soviet successor states became increasingly integrated into the international system. In their place, new transnational alliances emerged between local environmental activists and international non-governmental organisations. Yet, the ensuing transnational alliances did not merely entail international activists exerting pressure from outside on their domestic governments. Rather, local environmental activists have also carved out a separate realm for independent political action, facilitated by the coupling of national law with international conventions. Then, over time, environmental activism has moved from dependent activism to interdependent activism. In order to explicate the ways in which the coupling of national law with international conventions influences environmental activism and outcomes, evidence is provided from petroleum development at the Karachaganak and Kashagan oil fields in Kazakhstan and environmental activism in Turkmenistan. In particular, the authors examine how the 1998 Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (i.e. Aarhus Convention) has transformed environmental activism and domestic law in Central Asia.

Environmental justice implications of Maritime Spatial Planning in the European Union

This paper examines the implications of environmental justice in the regime for Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) currently developing in the European Union (EU). An ‘ecosystem-based approach’ to marine management is enshrined in the new Integrated Maritime Policy and Marine Strategy Framework Directive and forms the basis of MSP. This concept is intended to encompass all aspects of an ecosystem, including the human element. Yet the modes of including meaningful public participation in the decision-making process for MSP remain undetermined. At the same time, the Aarhus Convention (on access to information, public participation in decision making and access to justice in environmental matters) empowers non-governmental organisations to hold EU Member States to account. Consequently the issue of transparency will gain increased importance, as will linkages between human and environmental rights. Such public interest-based activism on the part of NGOs has the potential to enforce the developing framework for stakeholder engagement within MSP, but it also has implications worth considering regarding the appropriate role of interest-based organisations in the international political arena.

Information Disclosure and Environmental Rights: The Aarhus Convention

Access to information is the first “pillar” of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (1998). This article examines how the information disclosure obligations on states within the Aarhus Convention express a particular blend of human environmental rights, conjoining procedural entitlements (and duties) with a substantive right to an environment adequate to human health and well-being. “Aarhus environmental rights” have been lauded for increasing citizen access to environmental information, helping to secure more transparent and accountable regulatory processes. However, the information rights are rendered inconsistent in practice by three properties: 1) the discretion accorded to Convention Parties in interpreting Aarhus rights; 2) the exclusion of private entities from mandatory information disclosure duties; and 3) the indeterminate coupling of procedural and substantive rights. These tensions reflect a structural imbalance in the articulation of Aarhus rights between social welfare and market liberal perspectives.

Medical Technology and the U.S. Healthcare System: Is This the Road to Abilene?

AbstractThe conventional wisdom that Americans are unwilling to discuss limits to healthcare resources or tolerate any restrictions on treatment choices presents a formidable barrier to implementing policies that would reduce healthcare cost growth. Typical explanations for the conventional wisdom are plentiful, but not entirely useful in providing guidance for appropriate policy responses. In this paper, we analyze an organizational theory known as the Abilene Paradox to explain the lack of public engagement and the paucity of research concerning public values and preferences on difficult healthcare issues such as the use of medical technology. The analysis suggests that one strategy for improving policymaking would be to expand on recent research efforts concerning public participation in decisions about medical technology. These efforts demonstrate that when structured, deliberative methods are employed, members of the public are both willing and able to engage as social decision makers for allocating limited resources.

Public participation in environmental decision making, With special reference to project in Rajasthan

Development is a continuous process and is essential to enable the population to attain a better standard of life. But it should not be at the cost of the environment. The challenge of a development pattern striving to harmonize economics with social and environmental needs requires active citizen participation in public issues. Public participation in decisions about development is fundamental to achieving lasting and possible solutions. Using case study from Rajasthan, this paper identifies the procedure followed for public hearing, its deficiencies and outcomes. The research argues that it is the right of citizen on the part of people to participate and the utmost duty of the authority (project proponent) to help conduct a successful public hearing in accordance with laws and in benefit of the society.

Citizen participation in the conservation and use of rural landscapes in Britain: the Alport Valley case study

With the shift from the formerly dominating primary production sector to the secondary and now the tertiary sector, the vast majority of the population has lost direct influence on shaping our landscape. However, public interest in landscape and environmental decision making remains active. Approaches to public participation were introduced some decades ago, but only sporadically. International declarations and conventions of strategic importance, such as the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the AARHUS Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, provide the foundation for integration in national regulations addressing public involvement in decision making. Using the Alport Valley in the Peak District National Park, UK, this case study illustrates how planning proposals that did not involve stakeholders and their opinions came to a halt and had to be changed. Through stakeholder involvement, there is now a broad consensus about the future of this landscape. As part of an iterative consultation and participation process, a long-term vision for the landscape and land management of the Alport Valley has been developed to improve the valley’s special landscape character, enhance its visual and recreational attractiveness and regenerate the woodlands in ways that maximise the long-term benefit for ecology, wildlife and landscape.

Lobbyists and Policy Adoption: The Case of the Aarhus Convention

Previous studies of international environmental treaty ratification show that corruption and lobbyists to be influential in the ratification process. Using the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters as the focus, this article demonstrates that interaction of corrupt governments and increasing numbers of lobbyists hasten the ratification of the Aarhus Convention. It also demonstrates that past participation in environmental treaties, as well as government effectiveness (a measure of bureaucratic competence and public service delivery quality), both have negative influences on the ratification of the Aarhus Convention.

The Intercultural Practice of Local Governance in an Aboriginal Settlement in Australia

Drawing on research undertaken at a remote Aboriginal settlement, the paper describes the interpersonal interactions occurring in the practice of local governance, by conceptualising an intercultural field on which actors from a variety of institutional positions practice. Local governance in Kowanyama exhibited a political pluralism, encompassing a complex array of competing and at times balancing interests. Informal and formal checks and balances operated to curb the excesses of leaders. There was considerable diversity in the personal characteristics of leaders and of local organizations and forums. The pluralism and specialisation observed was an innovative response to the complexity of local governance and indicative of a political maturity in leadership and their constituency. Critical to local governance was productive relationships operating locally between leaders and trusted outsiders. The bulk of administrative burden was borne by a surprisingly small number of leaders and trusted outsiders, raising questions about how to broaden public participation in decision-making. The paper concludes by encouraging researchers and commentators to move beyond the notion of a narrow interface between monolithic opposing cultures, to the rich sociality that is occurring in the intercultural practice of local governance.

Experts and Publics in the Regulation of Embryonic (Stem Cell) Research (1998 – 2002). The British and the Netherlands Approaches and Experiences Compared

AbstractIn recent decades the traditional model of policy making, which strongly relies on expert advice, came under pressure and calls for increased public participation in decision making became louder. Advocates of the latter expect that this will contribute to a democratisation of decision making processes. This article presents a comparative analysis of organised public involvement in processes leading to the regulation of embryonic stem cell research in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. My analysis shows that the articulation of public views was closely related to the form in which public engagements were structured. An open structure attracted knowledgeable publics capable of articulating views and concerns which were considerably different from those identified by experts. This public was primarily concerned about the long-term social and cultural impacts, whereas experts assessing the new developments tended to focus on benefits and risks. The discussion of these more inclusive legislative ...

The direct effect of the Aarhus Convention as seen by the French ‘Conseil d’Etat’

France ratified the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters on the 8th July 2002 and the Convention came into force on the 6th October 2002. Seen as an instrument of ‘environmental democracy’, the impact of the Convention in France has been relative. On the one hand, the Convention did not imply many legislative changes. The 2002 law relating to the ‘proximity democracy’ has provided the main legislative change due to the Convention through an improvement of the ‘public debate’ procedure. On the other hand, the judge has had an important role to play. Citizens and non-governmental organisations saw the Convention as an opportunity to improve their rights and invoked the Convention before the courts. It gave the judge the opportunity to interpret the Convention and fix its legal impact in French law. The judge limited direct effects of the Aarhus Convention to a few stipulations and “choose a soft interpretation of this treaty’s requirements”. This study focuses on the case law of the French administrative highest jurisdiction, the ‘Conseil d’Etat’. The ‘Cour de cassation’, never had to pronounce on any of the Aarhus Convention provisions. It is first of all necessary to understand how the ‘Conseil d’Etat’ assesses the direct effect of the treaties before analysing how the ‘Conseil d’Etat’ applies it to the Aarhus Convention.

Leadership Practices for Social Justice, Democratic Community, and Learning: School Principals’ Perspectives

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover leadership practices that integrate social justice and democratic community for student learning. Data were gathered through focus group discussions with school principals. The responses were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed for emerging themes. Leadership practices that were identified as themes in this study included shared decision making, advocacy, dispositions and relationships, and social control with purpose. Participants perceived public participation in decision making and “doing what is best for kids” as shared values. However, they were concerned that such participation was not always an honored ideal.

Inclusion of the Civil Society in the Governance of the Internet

Public participation in decision-making processes and in the governing of the Internet in particular has a legitimizing effect and enhances transparency and accountability of Internet organizations. Allowing the civil society to express its opinions and have their members' considerations taken into account makes decision-making processes and their outcomes more acceptable. Furthermore, public forums for discussions improve the information flows between the manifold stakeholders of the Internet. This study proposes the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding between Internet organizations which could provide for a participatory framework in decision-making matters in favor of the netizens. For this purpose, reference is made to the environmental legal framework and particularly the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision Making and Access to Justice. Since the interest of the civil society to participate in the Internet is quite similar to its interest to play a part in environmental matters, a comparison between developments in international environmental law and in the field of Internet governance may be fruitful.

Making power explicit in sustainable water innovation: re-linking subjectivity, institution and structure through environmental citizenship

This article offers a new perspective on environmental citizenship by proposing the ‘subjectivity–institution–structure’ framework. Applying the framework to a sustainable water innovation project in north-west England, it argues that the meaning of environmental rights, the understanding of required environmental responsibilities, and the degree of public participation in decision-making, are shaped by individuals' subjective values, institutional arrangements and structural conditions. Our framework makes power explicit in the practice of environmental citizenship. It is intended to help set reasonable targets for sustainable development actions, which is particularly important when working with individuals with limited power.

Enforcing Non-Discrimination in Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment: Advantages for EU Citizens from the Transposition of the Espoo and Aarhus Conventions?

AbstractThis article examines the relationship between international and European law with respect to transboundary environmental impact assessment (TEIA), which under the UNECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo) applies requirements for EIA to the relationship between states known as 'Parties of origin' and 'affected Parties'. Information is shared and participation in the Party of origin procedure by the public in affected as well as origin states is required (non-discrimination); these provisions are enhanced under the related Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus), which also contains provisions enabling enforcement. The purpose is to analyse whether EU citizens have greater opportunities to enforce these rights than citizens of state Parties to the two treaties that are not members of the EU. Procedure and practice under the transposing directives on EIA and public participation is examined, and conclusions are drawn that although to a large extent EU membership is advantageous to EU citizens involved with TEIA, certain constraints concerning public participation and access to justice remain.

Strengthening the Uganda Parliamentary Scorecard

The Africa Leadership Institute (AFLI) released its' first groundbreaking and innovative Parliamentary Scorecard 2006-2007 in December 2007. The voting public welcomed the scorecard with open arms while, on the other hand, the Members of Parliament (MPs) received it with mixed feelings accompanied by both negative and positive criticism. The Scorecard Project is an exercise aimed at scoring the performance of Ugandan MPs in an endeavour to contribute to better governance. It is based on the idea that it is possible to work within the framework of representative government but still maintain a high degree of public participation in decision making. By empowering constituents to monitor their elected representatives, it provides intrinsic benefits by strengthening civic engagement with Parliament. In strengthening Parliament in fulfilling its functions, the scorecard is boosting democracy and good governance. At the 2005 UN World Summit, member states reaffirmed their commitment to the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals regarding the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance and global security. In 1986, after a five year protracted guerrilla war, the NRM Government came to power instituting a no-party political system based on individual merit. Subsequent constitutional reforms between 1995 and 2005 culminated into the restoration of multi-party democracy. Uganda's Parliament is a uni-cameral, democratic, parliamentary system of government modeled on the Westminster system which is borrowed from the country's former colonial masters, United Kingdom and it is a series of procedures for operating a legislature. Democracy is based on the idea that citizens have the right to freely choose their leaders and hold governments accountable for their actions. The health of any democratic dispensation rests on existence of an effective Parliament which both government and the citizens should demand for. While Parliament is empowered to hold the Executive accountable, who, then, should hold the MPs accountable? MPs appear to be detached from their voters who hardly know what their MPs are actually supposed to do. In Uganda, an Afrobarometer survey showed that 48% of the respondents thought their MPs were not effective because they neglect their constituencies only appearing during election campaign periods. It is important for voters to have objective and transparent information to help them assess the performance of MPs individually and of Parliament in general and hence the AFLI Scorecard.

The Uganda Parliamentary Scorecard Methodology

At independence in 1962, Uganda started off as a multiparty democracy until 1971, when 'Field Marshal' Idi Amin's military junta took over and ruled by decree for eight years. In 1980 multiparty democracy was restored only to be usurped by another military junta in 1985. In 1986, after a five year protracted guerrilla war, the NRM Government came to power instituting a no-party political system based on individual merit. Subsequent constitutional reforms between 1995 and 2005 culminated into the restoration of multi-party democracy. Uganda's Parliament is a uni-cameral, democratic, parliamentary system of government modeled on the Westminster system of legislature. The Ugandan taxpayer forks out the equivalent of a new executive Gulf Stream jet per annum to maintain parliament and parliamentarians and so they are entitled to know and ask for value for money. A leader in the ruling NRM party was quoted as stating that he does not mind if Members of Parliament (MPs) sleep in Parliament as long as they wake up in time to vote for the party's positions. Africa Leadership Institute (AFLI), a Ugandan independent, non-partisan, public policy think tank, takes exception to such statements and that is one of the reasons why it came up with its first groundbreaking and innovative Parliamentary Scorecard 2006-2007 in December 2007. The voting public welcomed the Scorecard with open arms while, on the other hand, the Members of Parliament (MPs) received it with mixed feelings accompanied by both negative criticism and positive acclaim. The Scorecard only measures on the constitutionally recognised roles of MPs and does not reward MPs for activities that are not a part of their legal mandate. For instance, while many voters might choose to vote for an MP based on how often the representative attends local funerals, pays school fees for children in the constituency, these activities are not part of an MP's legal obligations, so it would be unfair and misleading to grade legislators on these actions. The Scorecard Project is an exercise aimed at scoring the performance of Ugandan MPs in an endeavour to contribute to better governance. It is based on the idea that it is possible to work within the framework of representative government but still maintain a high degree of public participation in decision making. By empowering constituents to monitor their elected representatives, it provides intrinsic benefits by strengthening civic engagement with Parliament. In strengthening Parliament in fulfilling its functions, the scorecard is boosting democracy and good governance.

Communication Policy: the Efforts to Strengthen Civil Society

In the last decades there were a tendency to make public institution more open and greater public participation in decision making. It is believed that transparency is the only way to strengthen public institutions which it is highly possible because of the progress in Information and Communication Technology. Nowadays Indonesia is entering the Era of Opennes. The idea of civil society and establisihng social welfare which is the first priority require partnership between the government and public. The whole stakeholder should cooperate to improve accessibility on ICT and should develope information and communication infra structure, and should improve application of ICT in every aspect of public services.

The Environmental Implications of the Lisbon Treaty

Keywords Lisbon Treaty, environmental regulation, environmental policy, energy policy, public participation in decision-making, access to justice, subsidiarity