Participatory Governance Model Research Articles

People centric governance model for smart cities development: A systematic review, thematic analysis, and findings

In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman, advanced urban planning and cutting-edge projects signify a dedication to modernity and prosperity. These nations, renowned for substantial energy reserves, are crucial players in the global energy landscape, contributing 45% of proven oil reserves, 25% of oil exports, and 18% of proven natural gas reserves. Significant investments in planned cities showcase the GCC region’s commitment to renewable energy with megaprojects serving as key promoters of a nationalist vision for modernization and sustainability. Criticism has been directed at ambitious designs and sustainability rhetoric, as seen in projects like Masdar City, originally envisioned as carbon-neutral but encountering challenges in realization.The implementation of Smart Cities in Oman is in its early stages, marked by a lack of comprehensive industry-level studies and an absence of an established frameworkbased approach. Limited industry-level studies address citizen-centric Smart governance thereby impacting Quality of Life. Current research emphasizes technology and innovation rather than the cultural sentiments of the local community resulting in gaps in people-centric approach. Moreover, there’s no empirical research to validate the influence of People on Public-Private Partnership enterprises in Smart City development, necessitating the development of a conceptual framework or model to highlight the influence of people on Smart Cities. This deficiency is resulting in a stagnation of innovation and an insufficient quality of life. The goal is to measure the effectiveness of the participatory governance model in improving the quality of life for residents within the smart city. By addressing the identified deficiencies through the application of participatory governance, the research aims to pave the way for a more effective and people-centric approach to smart city development, ultimately fostering innovation, enhancing the quality of life, and promoting sustainable and inclusive outcomes.

The Political Outcomes of Housing Movements: Participatory Governance in Mass Housing Programmes

Research conducted over the past decade examining the impact of social movements on urban politics and housing policy has significantly enhanced our understanding of how these movements resist housing financialisation through direct action, social protest, and advocacy. However, further investigation is still required to comprehend the influence of housing movements on policy design and implementation, in order to understand the paths taken and how social movements shape housing and urban policies. This paper focuses on the self-management branch of the My House, My Life – Entities (Minha Casa, Minha Vida - Entidades), a mass housing programme in Brazil. The paper has two objectives. Firstly, it identifies the strategies that nationally organised urban and housing movements employ to advocate for the inclusion of housing self-management in federal mass housing programmes. Secondly, it examines the policy implications of implementing a participatory governance model (co-management) in national housing programmes, with an emphasis on policy lessons learned. To accomplish this, policy documents, housing movement reports, and news media items were utilised to systematically trace the trajectory to success and examine the policy lessons for participatory governance. This paper makes two contributions: it enriches the literature on social movements against housing financialisation by analysing citizen participation in housing policy design and implementation and it contributes to the field of research on the consequences of social movements by examining the influence of social movements in shaping and housing policies.

Enhancing Najran’s sustainable smart city development in the face of urbanization challenges in Saudi- Arabia

ABSTRACT This research offers valuable perspectives on the nexus between urbanization and the smart environment within the Najran city, Saudi Arabian context. Najran City, with its diverse districts and evolving urban landscape, is at the forefront of adopting advanced technologies and participatory governance models to create a resilient, environmentally conscious, and sustainable urban environment, likewise positioning itself as a model of smart urban development but is also fostering an innovation-driven community equipped to address the difficulties and exploit the prospects given by the 21st century. The study systematically analyzes the multifaceted factors of smart city variables in Saudi Arabia and their direct impact on urban sustainability through extensive quantitative investigations. This study reveals the positive correlations between smart city attributes, on the attainment of urban sustainability. In order words, the smart city’s attributes such as IoT (Internet of Things) devices, smart infrastructure, and data-driven solutions are linked to the creation of a resilient urban environment in the face of urbanization and sustainability challenges. On the other hand, the study noted that the integration of smart technologies might lead to unintended consequences in urban planning. For example, an overemphasis on technology may overshadow human-centric approaches, which might potentially affect the community well-being and social cohesion. Study’s insights provide policymakers, urban planners, and players with an in-depth knowledge of the pathways to harness smart city attributes for sustainable Najran urban development. The implications of this research extend beyond the borders of Saudi Arabia, serving as a valuable reference for regions worldwide grappling with similar urbanization and sustainability challenges in the 21st century. By harnessing the potential of smart cities, Saudi Arabia and other nations can pave the way for greener, more resilient urban futures.

The Impact of Digital Government Initiatives on Public Value Creation: Evidence from Ho Chi Minh City –Vietnam

Objective: This research aims to evaluate the effects of digital government initiatives on generating public value, with a specific focus on boosting citizen engagement in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Theoretical framework: The study is grounded in the theory of digital governance, which posits that digital technologies can transform public administration by improving transparency, efficiency, accountability, and service delivery. It explores how these technological interventions facilitate a participatory governance model by enabling better citizen-government interactions. Method: The study utilizes Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to investigate key facets of digital governance, including transparency, cost-efficiency, data-driven policymaking, accountability, and service quality. Results and conclusion: The analysis reveals a strong positive link between the elements of digital governance and an increase in citizen engagement. These findings underscore the capacity of digitalization within public administration to enhance public participation and trust. Implications of the research: The study provides essential insights for policymakers regarding the impact of digital initiatives on urban governance. It underscores the importance of continued investment in technological advancements and data security to foster improved governance and citizen involvement. Originality/value: This research contributes uniquely to the understanding of how digital government initiatives can create public value by enhancing citizen engagement. It offers a critical examination of digital governance components and their effectiveness in fostering greater public participation and trust, providing valuable recommendations for policymakers focused on urban governance and digital transformation.

An Environmental Participatory Governance (EPG) Model for the Ecological Transition: The Case of the Basilicata Region

In the current poly-crisis scenario, in which we face the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and unstable geopolitical conditions, a just ecological transition increasingly plays a pivotal role in determining our visions for the future. Communities must be adequately prepared and made protagonists in order to ethically orient and support this transition. This article shows an experience from the Basilicata region (southern Italy) that is intended to engage the community in the just ecological transition process. To that end, an Environmental Participatory Governance model was implemented, exploiting both the synod of the churches for existing community networks and scientific expertise to support multi-actor knowledge integration and learning. The developed model allowed us to obtain an in-depth knowledge of the main players who carry out environmental education, the strengths and weaknesses of their environmental strategies, and the synergy among them. Bottom–up outcomes, in terms of perceived environmental risks and suggested priority actions, represent a challenge for stakeholders, but confronting these has led to significant alignment of visions for the implementation of a shared action plan. The most significant result of this work is the learnings concerning the implementation of a participatory experience, which should be replicable at different scales and for any environmental problem. Such an experience allows for the possibility of forming consolidated networks, which make environmental governance more effective at the regional level.

A Process Model for Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Evidence from a Highly Entrepreneurial European Region

Sustainable entrepreneurship creates social and environmental wealth and offers solutions to pressing sustainability issues. However, there remain major gaps in knowledge on how sustainable entrepreneurship actually unfolds. As a response, this study proposed a unique theoretical process model for sustainable entrepreneurship by conducting a multiple case study with evidence from the highly entrepreneurial region of Catalonia in Spain. Theoretical propositions suggest that the entrepreneurial process for sustainable entrepreneurship unfolds in the three phases of opportunity recognition, development, and persistence. The results of this study give evidence that sustainable entrepreneurs recognise opportunities in social or ecological problems, that they intend to achieve a hybrid nature of social/environmental and economic goals in the development phase, and that they manage to persist in the long-term through a participatory governance model and strong social networks. This study lays an important foundation for future theory building by specifying how the sustainable entrepreneurial process differs from the one of traditional entrepreneurship. For efficient policymaking, sustainability education, encouraging future entrepreneurs in their opportunity creation is needed, just as facilitated access to financing and support through adequate networking infrastructures.

Fire management in indigenous territories in Bolivia

This article presents an analysis of aspects guiding the management of risks associated with wildfires in territories governed by indigenous communities in Bolivia, and the crucial factors that contribute to responsive actions. These include: (i) indigenous worldviews regarding natural resources and the use of fire, (ii) strengthening of indigenous institutions for risk management, and (iii) autonomous, participatory and democratic indigenous community governance models. Using the Indigenous Territory of Lomerío of the Monkox nation as a case study, it also examines the advances, limitations and challenges in addressing wildfire threats, and the land management approach promoted by the indigenous territorial government.

Governance challenges and resurgence of Igbo nationalism in Nigeria: Dissecting Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)

Purpose: The remote and immediate causes of the Nigerian civil war are rather deepening in the psyche of Ndi-Igbo in contemporary Nigerian politics and administration. Amidst the introduction of the Reconciliation, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation (3Rs) policy over four (4) decades ago, the Ndi-Igbo are not just marginalized but alienated and separated from political power and its benefits in an ethnically and religiously deeply divided federation. More divesting wounds are flagrantly being inflicted upon the Igbo nation. The course pursued by secessionist Biafra between 1967-70 has continued to resonate in Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). This paper thus seeks to dissect the activities of IPOB in relation to national security in Nigeria. It also attempts a polemical analysis of IPOB as a separatist movement and the implications for the integration of Ndi-Igbo into the mainstream of Nigerian power politics. Research methodology: The paper adopts a qualitative research approach using an in-depth review of extant literature for informed comprehension of the dynamics of secession and unification in a deeply divided federal state of Nigeria. Using a theory of Secession: The Case for Political Self-Determination, the paper submits that treatments being meted out to the people of Igbo nation are compelling to separation. Results: It surmised that Ndi-Igbo is systematically sidelined and alienated from major political positions and that the allocation of key values is skewed against the Igbo nation. It thus recommends significant devolution of powers to foster an all-inclusive and participatory governance model. Recommendations: It also recommends the adoption and implementation of a balanced federalist accommodative principle for national cohesion, integration, and development of the Nigeria state.

The end of participatory destination governance as we thought to know it

In response to rising anti-tourism movements, the role of residents in destination governance has experienced a revival in tourism research. Participatory destination governance approaches have been advocated as problem-solvers for increasing conflicts, yet their implementation is still lacking. Besides a considerable amount of positivist research drafting the best participatory governance model, the socially constructed perspective of those who are supposed to participate has been widely neglected until now. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to reveal residents’ views on participating in tourism activities and destination governance processes. In pursuit of this, a mixed qualitative research method of focus groups and photo elicitation has been deployed in Copenhagen and Munich in 2020 following a social constructionist epistemology. The findings confirm that residents are not willing to participate in destination governance per se due to a lack of time, access, awareness, prioritization, knowledge, qualification, and opportunities. At the same time, residents were interested in a socio-cultural exchange with like-minded tourists and are generally proud to share their city. Ultimately, the perspectives of residents on tourism should be considered for the implementation of an inclusive urban destination governance. Via psychological, political, and social empowerment, destination governance should foster residents’ (1) motivation to connect with other city users (including tourists); (2) opportunity to influence local tourism development if they are affected by it; and (3) ability to benefit from local tourism (at least indirectly). Ultimately, by understanding how and to what extent residents’ are actually willing to participate in tourism and its governance enables tourism professionals to proactively realize a more resilient destination development while mitigating potential social conflicts caused by the renaissance of (over)tourism.

Sustainable city branding narratives: a critical appraisal of processes and outcomes

PurposeThis study aims to explore whether adopting a sustainability narrative in city branding and urban development strategies results in more inclusive governance arrangements (process) and a more pluralistic approach to generating sustainability value (outcome), in line with the triple bottom line approach advocated by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The authors argue that a necessary step to enable meaningful sustainable urban development is to rethink the way in which “value” and “value creation” are being interpreted in urban development policies and city branding narratives.Design/methodology/approachMixed-methods case study of New York City’s (NYC) urban development and city branding strategies (2007–2019) combining analysis of academic and grey literature on NYC’s urban development and city branding, value hierarchies in NYC urban development strategic plans and local media reports covering NYC’s development and branding processes.FindingsDespite claiming commitment to urban sustainability, NYC’s urban development and branding narratives reveal a clear dominance of interpreting “value” primarily as “exchange value”, thus prioritising economic growth.Research limitations/implicationsIn the authors’ view, a systemic, systematic and structured approach to generating “sustainability value” is necessary if city branding is to become a governance tool to support sustainable urban development. A “tetravaluation” approach is recommended as a practical, structured framework that can bridge across the ideas of “sustainability value” and “pluralistic governance”, ensuring effective implementation. Further investigation in additional urban contexts is required.Originality/valueThe research contributes to current scholarly debates towards more balanced and pluralistic conceptions of “value” and place branding as a more holistic, participatory and democratic governance model for sustainable urban development.

COVID, Co-Production and Governance in Japanese Healthcare

The Covid-19 pandemic underlines the importance of citizen support for and compliance with public health goals. This paper explores the contribution of governance to the staff’s work environment, and patient participation in public financed healthcare services. More staff control over their daily work-life tasks will promote greater work satisfaction and more satisfied staff will, in turn, provide better quality services than dissatisfied staff. Therefore, it considers three models for governing public financed services: a democratic, multi-stakeholder model; a stewardship model and a more traditional ‘command and control’ model. A participatory governance model allows the staff greater autonomy and promotes a multi-stakeholder dialogue that facilitates greater user/citizen participation. It also asks how public financed service providers can develop institutions that facilitate, foster and institutionalize user/citizen participation? It presents a case study from the Minami Medical Co-op in Nagoya and concludes that participatory governance can serve as a ‘best practice’ for other public and private providers of healthcare.

The impacts of cocaine-trafficking on conservation governance in Central America

This research is motivated by the compelling finding that the illicit cocaine trade is responsible for extensive patterns of deforestation in Central America. This pattern is most pronounced in the region's large protected areas. We wanted to know how cocaine trafficking affects conservation governance in Central America's protected areas, and whether deforestation is a result of impacts on governance. To answer this question, we interviewed conservation stakeholders from key institutions at various levels in three drug-trafficking hotspots: Peten, Guatemala, Northeastern Honduras, and the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. We found that, in order to establish and maintain drug transit operations, drug-trafficking organizations compete with and undermine conservation governance actors and institutions. Drug trafficking impacts conservation governance in three ways: 1) it undermines long standing conservation coalitions; 2) it fuels booms in extractive activities inside protected lands; and 3) it erodes the territorial control that conservation institutions exert, exploiting strict “fortress” conservation governance models. Participatory governance models that provide locals with strong expectations of land tenure and/or institutional support for local decision-making may offer resistance to the impacts on governance institutions that we documented.

Governance assessment of the UAVs implementation in Rwanda under the fit-for-purpose land administration approach

Conventional land tenure recording approaches to create a sustainable land administration system (LAS) have been found to be of limited value in developing countries. To respond to this challenge, the ‘fit-for-purpose’ (FFP) approach was developed. This approach has gained relevance in the last years and promotes the use of new technologies like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to provide valuable base maps. Yet, contemporary failures demonstrate that technological innovations should consider the governance context when being implemented. Understanding the relevance of the FFP approach and acknowledging the importance of institutional factors in policy implementation, this research presents and applies the ‘Fit-for-purpose governance assessment framework’ (FGAF). The FGAF operationalises the seven elements of the FFP approach with five governance dimensions of the framework named Governance Assessment Tool (GAT). To apply FGAF, our selected case study is focused on the UAVs implementation in Rwanda. We conducted 37 semi-structured in-depth interviews, a pilot project with Rwandese stakeholders, and analysed several official documents and national reports. Additionally, UAV data collection was carried out to test the performance of the technology too. This research found that participation and flexibility are the governance qualities that present the main challenges, while inclusiveness, affordability, upgradability, attainability and reliability provide better opportunities to implement UAVs. Based on our case study, we conclude that the governance context favours a top-down approach for the implementation of the UAV technology in the LAS. For the sustainability of the LAS, the central government should incentivize participatory governance models for local and non-governmental actors. Also, strengthening the capacities of the field agencies at the district level through fiscal decentralisation can support the effective uptake of the UAV technologies in the LAS.

Institutionalising participatory health governance: lessons from nine years of the National Health Assembly model in Thailand.

Improving health governance is increasingly recognised as a key pillar for achieving universal health coverage (UHC). One good practice example of a participatory health governance platform is the National Health Assembly (NHA) in Thailand. This review of 9 years of the Thai NHA process attempted to understand how it works, given the paucity of such mechanisms worldwide. In addition, an in-depth look at its strengths and weaknesses allowed for reflection on whether the lessons learnt from this participatory governance model can be relevant for other settings.Overall, the power of stakeholder groups coming together has been impressively harnessed in the NHA process. The NHA has helped foster dialogue through understanding and respect for very differing takes on the same issue. The way in which different stakeholders discuss with each other in a real attempt at consensus thus represents a qualitatively improved policy dialogue.Nevertheless, the biggest challenge facing the NHA is ensuring a sustainable link to decision-making and the highest political circles. Modalities are needed to make NHA resolutions high priorities for the health sector.The NHA embodies many core features of a well-prepared deliberative process as defined in the literature (information provision, diverse views, opportunity to discuss freely) as well as key ingredients to enable the public to effectively participate (credibility, legitimacy and power). This offers important lessons for other countries for conducting similar processes. However, more research is necessary to understand how improvements in the deliberative process lead to concrete policy outcomes.

Deliberating or Thinking (Twice) About Democratic Preferences: What German Citizens Want From Democracy

The question, ‘which kind of democratic governance people prefer’, has moved to the forefront in current democracy research. This article uses existing hypotheses on democratic preferences as an input and employs an advanced research design to find out what citizens want if they had engaged in deliberation and reflection. We conducted an online-experiment with a deliberative treatment asking 256 German citizens in 2016. Our findings show that deliberation does not lead to more informed or differential preferences for governance models compared with getting informed or ‘thinking twice’. One reason are high levels of consistency between basic democratic values and governance choices already before the experiment, contradicting our initial assumption that preferences about democracy are generally ill-formed. Overall, our experiment shows that post-deliberative democratic preferences are mainly driven by issue salience and disenchantment with the actual shape of representative democracy. We detect a sort of a ‘populist’ impulse where disenchantment conduces to calls for a stronger voice of the ‘people’ and participatory governance models, irrespective of their concrete design.

Participatory Governance in Development Planning Arrangement in Lubuk Sakat Village, Perhentian Raja District, Kampar Regency [Participatory Governance dalam Penyusunan Perencanaan Pembangunan di Desa Lubuk Sakat Kecamatan Perhentian Raja Kabupaten Kampar

One of the progress of the village is determined by the quality of its development planning. Development planning so far still leads to the practice of state-centered approaches. The community is "forced" to accept the results of development that have been carried out by the village government. Community participation and village institutions are often forgotten in the development planning process. This study tries to discuss and explain how the participatory governance model in making the Medium Term Development Plan (RPJM) Lubuk Sakat Village, Perhentian Raja District, Kampar Regency? This study uses a qualitative approach and collects data through interviews and document studies. The results of the study showed that the participatory governance model greatly assisted the village government in preparing the RPJMDes because it could allocate all resources from stakeholders to create village development planning policies. Furthermore, collaborative and participatory governance models can be used in the mechanism or stages of the village situation analysis (desk study) and SWOT analysis, identification of future needs, detecting needs and making strategies and action plans in overcoming problems in Lubuk Sakat village.

Survey on Perceptions of Social Fairness and Their Implications for Social Governance Innovation

At the present stage, social fairness or equity is an important area of governance in China, and increasing the level of fairness is an important theme of work. In 2016, the Chinese government laid down specific arrangements and operations relating to equity in education, social security, market competition, etc. The participatory governance model entails testing policy outcomes in relation to the sense of fairness of the mass of the people. Our survey found that perceptions of fairness are higher among middle- and high-income groups and are lower in the eastern region than in the central and western regions. In social security, however, perceptions of fairness and of improvements in the level of fairness are lower than they are for education and market competition. Overall, specific policies relating to fairness in education have been quite effective in enhancing people's perceptions of fairness. Accordingly, if we are to make effective improvements in the fairness of social governance, we need a more rational distribution system that takes into account public opinion and expands the scope of fairness in social security.

The emancipatory promise of participatory water governance for the urban poor: Reflections on the transition management approach in the cities of Dodowa, Ghana and Arusha, Tanzania

ABSTRACTThere has been widespread recognition in the Global South of the role of participatory governance approaches to urban development in responding to citizens’ immediate concerns. However, critiques note that participatory initiatives are often avenues for the political and economic elite to ensure their interests and profits, rather than improving the livelihoods in non- serviced urban peripheries. This article investigates how transition management (TM), as a promising participatory governance framework, can be implemented effectively to improve access to water for disadvantaged groups. First, we highlight lessons learnt from the TM applications in urban and water sectors. Second, we draw on empirical data from low-income urban areas in Ghana and Tanzania to bring the importance of social relations to the fore. By employing open-ended interviews, following the water points and conducting narrative walks, we identify three precautions that need to be addressed through adaptations of the TM approach in order to achieve the emancipatory promises of participatory governance models. In suggesting some guidelines for facilitators and active groups in participatory arenas, we discuss the importance of power dynamics in the communities, potentials and shortcoming of reflexive governance processes, and the need for capacity-building in transition teams.

Are We on the Right Track? Inserting Democracy System unto Governance Mechanism for Not-For-Profit Organization

Research on good governance mechanism has been done tremendously for more than five decades but not for the not-for-profit sector. The concept is still inclusive and under theorized. Most study focus on adopting concept from commercial sector which is sometimes misleads. This paper tries to find clear evidence by inserting new variables namely democracy. The study begins by looking at the importance of stakeholder and brings in the idea of positioning the society in the organization. Using multiple case analyses in Indonesia, this paper found that types of democracy has a great influenced on how organization sets their governance mechanism. For those who are experiencing an indirect democracy system, democratic governance is the ideal form. Meanwhile for the direct system, compliance model would be the most ideal term. And finally for an active participatory system, the study suggests to use participatory governance model. Among those three, the last model shall be justified as the most ideal form of governance for the sector, thus leaving something for future agenda.

The Study of New Model for Urban Governance in Guangzhou

With the development of China’s economy and society, citizens have strong will to participate in urban governance, but the failure of public participation has occurred occasionally. As one of the central cities in China, Guangzhou has taken the lead in embarking urban governance reformation, and set up a public advisory committee among the people’s livelihood projects to coordinate the relationship among all interests’ parties. This diversified participatory governance model has achieved significant results in practice, but also encountered new resistance. The paper explores the reasons why the Public Advisory Committee (CPA) model is hindered in other livelihood projects and puts forward some countermeasures to optimize the urban governance reform in Guangzhou.