Obstacles and solutions on the ladder of citizen participation: a systematic review

Abstract

This article presents a systematic review of the English-language empirical literature about citizen participation to identify the obstacles to its implementation and the most successful ways to address them. Three sets of variables seem to impact effectiveness: contextual factors, including information asymmetries and public officials' attitude; organisational arrangements, including community representation criteria and process design; and process management issues, including group dynamics and collaboration quality. Two recommendations stem from our analysis: internalise decisions in organisational procedures, and establish ongoing interactions between government bodies and their stakeholders. We conclude that half-hearted engagement is unlikely to lead to successful citizen participation.

When Will Public Officials Listen? A Vignette Experiment on the Effects of Input Legitimacy on Public Officials’ Willingness to Use Public Participation

“…Research has demonstrated that public officials’ attitudes toward public participation are an important element in the success of participatory decision‐making efforts (Denhardt and Denhardt ; Hatcher ; Liao and Schachter ; Neshkova and Guo ; Yang ; Yang and Callahan ; Zhang and Yang ). However, research on the determinants of public officials’ attitudes toward public participation is limited (exceptions e.g., Liao and Schachter ; Ianniello et al ). Among the most studied determinants influencing public officials’ attitudes toward public participation are its perceived costs (Irvin and Stansbury ; Liao and Schachter ; Moynihan ), the participatory competences of citizens (Hong ; Yang and Callahan ; Yang and Pandey ), and the democratic legitimacy of participatory processes (Pina and Torres ; Yang and Callahan ; Yang and Pandey ).…”

“…These factors are but a few of the determinants of public officials’ attitudes identified in the literature (see also Ianniello et al ; Liao and Schachter 2017; Yang and Pandey ). This study focuses on the effect of the democratic legitimacy of the participatory process on public officials’ participatory attitudes.…”

“…Central to the success of participatory processes are public officials who are willing to engage with citizens (Hatcher ; Hong ; Ianniello et al ; Liao and Schachter ; Yang ; Yang and Callahan ). Public officials are involved in all stages of the participatory process, and they influence how participation takes place and how public inputs are put into practice (Bryson et al ; Buckwalter ; Neshkova and Guo ; Yang and Callahan ).…”

The Usefulness of Interactive Governance for Underground Planning

“…Scientific contributions often take the benefits of interactive gover nance as described above for granted. Some scholars, however, criticize this view as overly optimistic (Ianniello et al 2018;Mohan and Stokke 2000;Swyngedouw 2005). For example, the involvement of many stakeholders with different interests may lead to debates and conflicts, eventually stagnating with deadlocks and impasses (Koppenjan and Klijn 2004).…”

“…They concluded that some benefits of interac tive governance were found in their research; however, evidence of decision making becoming more efficient and effective is small. For fur ther research on interactive governance, they recommended evaluation criteria and more standardized quantitative tools for data collection, as both are largely absent in contemporary literature, hindering systematic evaluation, comparison, and generalization of findings (Eisenhardt 1991;Hoon 2013;Ianniello et al 2018;Rowe et al 2008).…”