Public Policy, Participation and the Third Position: The Implication of Engaging Communities on their Own Terms

Abstract

Policy development and implementation should be fundamental for community psychologists in their endeavors to create social change. Policy necessarily is engaged at broad social and political levels, but it is mediated through communities and individuals, and thus appealing for our discipline. We argue that there are increasing opportunities for social input in liberal democracies with the growing awareness of the need to consider social factors in policy. Public participation is one aspect of policy development, but it can be problematic and can disempowered communities, especially disadvantaged communities. Using the framework of the 'third position', a case study of attempts to ameliorate institutional oppression of Australian Aboriginal people through policy change is described. Structural reform to community engagement is described in terms of empowerment and capacity building. Power relationships are deconstructed to allow understandings of the dynamics of policy change, and the broader implications for community psychological praxis are discussed.

Social context and the role of collaborative policy making for private land conservation

“…Capturing indigenous local knowledge and customary practices by giving communities power in policy-making processes has yielded some success (Berkes et al 2007, Bishop et al 2009). Managing landscapes that cross indigenous and non-indigenous land tenure may also present challenges; prescribed burning regimes for cultural or ecological reasons on indigenous land may not align with economic motives for asset protection on adjoining property (Duff et al 2008).…”

The Role of Attitudes Toward White Privilege and Religious Beliefs in Predicting Social Justice Interest and Commitment

“…Community psychology literature describes social justice as equitable access to resources, the promotion of human rights, and the need to transform social, political, and economic systems to ensure justice (Prilleltensky 2001;Todd and Rufa 2013;Torres-Harding et al 2012). Indeed, social justice guides community psychology research, theory, and action, as seen in work on empowerment (e.g., Zimmerman 2000), empowering community settings (e.g., Maton 2008), participatory action research methods (e.g., Jason et al 2004), and effecting policy change (e.g., Bishop et al 2009). An understudied area in this literature is understanding what factors predict personal interest and commitment to social justice, especially for people who are members of privileged social groups (e.g., those who are White, men, heterosexual, or in the Christian religious majority in the US; Case 2012; Israel 2012).…”

Climate change vulnerability and social development for remote indigenous communities of South Australia

“…The extensive knowledge of local natural resource systems held by and for the Anangu people has rarely been formalised, so that researchers external to the region could use it to examine future needs for ecological, infrastructure and production. The reluctance of some Anangu to share traditional knowledge is completely understandable, because the colonial and post-colonial abuse of powers and the misuse of information has a long history (Bishop et al, 2009;Moran and Elvin, 2009;Howitt et al, 2012).…”

“…Already, for many people within the region, poverty and challenging social circumstances are pervasive (HORSCATSIA, 2004;Bishop et al, 2009;Moran and Elvin, 2009). Adaptation to environmental change over the next 20 years within the AW region, which represents the scope of the analysis, will be significantly influenced by the limited resources and extreme isolation of the region and its people (Robins and Dovers, 2007;Davies et al, 2008).…”