The same old process? Older people, participation and deliberation

Abstract

Opportunities for older people to take part in decision making about public policies and services are expanding in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. This paper considers the potential of older people's participation in policy processes for both transforming the policy process and for achieving socially just outcomes. It argues that the way in which such participation takes place, in particular the nature of the deliberative processes, affects both who will feel able to take part and the capacity to develop new policy discourses which can challenge official perspectives and assumptions. It draws from critical perspectives on deliberative democracy to provide a theoretical framework. This work emphasises the importance of story telling and forms of exchange designed to offer recognition to others, as well as the rational argument more usually associated with deliberation on matters of public policy. The argument is illustrated with examples of participation initiatives that have involved ' active ' older people and those who are users of social care services. Different styles and processes of exchange are distinguished in the three case studies. In one, active facilitation enables individual stories of ageing and of service use to be woven into collective narratives that offer an alternative vision of care services. In another, a strong emphasis on ' greeting ' enables conflicting views to be expressed without participants falling out. In the third, styles of exchange familiar in formal debate limit the development of an alternative discourse. The conclusion suggests that attention needs to be given to the process of participation as well as to outcomes.

Discursive Arenas: Deliberation and the Constitution of Identity in Public Participation at a Local Level

“…The positive perspective on this is that those who become involved bring with them considerable experience and knowledge, as well as commitments to collective and social justice values from which policy-making can benefit. More negatively, those experiences can sometimes lead to the adoption of models of participation that are unlikely to encourage new participants (Barnes, 2005).…”

Commissioning for long-term conditions: hearing the voice of and engaging users – a qualitative multiple case study

“…In addition to highlighting tensions in the rules and norms of public participation, specifically access, agenda and deliberation, the work of Barnes et al [106][107][108][109] also reveals the importance of emotional and figurative deliberation based on experiential knowledge. Enabling forms of exchange designed to offer recognition of the patient and public experience is seen as an essential feature of deliberation alongside purposive-rational discussion.…”

“…These also link to what Barnes 106 and others [106][107][108][109][110] refer to as emotional and figurative deliberation based on experiential knowledge. They argue that patient and public experience is as important as more purposive-rational deliberations.…”

Ambiente construído, saúde pública e políticas públicas: uma discussão à luz de perceções e experiências de idosos institucionalizados

“…Com efeito, particularmente desde a década de 1990 tem-se dado particular enfase à participação dos cidadãos em processos de tomada de decisão. Embora a inclusão de pessoas idosas nesses processos se esteja paulatinamente a observar, ainda são inúmeros os desafios que se colocam para uma participação efetiva e sistemática (Barnes, 2005;Scourfield, 2007). Uma visão ampla e conjunta desses grupos populacionais propicia uma imagem mais exata sobre como intervir no espaço construído, como planear as instituições de apoio à terceira idade e como interligar estas questões com o campo da saúde pública.…”