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Page 1: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Public Public Deliberation & Deliberation & Participation:Participation:

Concepts, Values, & Concepts, Values, & Process DesignProcess Design

Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D.Public Administration Department

[email protected] April 13, 2011

Page 2: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

“…the most important point of excellence which any form of government can possess is to

promote the virtue and intelligence of the people themselves.”

- John Stuart Mill, On Representative Government

Page 3: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Civic EngagementCivic EngagementCivic Engagement involves virtually any

activities that concern public issues.

Civic Engagement can happen in many places:◦ Civil Society◦ Electoral Arenas◦ Administrative Arenas

Civic Engagement can take many forms:◦ Adversarial → Collaborative → Consensus

◦ One-Way → Two-Way → Deliberative Communication

◦ Information Exchange → Democratic Decisionmaking

Page 4: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Public/Citizen ParticipationPublic/Citizen ParticipationPublic Participation: the processes by which

public concerns, needs, and values are incorporated into governmental decisions

◦Indirect Participation: citizens select a representative to make decisions for them

Examples: Voting and Interest group activities

◦Direct Participation: citizens are personally involved and actively engaged in decision making

Examples: Advisory committees and Participatory decision making

Page 5: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Deliberative ParticipationDeliberative Participation

Public Deliberation: participatory models designed to help citizens form their own political voice through the act of reasoned discussion

Deliberative Democracy: Public decisions should be made through reasoned discussion and collective judgment of free and equal citizens ◦ Requires reason-giving ◦ Must take place in public and be accessible to

all/some citizens affected by decisions ◦ Seeks to produce a decision that is binding for

some period of time◦ Is dynamic and keeps open the option for

continuing dialogue

Page 6: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Deliberative Democracy Deliberative Democracy ProcessesProcesses

Similarities Focus on action Appeal to values Absence of pre-existing

commitments Mutuality of focus Free exchange of

knowledge and information

Occurs within small groups (though many involve thousands of people)

Differences

Who participates

How information is exchanged

How decisions are made

How deliberation is linked to policy or public action

Examples AmericaSpeaks 21st Century Town Meeting ®

National Issues Forum (NIF) Public (or Civic) Journalism

Deliberative Polling®

Study Circles

Page 7: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Core Values for Public Core Values for Public ParticipationParticipation The public should have a say in decisions that affect

their lives. Participation should include the promise that the

public's contribution will influence the decision. How the public’s input will affect (or has affected) the decision should be communicated.

The participation process should focus on and communicate the interests and needs of participants.

The participation process should seek out and facilitate the involvement of those who are potentially affected by a decision.

The participation process should provide participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way.

Adapted from the International Association for Public Participation (www.IAP2.org)

Page 8: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Advocates and Critics’ Views Advocates and Critics’ Views

The arguments for participation◦ Intrinsic value of participation◦ Instrumental value of participation

Citizens Communities Policy and Governance

The arguments against participation◦ Transaction costs◦ Constraints imposed on officials◦ Negative impacts on citizens and groups◦ Risky decision making

Page 9: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Why participation? Why participation? Four Broad Goals1. Exploration: encouraging people to learn more

about themselves, their community, or an issue, and possibly discover innovative solutions

2. Conflict Transformation: resolving conflicts, fostering personal healing and growth, and improving relations among groups.

3. Collaborative Action: empowering people to solve complicated problems and take responsibility for the solution(s).

4. Decision Making: improving public knowledge on issues and influencing public decisions and policies

Page 10: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Spectrum of Public Spectrum of Public ParticipationParticipation

Inform Consult Involve Collaborate

Empower

Increasing Level of Shared Decision Authority

• Fact Sheets • Web Sites• Open Houses • Public

Comment• Focus Groups• Surveys• Public Meetings

• Workshops• Deliberative Polling • Citizen Advisory

Committees• Consensus-Building• Participatory Decision Making

• Delegated Decision Making • Deliberative Democracy

Adapted from the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2)

One-Way Communication

Deliberative Communication

Two-Way Communication

Engagement Processes

Participation Processes

Democratic Processes

Page 11: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Reciprocity: Actions Required Reciprocity: Actions Required of Agencies and Citizensof Agencies and Citizens

Inform Consult Involve Collaborate

Empower

InquirePropose/ Express Opinions

Discuss/ Delibera

te

Take Part on

Continuing Basis

Assume Respon-sibility

Page 12: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

What Level of Participation is What Level of Participation is Right?Right?It depends.

◦How complex is the issue?

◦What kind of participation is required for the decision to have legitimacy?

◦How quickly does a decision need to be reached?

◦What is the mandate?

◦What are the political realities?

◦What is the budget?

Page 13: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Why Agencies Retain (at least Why Agencies Retain (at least some) Decision-Making some) Decision-Making AuthorityAuthorityAgencies are constrained by mandates.Agencies must operate within the limits of

the law.Agencies must meet contractual obligations.Agencies must pay the costs of the project.Agencies must balance competing needs

and interests.Agencies must retain accountability

Agencies MUST promote the Public Interest

Page 14: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Planning for ParticipationPlanning for ParticipationDecision Analysis• Clarify the decision being made.• Decide whether and why public participation is needed.• Specify the planning or decision making steps and schedule.

Process Planning• Specify what needs to be accomplished with the public at each step

of the decision making process.• Identify the internal and external stakeholders.• Identify techniques to use at each stage of the process.• Link the techniques in an integrated plan.

Implementation Planning• Plan the implementation of individual public participation activities.

Evaluation Planning• Plan the evaluation of multiple aspects of the all public

participation activities.

Page 15: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Design Choices Design Choices (Adapted from Fung (Adapted from Fung 2003)2003)1. Why do your want/need public

participation? What do you hope to learn or accomplish?

Are you seeking to explore an issue? Address a conflict? Develop collaborative action?

Make a decision? – Why is public input necessary for this decision?

2. Subject and Scope of Participation What issue will citizens consider? What will be the extent of their consideration?

Do citizens have a comparative advantage over politicians, administrators, organized interests, etc.?

Do you need information about public preferences and values?

Do you want a citizen assessment of policy impacts? Do you want citizens to monitor accountability?

Page 16: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Design ChoicesDesign Choices3. The Stakes

Why will citizens consider the issue? Cold issue: low stakes, dispassionate, no fixed

positions Hot issue: high stakes, passionate, fixed positions

4. Level of Shared Decision Authority How will results of participation influence decision? Where on the spectrum will your public

participation forum fall? Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate, Empower

How will participants be informed about influence?

5. Type of Participatory Mechanism Face-to-Face: large group meetings or small table

discussions? On-line: blogs, wikis, social media tools

Page 17: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Design ChoicesDesign Choices6. Participant Selection

Stakeholder Participation: open only to those who have an interest because of their job or involvement in a formal group or organization

Public Participation: open to all residents

7. Participant Recruitment Voluntary Self-Selection Targeted Demographic Recruitment Structural Incentives

Page 18: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Design ChoicesDesign Choices8. Communication Mode

One-way communication (to or from agency?) Two-way communication Deliberative communication Large group, small group, or online?

Consider issues of facilitation Consider how all participants will have a voice Consider issues of information aggregation/analysis

9. Informed Participation What information do people need to participate in an

effective way? All informational materials (e.g., expert panels,

presentations, guidebooks, issue books) MUST be neutral, objective, and balanced.

Page 19: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Design Choices Design Choices (Adapted from (Adapted from Fung 2003)Fung 2003)

10. Recurrence and Iteration One-time event? Long-term, ongoing endeavor?

11. Monitoring Is there long-term monitoring of results, actions,

or implementation? Will monitoring yield public learning,

accountability, transparency?

12. Evaluation How will you conduct a process evaluation? How will you conduct an impact evaluation? Who is the audience for your evaluation efforts? How will you share the results of your evaluations?

Page 20: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Design IssuesDesign IssuesDecisions about design choices

should be made:◦In an integrative fashion◦In consideration of any mandates,

laws, rules, regulations, etc.◦In consideration of system context

and conditions (i.e., budget, human and other resources, political realities, logistical constraints, etc.)

Page 21: Public Deliberation & Participation: Concepts, Values, & Process Design Tina Nabatchi, Ph.D. Public Administration Department tnabatch@syr.edu April 13,

Additional ResourcesAdditional Resources

Deliberative Democracy Consortium (DDC): http://www.deliberative-democracy.net/

Global Voices: http://www.globalvoices.org/

LogoLink: http://www.logolink.org

International Association for Public Participation (IAP2): http://www.iap2.org/

National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD): http://www.thataway.org/