Public Participation in Public Decisions

Public Participation in Public Decisions
Author: John Clayton Thomas
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Total Pages: 248
Release: 1995-08-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

More and more, citizens are demanding and are being given a voice in the decision-making process of such diverse public interests as community development, crime prevention, mass transportation, environmental planning, and hazardous waste disposal. This growing trAnd of citizen activism combined with new legislative requirements and changing professional values has legitimized the role of the citizen in myriad areas of public management. How can managers meet the challenge of increasing citizen involvement in public management? John Clayton Thomas has written a straightforward and practical guide for public managers in which he outlines a strategic approach to public involvement in government decision making. Public Participation in Public Decisions prepares public managers for the difficult task of involving citizens more fully in the affairs of government while maintaining effectiveness and efficiency. In easy-to-understand terms, he presents the "Effective Decision Model of Public Involvement" that managers will find to be an invaluable asset when making decisions about when and how to involve the public.The author explores the sensible steps managers can take to successfully enhance public support and acceptance. The book is filled with illustrative examples and includes such useful information as: How to build strong and lasting working relationships with the public. The do's and don'ts to keep in mind when contemplating public involvement. How to make decisions that call for extensive public involvement. Which mechanism to employ if only information is desired from the public. And much more. Written for government officials at all levels, students of public administration, public planners, and consultants and trainers to government, Public Participation in Public Decisions outlines a strategic plan for including citizens in public decisions—a plan that goes a long way in creating a stronger democracy for all.

The Public Participation Handbook

The Public Participation Handbook
Author: James L. Creighton
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2005-03-11
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0787979635

Internationally renowned facilitator and public participation consultant James L. Creighton offers a practical guide to designing and facilitating public participation of the public in environmental and public policy decision making. Written for government officials, public and community leaders, and professional facilitators, The Public Participation Handbook is a toolkit for designing a participation process, selecting techniques to encourage participation, facilitating successful public meetings, working with the media, and evaluating the program. The book is also filled with practical advice, checklists, worksheets, and illustrative examples.

Public Participation and Better Environmental Decisions

Public Participation and Better Environmental Decisions
Author: Frans H. J. M. Coenen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2008-12-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 140209325X

Public Participation and Better Environmental Decisions is about a specific ‘promise’ that participation holds for environmental decision-making. Many of the arguments for public participation in (inter)national environmental policy documents are functional, that is to say they see public participation as a means to an end. Sound solutions to environmental problems require participation beyond experts and political elites. Neglecting information from the public leads to legitimacy questions and potential conflicts. There is a discourse in the literature and in policy practice as to whether decision-making improves in quality as additional relevant information by the public is considered. The promise that public participation holds has to be weighed against the limitations of public participation in terms of costs and interest conflicts. The question that Public Participation and Better Environmental Decisions seeks to answer for academics, planners and civil servants in all environmental relevant policy fields is: What restricts and what enables information to hold the ‘promise’ that public participation lead to better environmental decision-making and better outcomes?

Public Participation for 21st Century Democracy

Public Participation for 21st Century Democracy
Author: Tina Nabatchi
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2015-04-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1118688538

A comprehensive text on the theory and practice of public participation Written by two leaders in the field, Public Participation for 21st Century Democracy explores the theory and practice of public participation in decision-making and problem-solving. It examines how public participation developed over time to include myriad thick, thin, and conventional opportunities, occurring in both face-to-face meetings and online settings. The book explores the use of participation in various arenas, including education, health, land use, and state and federal government. It offers a practical framework for thinking about how to engage citizens effectively, and clear explanations of participation scenarios, tactics, and designs. Finally, the book provides a sensible approach for reshaping our participation infrastructure to meet the needs of public officials and citizens. The book is filled with illustrative examples of innovative participatory activities, and numerous sources for more information. This important text puts the spotlight on the need for long-term, cross-sector, participation planning, and provides guidance for leaders, citizens, activists, and others who are determined to improve the ways that participation and democracy function. Public Participation for 21st Century Democracy: Helps students and practitioners understand the history, theory, and practice of public participation Contains a wealth of case studies that explore the application of public participation in different settings Covers vital issues such as education, health, land use, and state and federal government Has accompanying instructor resources, such as PowerPoint slides, discussion questions, sample assignments, case studies and research from www.participedia.net, and classroom activities.

Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision Making

Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision Making
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2008-11-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0309134412

Federal agencies have taken steps to include the public in a wide range of environmental decisions. Although some form of public participation is often required by law, agencies usually have broad discretion about the extent of that involvement. Approaches vary widely, from holding public information-gathering meetings to forming advisory groups to actively including citizens in making and implementing decisions. Proponents of public participation argue that those who must live with the outcome of an environmental decision should have some influence on it. Critics maintain that public participation slows decision making and can lower its quality by including people unfamiliar with the science involved. This book concludes that, when done correctly, public participation improves the quality of federal agencies' decisions about the environment. Well-managed public involvement also increases the legitimacy of decisions in the eyes of those affected by them, which makes it more likely that the decisions will be implemented effectively. This book recommends that agencies recognize public participation as valuable to their objectives, not just as a formality required by the law. It details principles and approaches agencies can use to successfully involve the public.

Citizen Participation in Public Decision Making

Citizen Participation in Public Decision Making
Author: Jack DeSario
Publisher: Praeger
Total Pages: 264
Release: 1987-01-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

As services provided by government have expanded over the past several decades, so inevitably, has bureaucracy--especially the corps of professional administrators in charge of programs ranging from health care to the maintenance of efficient transportation networks. Under pressure from reform groups to promote public accountability by involving citizens in the decision-making process, government has begun to place private citizens on many important health, education, transportation, and environmental planning bodies. This study of citizen participation and technocracy, written by twelve prominent specialists, provides the first comprehensive theoretical and empirical analyses of these recent developments and their impact on formulating, directing, and implementing public policies.

Democracy in Practice

Democracy in Practice
Author: Thomas C. Beierle
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2010-09-30
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1136528091

In spite of the expanding role of public participation in environmental decisionmaking, there has been little systematic examination of whether it has, to date, contributed toward better environmental management. Neither have there been extensive empirical studies to examine how participation processes can be made more effective. Democracy in Practice brings together, for the first time, the collected experience of 30 years of public involvement in environmental decisionmaking. Using data from 239 cases, the authors evaluate the success of public participation and the contextual and procedural factors that lead to it. Thomas Beierle and Jerry Cayford demonstrate that public participation has not only improved environmental policy, but it has also played an important educational role and has helped resolve the conflict and mistrust that often plague environmental issues. Among the authors' findings are that intensive 'problem-solving' processes are most effective for achieving a broad set of social goals, and participant motivation and agency responsiveness are key factors for success. Democracy in Practice will be useful for a broad range of interests. For researchers, it assembles the most comprehensive data set on the practice of public participation, and presents a systematic typology and evaluation framework. For policymakers, political leaders, and citizens, it provides concrete advice about what to expect from public participation, and how it can be made more effective. Democracy in Practice concludes with a systematic guide for use by government agencies in their efforts to design successful public participation efforts.

Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters
Author: Stationery Office, The
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2005-06-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780101658621

This document contains the text of the Aarhus Convention, which was adopted at the 4th Ministerial Conference in the "Environment for Europe" process held in Denmark in June 1998, and which entered into force for the UK on 24 May 2005. The Convention establishes a number of public rights with regard to the environment, including the right of everyone to receive environmental information that is held by public authorities; the right to participate from an early stage in environmental decision-making; and the right to challenge public decisions that have been made without respect for the two aforementioned rights or environmental law in general.