what makes stakeholder and public participation work?

What makes participation work?

Mark Reed

How we can better involve people in the co-generation of new ideas that can help solve major global challenges like food security, land degradation and climate change?

• Do we have a right to be involved?

• Do we get better decisions?

Why do some participatory processes work and some fail?

The wheel of participation: an alternative typology to Arnstein’s ladder

(Arnstein, 1969)

(Reed et al., in press)

A theory of participation

variables that can explain why participation works or fails in any given context 4

ContextDesignPowerScale

Socio-economic, cultural and institutional contexts that can really influence the outcomes of participation

There are a number of process

design variables that can increase the likelihood that participation leads to desired outcomes, across pretty much any context

Effectiveness of participation is significantly influenced by

power dynamics, the values of participants and the way they construct and consider valid knowledge

Participatory processes work differently and can lead to different outcomes when they operate over different spatial and temporal scales

(Reed et al., in press)

Implications for practice

Implications for practice5

Take time to fully understand local context to determine the appropriate type of participatory approach and adapt its design to the context1

Get all affected parties involved in dialogue as soon as possible, to develop shared goals and co-produce outcomes based on the most relevant sources of knowledge

2

Manage power dynamics, so every participant’s contribution is valued and all have an equal opportunity to contribute3

Match the length and frequency of engagement to the goals of the process, recognising that changes in deeply held values (that may be at the root of a conflict) are likely to take longer than changes in preferences

4

Match the representation of stakeholder interests and decision-making power to the spatial scale of the issues being considered

5

1. Understand and adapt to context2. Engage early to develop shared

goals and co-produce jointly owned outcomes

3. Actively manage power dynamics4. Match the length and frequency of

engagement to your goals5. Represent interests and decision-

makers relevant to the spatial scale of the issue

ContactMark ReedMark.Reed@newcastle.ac.uk07538082343

www.profmarkreed.com @profmarkreed