how can we involve the public in regional and local projects? 5 th european summit of regions and...
TRANSCRIPT
How can we involve the public in regional and local projects?
5th European Summit of Regions and citiesCopenhagen, March 22, 2012
Prof. Dr. Simon GuentnerHamburg University of Applied Sciences
variations of democracy
Direct democracy
Participative democracy
Representative democracy
• Town meeting/Forum• Citizen panel
• Participatory budgeting• Planning for Real
• Consensus conference• Charrette
• Future Search Conference• World Café
• ...
The Micropolitics of Participation
• Access and recruitment• Logistics, timing, duration• Style of communication, language• Function, power of body/exercise
The Democracy Cube
Source: Fung 2005
Participative governance – hopes and traps
HopesVoice of citizens leads to...•Better policies•broader ownership•Enhanced legitimation of decisions
TrapsImplementation often flawed by...•Efficiency Trap•Misrepresentation of interests•Oversimplification of debate and exclusion of minority interests•Domination of ‚common interest‘ and economic arguments
Issues to consider...
• Realistic expectations• Milieu/age/...specific communication and tools• Transparent and strong links to arenas/actors of
representative democracy• Emphasise the democratic value of participation over
instrumental issues• Take your time!
