Public Participation in Public Decisions

Public Participation in Public Decisions

Author: John Clayton Thomas

Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Published: 1995-08-29

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13:

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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

Published: 2005-03-11

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 0787979635

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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 in Environmental Assessment and Decision Making

Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision Making

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2008-11-07

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0309134412

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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.


Public Participation and Better Environmental Decisions

Public Participation and Better Environmental Decisions

Author: Frans H. J. M. Coenen

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2008-12-12

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 140209325X

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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

Published: 2015-04-30

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 1118688538

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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.


Democracy in Practice

Democracy in Practice

Author: Thomas C. Beierle

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-09-30

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 1136528083

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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.


Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions Catching the Deliberative Wave

Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions Catching the Deliberative Wave

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2020-06-10

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 9264725903

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Public authorities from all levels of government increasingly turn to Citizens' Assemblies, Juries, Panels and other representative deliberative processes to tackle complex policy problems ranging from climate change to infrastructure investment decisions. They convene groups of people representing a wide cross-section of society for at least one full day – and often much longer – to learn, deliberate, and develop collective recommendations that consider the complexities and compromises required for solving multifaceted public issues.


Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance

Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance

Author: Ali Farazmand

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-04-05

Total Pages: 13623

ISBN-13: 3030662527

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This global encyclopedic work serves as a comprehensive collection of global scholarship regarding the vast fields of public administration, public policy, governance, and management. Written and edited by leading international scholars and practitioners, this exhaustive resource covers all areas of the above fields and their numerous subfields of study. In keeping with the multidisciplinary spirit of these fields and subfields, the entries make use of various theoretical, empirical, analytical, practical, and methodological bases of knowledge. Expanded and updated, the second edition includes over a thousand of new entries representing the most current research in public administration, public policy, governance, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, and management covering such important sub-areas as: 1. organization theory, behavior, change and development; 2. administrative theory and practice; 3. Bureaucracy; 4. public budgeting and financial management; 5. public economy and public management 6. public personnel administration and labor-management relations; 7. crisis and emergency management; 8. institutional theory and public administration; 9. law and regulations; 10. ethics and accountability; 11. public governance and private governance; 12. Nonprofit management and nongovernmental organizations; 13. Social, health, and environmental policy areas; 14. pandemic and crisis management; 15. administrative and governance reforms; 16. comparative public administration and governance; 17. globalization and international issues; 18. performance management; 19. geographical areas of the world with country-focused entries like Japan, China, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, North America; and 20. a lot more. Relevant to professionals, experts, scholars, general readers, researchers, policy makers and manger, and students worldwide, this work will serve as the most viable global reference source for those looking for an introduction and advance knowledge to the field.