Download How can citizens participate - approach, methods

Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
How can citizen’s participate?
Purpose and levels of participation:
approach, methods, techniques, tools.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Citizen centered exercise needs
support from civil society
It aims to empower citizens, to give them better
access to information and better forums for
debate because ‘ information is power ‘. Clearly,
this requires cooperation from civil society
organizations ( CSOs ). CSOs are well placed to
organize polls, petitions, trans-national forums for
debate on the web in order to enable citizens to
make their voices heard.
Margot Wallstrom, Vice President of the EU Commission
3 October, 2007 - European Citizen Action Service
Cost effectiveness
Access and
inclusion
Quantity of
services
Quality of
services
Increase of
resources
Outcomes:
Citizen’s participation
in decision making
Inputs:
Transparency
Participation of
Civil Society
Freedom of
active
participation
Responsibility
Resources
Channels of Clear and
Existent
Openness in
Adjustment in
Commuspecific
channels for
Autonomy Transparency
processes
processes
nication regulations participation
Level of citizen’s influence in decision making
- Establishment of channels and bodies for mutual cooperationTIME IN DECISION MAKING
5
4
3
2
Legend
Gov. authorities
Citizens
Mutual committees
1
Citizen’s committees
Mutual cooperation
LEVEL OF CITIZEN’S INFLUENCE IN DECISION MAKING
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Government and Citizen’s approaches in decision making
Government – Citizens
•Municipal assembly’s
•Media
•Meetings
•Reports
•Documents
•Broshures/leaflets
•Publications
•Planning
•PR Office
•Public information office
•Establishing work group commitee
•E-governance
Citizens – Government
•Experts
•Coalition building
•Advocacy and lobbying
•Raising public awareness
•Web tools
•Mass media
•Roundtables
•Telephone
• Press release
•Watchdog
•Media debate
•Analysis
•Assessment/surveys
•Case study campaign
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
E - Government
Key issues in e-government:
• Infrastructure
• Accessibility
• Usability
• Responsiveness
• Credibility
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Issues needed to be taken into
consideration on e-government
• Adequate IT infrastructure
• Amorphous factors: culture, citizen’s awareness,
tradition of GO-citizens communication
• Systematic framework
• Digital divide
• Inability of handicapped persons to access and utilize
information
• Social inclusion in participation
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
Strategic direction of participatory
e-government
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
Changes in participation in
e-Government maturity
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
How citizen’s can participate
Current and future EU challenges in creating effective
mechanisms for citizen’s participation in decision making
• Case study I: Center for European Studies
( summary report 2009 available )
• Case study II: CIPAST – Citizen
Participation in Science and Technology
• E- participation
( Database: examples of e-democracy activities )
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Gaps between theory and
practice
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Challenges that IPA beneficiary countries ( Western
Balkans and Turkey ) are facing in regard to citizen’s
participation in decision making
Country specifics and common problems that civil society is
facing in the region
Discussion:
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Regional challenges in decision making
environment
• Political willingness
• Transparency and accountability
• Transition and it’s challenges
• Capacity building
• Information technology
• Institutional mechanisms for citizen’s
participation
• Other communication channels
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Field analysis
Exercise ( group work ):
What are the main gaps between theory and practice
in decision making process?
• Name at least four areas where the gap between theory and
practice is too wide.
• Identify the main causes which affects the gap to be wide.
• Identify the overall societal and current political environment which
enables the causes to exist.
Follow up exercise ( univocally ):
• Prioritization of the gaps between theory and practice ( finding
similarities and country specifics though prioritizing the most
common gaps to the least identified gaps )
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
How to transfer theoretical
knowledge into the practice?
- How to overcome obstacles? -
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
Citizen’s participation in
process
This project is funded
by the European Union.
decision making
It is considered as a process through which citizens
can address and be a part of implementation of
their concerns, needs, values, problem solving,
developing and monitoring processes in conjunction
with political agenda and central/local government
strategies.
Group exercise: can you think of a model with
combined aims between government and it’s
citizen’s?
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Ways of citizens participation in
decision making
• Participatory Governance
• Participatory Economics
• Participatory Budgeting
• Participatory planning
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
Categories of Citizens participation
Spectrum of citizens participation in decision
making
• Political participation
• Administrative participation
Level of involvement in citizens participation
• Passive ( one way ) participation
• Active participation
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Citizens participatory activity
Active
• Opinion polls
Political participation
participation
• Citizen general assembly, Public
Hearings
• Voting, Proposition
• Information delivery, Information
request/disclosure
Passive
• Information disclosure/accessibility
(demand/provision)
• Public (Administrative) Service
• Opinion polls
Administrative
• Opinion exchanges, Public hearings
• Monitor/control, citizen informant,
opinion gathering
• Request for administration
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Methods of citizens participation
( correlation with political and administrative participation )
Discussion:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Public hearings ( mandated or otherwise )
Town meetings
Participation in regular meetings or otherwise
Citizens advisory boards
Citizen’s coupons ( cards /mail coupons )
Surveys
Web sites/ email
Mutual visits GO and SCO
Contact initiated by citizens
Technical Assistance for
Civil Society Organisations
Regional Office
This project is funded
by the European Union.
Exercise: Best practices for overcoming obstacles
in decision making
Exercise - presentation ( group work ):
• Finding the best solutions to overcome the
obstacles in decision making
• Discussion: explanation of the chosen
methods