Citizen Participation in Decision Making: Is It Worth the Effort?

TLDR

Community participation in government decision making is widely argued to yield many benefits, with dissent rare and outcomes generally viewed as positive. The article reviews citizen‑participation literature and analyzes key considerations to determine whether community participation is an effective policy‑making tool. The authors list conditions under which community participation may be costly and ineffective versus when it can thrive and produce the greatest gains in citizen governance. From lessons learned in an unsuccessful citizen‑participation effort, the authors propose a more informed approach to help policymakers select a decision‑making process suited to a community’s needs.

Abstract

It is widely argued that increased community participation in government decision making produces many important benefits. Dissent is rare: It is difficult to envision anything but positive outcomes from citizens joining the policy process, collaborating with others and reaching consensus to bring about positive social and environmental change. This article, motivated by contextual problems encountered in a participatory watershed management initiative, reviews the citizen‐participation literature and analyzes key considerations in determining whether community participation is an effective policy‐making tool. We list conditions under which community participation may be costly and ineffective and when it can thrive and produce the greatest gains in effective citizen governance. From the detritus of an unsuccessful citizen‐participation effort, we arrive at a more informed approach to guide policy makers in choosing a decision‐making process that is appropriate for a community's particular needs.