Unpacking 'Participation': models, meanings and practices

TLDR

Public institutions worldwide are increasingly responding to calls for greater public involvement, yet the meaning of participation varies widely among actors. The article investigates the various meanings and practices of participation, both theoretically and in practice. The study finds that clarifying who participates, how, and for whose benefit is essential, arguing that vague definitions have allowed participation to be adopted superficially and that specificity is needed to realize its democratic promise.

Abstract

The world over, public institutions appear to be responding to the calls voiced by activists, development practitioners and progressive thinkers for greater public involvement in making the decisions that matter and holding governments to account for following through on their commitments. Yet what exactly ‘participation’ means to these different actors can vary enormously. This article explores some of the meanings and practices associated with participation, in theory and in practice. It suggests that it is vital to pay closer attention to who is participating, in what and for whose benefit. Vagueness about what participation means may have helped the promise of public involvement gain purchase, but it may be time for more of what Cohen and Uphoff term ‘clarity through specificity’ if the call for more participation is to realize its democratizing promise.