How can we involve the public in regional and local projects? 5th European Summit of Regions and cities Copenhagen, March 22, 2012 Prof. Dr. Simon Guentner Hamburg 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 Voice of citizens leads to... Better policies broader ownership Enhanced legitimation of decisions Implementation 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!
Thank you for your attention! Contact: simon.guentner@haw-hamburg.de