C ITIZEN IN THE P ARTICIPATION U NITED S TATES Workshop: How to Make Citizen Participation Relevant in European Regions Stuttgart, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany December 5, 2012

T HE D ELIBERATIVE D EMOCRACY C ONSORTIUM

T HE CONTEXT : H OW HAVE CITIZENS * CHANGED ?

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More educated

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More skeptical – different attitudes toward authority

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Have less time to spare

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Better able to find resources, allies, information * “citizens” = residents, people

T HREE MINUTES AT THE MICROPHONE

Retrieved from Cincinnati.com, July 27, 2012

S UCCESSFUL TACTIC : P ROACTIVE RECRUITMENT

 Map community networks;  Involve leaders of those networks;  ‘Who is least likely to participate?’  Use online as well as f2f connections;  Follow up!

S UCCESSFUL TACTIC : S MALL GROUP PROCESSES

 No more than 12 people per group;  Facilitator who is impartial (doesn’t give opinions);  Start with people describing their experiences;  Lay out options;  Help people plan for action.

S UCCESSFUL TACTIC : F RAMING AN ISSUE

   Give people the information they need, in ways they can use it Lays out several options or views (including ones you don’t agree with) Trust them to make good decisions

S UCCESSFUL TACTIC : E NCOURAGING CITIZEN ACTION

S UCCESSFUL TACTIC : O NLINE TOOLS

Particularly good for:  Providing background information  Data gathering by citizens  Generating and  ranking ideas Helping people  visualize options Maintaining connections over time

S TRENGTHS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

     Making policy decisions, plans, budgets Catalyzing citizen action Building trust, fostering new leadership Connections = disaster preparedness Attachment = economic vitality

L IMITATIONS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION WE PRACTICE IT TODAY ) ( AS

      Lots of work for temporary gain Inefficient – every organization on its own Community moves back to ‘politics as usual’ ‘Engagers’ set the agenda, not the ‘engaged’ Limited impact on equity Laws on participation out of step with practices

W HAT IS CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE ?

The regular opportunities, activities, and arenas that allow people to connect with each other, solve problems, make decisions, and be part of a community.

N EW MODEL ORDINANCE ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Available at

www.deliberative-democracy.net

Developed as a collaboration of:

“P ORTSMOUTH L ISTENS ” P ORTSMOUTH , NH

   Ongoing process since 2000 Several hundred participants each time Addressed a number of major policy decisions: bullying in schools, school redistricting, city’s master plan, balancing city budget, whether to build new middle school

    

J ANE W EST A DDAMS S IDE OF S CHOOL FOR S T . P AUL , MN D EMOCRACY

50 200 people in “neighborhood learning circles” every month since 1998 Involves recent Hmong, Latino, Somali immigrants Young people involved in circles and other activities Cultural exchanges - food, crafts, storytelling Has resulted in new projects, initiatives, festivals, and change in INS policy

P ARTICIPATORY B UDGETING IN B RAZILIAN CITIES

 Commitment from gov’t to adopt budget;  Wide range of ways to be involved;  A carnival atmosphere;  Started small, now huge – 60,000+ people

S LIDES AVAILABLE AT : WWW .

SLIDESHARE .

NET / MATTLEIGHNINGER G UIDES : HTTP :// BIT .

LY /M1 PV M P HTTP :// BIT .

LY / IWJGQN

R ESOURCES www.participedia.net

www.deliberative-democracy.net

www.soulofthecommunity.org

www.everydaydemocracy.org

www.publicagenda.org

www.kettering.org

Q UESTIONS OR COMMENTS ?

Why build stronger civic infrastructure?

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Make engagement easier, more efficient Build trust Give residents more control of the agenda Better address inequities Increase community attachment and economic growth Increase residents’ sense of legitimacy and “public happiness”