THE IMPACT OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PROGRAMS AND POLICY DECISIONS ON PARTICIPANTS' OPINIONS

In: The Western political quarterly: official journal of Western Political Science Association, Band 37, Heft 3, S. 468-482

Abstract

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PROGRAMS SPONSORED BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES CAN SERVE MANY PURPOSES. WHILE PARTICIPATING CITIZENS OFTEN SEE THESE PROGRAMS AS CONTRIBUTING TO INCREASED INFLUENCE IN GOVERNMENT POLICY-MAKING, MEMBERS OF THE SPONSORING AGENCIES ARE MORE LIKELY TO SEE THEM AS A MEANS TO IMPROVE AGENCY EFFECTIVENESS. FROM THE AGENCY PERSPECTIVE, PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT PURPOSE OF THESE PROGRAMS IS TO PROVIDE A PROCESS THAT WILL PERMIT THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMPLEMENTABLE POLICIES; THE ASSUMPTION BEING THAT IF INDIVIDUALS BELIEVE THEY HAVE HAD A SAY IN A FAIR AND OPEN PROCESS OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT THEN THEY WILL BE WILLING TO ACCEPT THE OUTCOME OF THAT PROCESS, EVEN IF IT IS NOT THEIR PREFERRED OUTCOME (ROSENBAUM 1980: 4-5). THAT AGENCY OFFICIALS DO HOLD THESE VIEWS IS BORNE OUT BY A STUDY OF CANADIAN PARTICIPATION PROGRAMS WHICH CONCLUDES THAT "FOR MOST AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES, PARTICIPATION WAS SEEN AS A MEANS TO DEVELOP PROGRAMS WHICH WOULD HAVE BROAD PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE, TO ENHANCE THE EFFICIENT PERFORMANCE OF AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES, AND TO IMPROVE THE AGENCY'S IMAGE" (SEWELL AND PHILLIPS 1979: 352). LIKEWISE, A STUDY OF ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS' PARTICIPATION PROGRAMS FOUND THAT THESE PROGRAMS WERE INSTITUTED BECAUSE THE CORPS "ASSUMED THAT A WELL-INTENTIONED, POSITIVE, OPEN-PLANNING PROCESS WOULD RESULT DIRECTLY IN THE PARTICIPANTS' GREATER SATISFACTION WITH THE AGENCY; THAT THIS WOULD IN TURN FOSTER GREATER CONGRUENCE ON GOALS BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANTS AND THE PY: 1984