Citizen Participation

Question 1

Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation

Answer 1

Non participatory
1. Manipulation
2. Therapy

Tokenism
3. Informing
4. Consultation
5. Placation

Citizen power
6. Partnership
7. Delegated Power
8. Citizen control

Question 1

Citizen Participation

Answer 1

• Process in which individuals take part in decision making in the institutions, programs, and environments that affect them
• Not simply volunteering or community service
• Voice in deliberation of community issues
• Involved in decision making
• We need different types of people in politics also, however this is hard

Question 2

Process of citizen participation

Answer 2

• We need:
• Sense of community
• Provocation
• An empowering setting
• Psychological empowerment
• This will lead to citizen participation

Question 3

Sense of community in citizen participation

Answer 3

• If you feel part of the community you are more likely to want to participate
• Sense of community threatened by a provocation
• Sense of community in a locality or relational community
• Provocation produces citizen participation, engagement in an empowering setting, and psychological empowerment of the individual
• Leads to a response to the provocation and changes in the sense of the community

Question 4

Citizen participation as a means and as an end

Answer 4

As a means:
- To improve the quality of a plan
- To increase citizen’s commitment to a decision

As an end:
- An essential feature of democracy

Question 5

Predictors of Citizen Participation

Answer 5

• Neighbouring behaviour
• Sense of community
• Sense of civic responsibility
• Satisfaction with quality of life in neighbourhood
• Dissatisfaction with neighbourhood problems
• Involvement in apartment building activities
• Volunteering with other community organizations
• Perceived effectiveness of neighbourhood association

Question 6

Advantages to citizen participation

Answer 6

• Participants are likely to have first hand experience with problem
• People are more likely to accept decisions that they have contributed to
• Participation further contributes to sense of community

Question 7

Disadvantages of citizen participation

Answer 7

• Not everyone participates
• Participants may not be representative
• Participation takes time; risk of burnout
• Risk of failure; non viable solutions

Question 8

Empowerment

Answer 8

• A process, a mechanism by which people, organizations, and communities gain mastery over their affairs
• May lead to citizen participation, accompany it, or result from it

Question 9

Qualities of empowerment

Answer 9

• Multilevel: Occurs in individuals, organizations, or communities
• Bottom up Perspective: Originate at the grassroots among citizens of a community rather than among its leaders or most powerful member
• Dynamic process that develops over time
• Collective context: occurs through linkages with others - not a solitary process

Question 10

Psychological empowerment

Answer 10

• Involves cognition, behavioural skills or competence, motivation, commitment to values, and other aspects of the person experiencing empowerment
• Multi aspect
• Thinking your worthy, thinking that people care, if you have skills to communicate, etc.

Question 11

Elements of psychological empowerment

Answer 11

• Critical awareness about society and one’s community
• Learning to see social regularities
• Perceptions of influence over community problems
• Participatory competence: ability to participate in community decision-making
• Mobilizing resources: identifying, gaining access to, and using resources

Question 12

Organizational empowerment

Answer 12

• Process in which an organization exerts its control and influence to facilitate the empowerment of its members
• The process includes supporting organization members, building coalitions with other organizations, and making changes in the community around the organization

Question 13

Community empowerment

Answer 13

• Occurs at the community level
• Members use resources, develop skills, exert influence, and effectively organize to address the issues that matter to the community
• Implies a community has the resources and talent to manage its affairs, to control and influence relevant groups and forces within and outside the community, and to develop empowered leaders and community organizations

Question 14

How does community empowerment work

Answer 14

• Increasing a community’s influence over the structures and policies that affect the lived experiences of the community and its members
• Influences increased through partnerships between those in power and community members
• Ex: Developing community leaders is community members learning to organize so they can take part in improving their communities and take actions toward these improvements