Welcome to the United Nations
The principle of participation is a fundamental principle among the 11 Principles of Effective Governance for Sustainable Development adopted by ECOSOC in 2018. It is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and included in several Sustainable Development Goals and targets, especially SDG16.
The principle of participation means that to have an effective State, all significant political groups should be actively involved in matters that directly affect them and have a chance to influence policy. This principle is subject to different definitions that may lead to confusion between public participation, access to information, social responsibility, citizen engagement, and it is also subject to diverse typologies. One seminal example of these typologies is the “ Ladder of Citizen Participation” by Sherry Arnstein (1969). It notes that citizen participation can range from “non-participation” (through manipulation and therapy); to “tokenism” (through informing, consultation, and placation) to “citizen control” (through partnership, delegation and citizen control) which is the ideal option and model. The International Association for Public Participation (IAPP) identified five general modes of public participation, namely inform, consult, involve, collaborate, and empower, indicating an increasing level of shared decision authority.
Why do we need to promote and anchor concretely public participation?
There is no need to recall that participation is a human right, essential to building peaceful and resilient societies, and has a central place in international law, based on diverse international, regional, and national legal instruments, particularly those relating to the environment. It is also a cornerstone of the entire sustainable development dynamic for “The World We Want”, which leaves no one behind. The World We Want requires in fact a global and active mobilization of all decision-makers and stakeholders. Public participation contributes to sustainable State-building as a pillar of democracy, and as an enabler to build peaceful and stable States and promote sustainable development. It is also a key lever to empower all stakeholders, in particular at the subnational level to increase trust in local and regional public institutions, to improve public service delivery, and to promote the well-being of entire populations, citizens, and local communities. Finally, public participation contributes to the promotion and anchoring of effective governance, namely effectiveness, accountability, and inclusiveness.
The necessity and urgency to create an enabling environment for public participation
Dealing with the world of multiple crises which is threatening order, peace, security, stability, democracy, well-being, and sustainable development, it becomes urgent to create a favorable, encouraging and attractive environment for public participation to restore hope and rebuild trust in political leaders and public institutions. However, there is no ideal formula, or miracle recipe or a unique approach valid everywhere and at any time. The national context matters. Public participation has to take into account the history, the level of development, the social capital, the institutional arrangements put in place, the priorities, the objectives and available resources.
Obstacles faced by public participation
Public participation faces a multitude of obstacles, including the existence of different forms of resistance to change and to participation in political and public life from political leaders, politicians, political parties and civil servants. Public participation is oftentimes seen as a risk to lose or reduce power and authority, with the presentation of various arguments to deny or block public participation, such as the lack of citizen interest, the fact that citizens "don not understand what it is all about" or that "It is a waste of time and resources"! Such behaviors have been exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic and the state of global health emergency.
Without awareness, training and preparation, civil servants can thus prove to be a serious obstacle to effective public participation, because they are the ones deciding on the degree of participation and on who should participate and whether to take into account the contributions of citizens or not. They are also in charge of implementing and controlling administrative and financial resources, not to mention that they are in charge of the control of information and data to be communicated to leaders, politicians and decision-makers.
Building blocks of effective participation
An effective public participation requires:
- Strong political will, a change of mindsets, continuous daily efforts at all levels of governance, and capitalization of reforms. This requires integration, coherence, coordination at the global, horizontal and vertical level; consultation, dialogue, concertation, a continuous quest for consensus, and coherent, rational and concerted decision-making processes.
- An equal participation of all stakeholders in a spirit of mutual trust and respect, taking into account the national context specific to each State. This requires the preparation and organization of free, fair and transparent elections, the fight against dominant interest groups, taking appropriate measures to leave no one behind, and providing equal support to all stakeholders regardless of their conditions or background.
- Recognizing, valuing and supporting the dynamic role of civil society through all its different components, which requires involving civil society in decision-making processes, having a proactive civil society; giving civil society the right to make proposals (See for example Morocco, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Scandinavian Countries) and taking into consideration their participatory initiatives.
- Adequate means of implementation, which requires allocation of appropriate financial resources, existence of professional and competent human resources and civil servants, implementation of measures for learning, training, capacity-building, peer learning and learning by doing, as well as taking into account best practices and lessons learned;
- Investing in civic education to make sure that citizens are not considered only just taxpayers, voters, and consumers of public services! Civic education is a key lever for public participation, making entire populations, citizens and local communities aware of their roles, responsibilities, rights, duties and obligations; organizing information, awareness and empowerment activities, and emphasizing the role of schools, training and education institutions.
Public participation must be based on a holistic conceptual framework including at least:
- Issue(s) to be addressed and identification of responsible and concerned jurisdiction or institution(s);
- Identification and quantification of causes, supported by statistics, documents and references;
- Identification of relevant stakeholders who need to be engaged, including special interest groups and vulnerable groups;
- Taking into account of multiple gaps between urban and rural areas;
- Clearly defined objectives of participation;
- Clearly defined details of participatory process, including date, venue, transport, language to be used, methods of participation, information and documentation and facilitators for participation.
Finally, decentralization and local governance are crucial as local and regional governments are the most appropriate level for the implementation of public participation. They can link populations, citizens, communities, territories, and stakeholders who can thus become committed and active players in the sustainable development dynamic, who are listened to, respected and whose needs and priorities are taken into account. As a consequence, their sense of belonging will be strengthened, and they can therefore support and adhere to local decisions and policies, particularly concerning the SDGs.
By Najat Zarrouk, Member of the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA), Director, Development Branch and African Local Government Academy, United Cities and Local Government of Africa and President of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA)