Participatory Management: A toolkit for Local Authorities

Participatory

Management A Toolkit for Local Authorities

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This Toolkit is published by

VNG International (The Netherlands) and the Urban Foundation for Sustainable Development (Armenia) in frame of the project "From adversaries to Advocates: Filling the Communication Gap in the Regions of Armenia" funded by the Social Transformation Programme (Matra) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Authors:

Anke Ruige, The Netherlands Pavel Micka, Czech Republic Armine Tukhikyan, content editor Edgar Ghazaryan Arshavir Ghukasyan Hayastan Stepanyan Pieter Wiekeraad, The Netherlands Mayis Vanoyan Andranik Veranyan

The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the authors and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Yerevan 2011

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About the Toolkit This Toolkit is prepared by VNG International (The Netherlands) and the Urban Foundation of Sustainable Development (Armenia) under the auspices of the project "From Adversaries to Advocates: Filling the Communication Gap in the Regions of Armenia," funded by the Matra programme of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the framework of the project, which was implemented from April 2008 to March 2011, a series of trainings was conducted for local authorities of 13 Armenian communities, representatives of civil society organizations and employees of local TV stations. Two pilot projects were implemented in Goris and Sevan, charged with improving communication and introducing public participation.

The aim of this Toolkit is to ease the introduction and implementation of democratic management principles at the local self-governance level. It consists of three parts: Part 1 provides general notions and basics of good governance, communication and public participation.

Part 2 reflects on practical aspects of planning and the implementation of the public participation process.

Part 3 introduces an arsenal of methods and techniques through which communication and public participation projects are implemented.

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Dear Reader, This toolkit is part of a project aiming to foster a cooperative relationship between local government, the media and civil society. One of the main objectives of the project is to enable a more effective communication among these actors.

Open and honest communication is essential to sound local democracy. Public participation increases understanding of government policies, improves the efficiency and effectiveness of public services, strengthens the relationship between government and its citizens and encourages the active participation of citizens in society. Together, these elements contribute to a stronger democracy.

This toolkit will help communities acquire a better understanding of the communication process as it applies to a local democracy. It will sharpen the communication skills needed to achieve specific results. In close cooperation with two pilot communities, Goris and Sevan, the project developed a method for setting up a successful communication strategy. The outcomes of the pilots were used for the development of this toolkit.

This toolkit stresses that communication is a two-way street. Active listening and consistent follow-up play a major role in determining the quality of the relationships we develop as community stakeholders.

The toolkit should not be seen as a blueprint. Every community is unique and inevitably both faces its own challenges and can benefit from its own strengths. The topic being discussed, the number of people involved and the strengths of the local civil society actors all have influence on the strategy for communication and participation that should be followed. To support communities in making these difficult decisions, this toolkit offers examples of methods and instruments applied in several countries, which can serve as models for Armenian communities to adapt to their own needs and circumstances.

The organisers of the project are grateful to the communities and non-governmental organisations from the partner cities for their positive involvement and excellent contributions.

The toolkit - as its name suggests - will provide users with very practical instruments. I express my sincere hope that you will find it useful in further establishing direct lines of communication and making public participation a central element of governance in your community.

Sincerely,

Pieter Jan Langenberg Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Armenia

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Dear Reader During the recent years, with the support of the Government of Armenia and international organizations, several books and manuals relating to various issues of local self governance are being published in Armenian. They are intended for representatives of local governments and municipal servants.

This Toolkit which is developed with technical assistance of VNG International (The Netherlands), provides valuable methodological support to decision makers at local level.

Effective collaboration between the public and the local government is a legal requirement and is stipulated by law. On the other hand, it helps local authorities to improve the quality of their decisions and make their work with the population more effective through creating the right preconditions for identifying the opinions of the population on this or that issue and designing services accordingly.

All parties involved in local self governance issues can benefit from this Toolkit, which will contribute to increased effectiveness of their work, as well as help raise the citizens' confidence towards local authorities.

Vache Tertyeryan First Deputy Minister of Territorial Management

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6

C O N T E N T S

PART

1:

Introduction

PART

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2:

Participation and Communication in Practice

PART

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3:

Methods

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7

PART

1.

Introduction

Good governance Communication and public participation are factors of good governance. Good governance is an essential element for a democratic state. Good governance is necessary for good cooperation between the state and civil society.

Good governance is a vague notion. Many international organizations, like the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have their own definitions of good governance.

The European Union, for its part, established its concept of governance in the White Paper on European Governance1, in which the term "European governance"

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refers to the rules, processes and behaviour that affect the way in which political powers are exercised at the European level, particularly in regard to openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness and coherence. These five "principles of good governance" reinforce those of subsidiarity and proportionality.

United Nations2: Good governance has eight major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law.

IMF3: Governance generally encompasses all aspects of the way a country is governed, including its economic policies and regulatory framework. Corruption is a narrower concept, which is often defined as the abuse of public

authority or trust for private benefit. The two concepts are closely linked: an environment characterized by poor governance offers greater incentives and more scope for corruption. Many of the causes of corruption are economic in nature, and so are its consequences-poor governance clearly is detrimental to economic activity and welfare.

The notion of good governance becomes clearer if we look to its several elements:  Openness/transparency  Integrity and ethical behavior  Communication and public participation  Community based and citizens oriented approach  Efficiency and effectiveness  Legitimacy and the rule of law  Accountability  Equity and inclusiveness

By introducing the principles of good governance, public service can become more effective, reliable, transparent, accountable, ethical and professional.

There are no clear guidelines on how to fill in the elements: much depends on the situation of the country.

Besides, society is constantly changing, which means that adjustments have to be made. Most of the countries are therefore constantly improving their methods and instruments and adjusting them to the changes in society. For example, the rise of the Internet and mobile phones changed - for many countries - the way how they fill in the abovementioned principles. Communication is becoming easier because large parts of the population have mobile phones

and more and more people are getting access to the Internet.

Often, mobile phones, Twitter, blogs and so on are used to spread information. Therefore, it becomes more and more difficult for governments not to be open or transparent about demonstrations, because participants take pictures with their mobile phones and send these around the world.

However, we will try to give you some ideas about the elements of good governance. From the description below, we can conclude that each of the elements are connected. A common feature in all these factors is that they are strongly connected to attitude and behavior. The introduction of good governance can not be assured by the development of laws, regulations and administrative procedures alone, but is also connected to the will of politicians to change something. If we, for example, look at integrity and ethical behavior, we can conclude that it is impossible to peg everything into rules: people can adjust their performance in a way that they do not break the rules as written. That does not mean, however, that their performance is in accordance with the spirit of the rules. Take, for instance, a code of ethics that makes it forbidden to accept money in exchange for a certain favor. Then, a politician or civil servant will not accept hard currency for a certain favor2 to a citizen, but instead accepts a free meal, a ticket to a football match, help with the renovation of his or her house, construction materials for a lower price, or asks the favored citizen to give a family member a job. This behavior is probably not contrary to the letter of the code, but it is definitely contrary to the spirit of the code.

Implementation of good governance, therefore, also asks for a cultural change (see also Chapter 2.3).

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PART 1:

1.

Introduction

Openness and transparency

Governments should be open and transparent about their activities, policy development and the implementation of such development. Civil society should have access to information, and that information should be freely accessible and understandable. Many countries have developed laws and regulations about access to information. However, outside of these laws, information should also be accessible. Openness is not something that can only be guided by laws and regulations: it asks for a change of attitude, a willingness not to hide what you as a government are doing, It asks you to show your activities and keep them open for discussion.

In the Czech Republic, there is an NGO called "The Open Society". It organizes a competition every year called "Open x Closed". Any Czech citizen can nominate a particular Czech state authority as a "friend" (in the "Open" category) or an "enemy" (in the "Closed" category) in regards to freedom of information and transparency. The nomination has to be supported with relevant evidence. A jury, consisting of well-known Czech journalists, independent experts, and representatives of the public and business sectors decide about the "winners". In 2010, 58 nominations were collected (12 nominations in the "Open" category and 48 nominations in the "Closed" category).

Municipalities dominate among the nominated authorities.

A similar annual competition is being held in Armenia as well, organized by the Freedom of Information Center. A jury of experts awards a golden key to the authority that works in the most transparent manner, while a padlock is given to the institution that is most closed in terms of providing information.

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Transparency is strongly connected to openness, but also deals with the fight against corruption (the use of legislated power by politicians and civil servants for illegitimate activities in order to profit). Examples of corruption are bribery, extortion, nepotism and patronage. The meaning of corruption can differ from country to country. Corruption can (partly) be fought by defining powers more clearly.

Transparency also promotes accountability and the involvement of citizens (see below).

Every year Transparency International (www.transparency.org) publishes the so-called Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which measures the perceived level of public-sector corruption in 178 countries and territories around the world. The CPI is a "survey of surveys", based on 13 different expert and business surveys. As of 2010, Armenia is positioned at no. 123 on the CPI.

The issue of corruption also deals with integrity and ethical behavior.

2.

Integrity and ethical behavior

Often, integrity is described as "a set of values and norms" laid down in a so-called code of ethics. Indeed, values and norms are important elements, but integrity carries more weight. Integrity is also described as the "absence of fraud and corruption". But integrity encompasses much more than the absence of fraud and corruption. Integrity is a disposition which encompasses incorruptibility, reliability, impartiality, objectivity and justice. Integrity policy deals not only with the activities of civil servants, but also

with organizational aspects, structures, processes, culture and how to deal with incidents. Both civil servants and organizations they work for are responsible.

Ethical behavior is an element of integrity. Many organizations and local governments have developed a code of ethics and/or a code of conduct in order describe the values and norms and the desirable behavior of the employees of the organization.

These codes should also be accessible for citizens.

3.

Communication and public participation

Citizens should know where and how they can approach the government: where to ask questions, where to get information, where to find laws and regulations, and where to find their rights and obligations. Whenever possible, the public should be involved in the policy development process. It is a way to decrease the gap between the government and the citizens-citizens should be asked their opinion about policies that are being developed more than once every 4 (or 5) years during elections. In the event that suggestions and reactions are not taken into account, citizens should receive an explanation.

In some countries, the right to public participation is anchored in a law or in regulations. Regardless of this judicial framework, public participation can and should take place.

"The right to participate in the conduct of public affairs should be considered as a human right and a fundamental political freedom. Modern democracy should offer a form of society which guarantees living

and discussing together in dignity, mutual respect and solidarity." Conclusions, 6th Session of the Council of Europe.

Forum for the Future of Democracy, Yerevan, 19-21 October 2010)

4.

Community based and citizens oriented approach

A community based and citizen oriented approach is a process where the citizens are involved from the beginning (the bottom-up approach). By involving the citizens in defining their needs and the problems they face, and in formulating and implementing these solutions, sustainability is guaranteed. This approach underlines the importance of involving citizens: they are the most important "customers" for the government without citizens, no governments are needed.

In the Czech Republic a couple of years ago, a community approach in the planning of social services was introduced. Community planning of social services is based on finding consensus among the three main stakeholders: the providers of services, the users of services and the public authorities. Users (both existing and potential) are especially encouraged to participate in social services planning. New or existing social services are redesigned afterwards to meet their needs and wishes. Local governments are indirectly forced to start community planning. Social services mentioned in the community plan will have a priority in financing.

In the community of Skeving (Denmark), decisions are made based on the following effective practice: in order to

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PART 1:

Introduction

identify need, a local government hires a local NGO which conducts a questionnaire survey among all households of the town. Given the small size of the population, it is quite a feasible task. The survey identifies not only the level of satisfaction from the work of authorities, but also brings up issues that in people's opinion should be addressed.

Based on the survey report, local authorities develop a community work plan and budget for the coming year.

5.

Efficiency and effectiveness

The government's objectives and its activities undertaken to reach the objectives, should be clear and understandable. Effectiveness deals with "doing the right things" in order to reach the objectives. This can be subject of discussion: in democratic states, citizens are involved from the beginning (defining the objectives) till the implementation (see above). After defining the activities, implementation should take place in the most efficient way. The citizens should be able to trust their government to use the resources (the taxes they paid) in the most efficient and effective way in order to reach the objectives.

6.

Legitimacy and the rule of law

Governments make the decisions they are responsible for, according to the laws and regulations which have been developed in a democratic way, thus decisions can always be justified. The rule of law regards the protection of the

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rights of citizens and the absence of governmental abuse.

Laws and regulations have to be obeyed by everybody, including politicians and civil servants. In any case, they should be public for every citizen.

Article 68 of the Republic of Armenia Law on Legal Acts (in compliance with the requirements of Legal Acts) defines the following important legal clause on the scope of the rights and responsibilities of natural persons and legal entities.

Persons are free to do what is not prohibited by law or, in cases directly stipulated by law, not prohibited by other legislative acts, provided that such conduct will not violate the rights, freedoms, honor, and reputation of others. No one may bear obligations not prescribed by law or, in cases directly stipulated by law, obligations not prescribed by other legislative acts. The procedure, terms, and scope of the honoring of obligations shall be determined by law or, in cases directly stipulated by law, by other legislative acts.

7.

Accountability

Governments, politicians and civil servants are accountable for their actions toward the ones who are affected by their decisions. In general, this means the public. The public should have the opportunity to control the government, politicians and civil service in order to find out if the responsibilities that have been referred to them have been fulfilled in accordance with the terms defined.

In the Netherlands, on every third Wednesday in May the Cabinet of Ministers outlines finances and the results of planned activities for the Parliament. Some local governments also introduced a so-called "accountability day".

Since 2002, a similar practice has been implemented in the Noyemberyan community of Tavush region. In regularly scheduled community meetings, the mayor reports on the activities of the municipality and receives feedback from citizens regarding future work. Coupled with regular live TV presentations with call-ins, such accountability has increased trust inside the community and local tax collection has improved considerably.

Some History In the Armenian kingdom from 3 B.C. to 3 A.D., regular 'world gatherings' were organized on a fixed date - the eve of Navasard, or the New Year, which was then August 11.

These meetings were attended by both noblemen and heads of village communities, the so-called 'Dehkans' and simple peasants. On Navasard day, Armenian kings and high authorities reported to the ordinary people and listened to their concerns.

A. Harutunyan, From Panku Till our Days, page 28

8.

Equity and inclusiveness

All members of society should be involved; no groups should be excluded. Every person and or group of persons, regardless of race, political views, gender, age, sexual orientation, educational background, family status, skill level

and so on, should be involved. Sometimes, this asks for additional activities in order to assure involvement, like spoken messages for the blind, written messages for the deaf, translated messages for those who can't speak the language of the country, adjusted messages or activities for youth, the elderly and the low skilled, and so on.

9.

Good Governance in the Armenian context

Elements of the above-presented principles of good governance are not something alien or new for Armenian communities. In the course of their long history dating back millenniums, communities in Armenia have had different forms of self governance. However, these facts are left out of textbooks and accordingly, many people think that selfgovernance appears in our history only in 1996, after the adoption of the first Law on Local Self Governance. We can confidently state, however, that roots of self-governance in the community go back centuries4.

In some medieval cities, the city aldermen were an elected body. Although aldermen and the Amira (mayor) reported to the Senior, they were fully involved in decision making and could considerably limit the Senior's power.

They had a wide range of responsibilities, namely in the fields of foreign relations, economy and land ownership, as well as issues of strategic character. For example, according to Aristakes Lastivertci, the aldermen of Ani decided to call the Emir of Dvin and declare that Ani would not surrender to the Byzantines.

A. Harutunyan, From Panku Till our Days, page 53

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PART 1:

Introduction

Due to unfortunate circumstances, however, the tradition of self-governance has been interrupted many times throughout history. In the 20th century, starting in 1922, local power was declared to be with the Soviets of workers and peasants. In fact, it was the communist party that had real authority, and the declared representative body had only formal functions. 20 years have passed since declaring independence, but the negative practice of formal councils still exists in many communities of Armenia.

"Based on expert evaluation, Community Councils continue to be passive in the decision making process.

Decisions are mostly adopted unanimously, without serious discussions and deliberations, based on the resolutions drafted by the head of the community."

This statement is taken from the Report on Development of Local Self-Governance, 2007 and is supported by a number of facts.

The international obligations observed by Armenia and the existing national laws provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for implementing good governance principles in the country. However their practical implementation is still unsatisfactory. This means that in order to make a step towards a real and non-imitative democratic transition, we need to review our habitual working style and be ready for cultural changes.

1. European Governance, a White Paper, Brussels, 25.7.2001, COM (2001), 428 final.

2. United Nations, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific: What is Good Governance? http://www.unescap.org/pdd/prs/ ProjectActivities/Ongoing/gg/governance.asp 3. International Monetary Fund, Factsheet, September 2010, http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/pdf/gov.pdf 4. Arevik Harutunian, "From Panku Till Our Days", Yerevan 2008, Antares Publishing House

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Communication In order to be able to effectively implement good governance principles, it is important to have knowledge and skills in communication and public participation. These two concepts are closely interlinked: indeed, it is impossible to engage and mobilize people without duly communicating clear messages to them and soliciting feedback. Communication is an underlying concept for many disciplines such as journalism, IT, marketing, management, etc. Public participation is also based on effective communication. It is a required but not a sufficient condition for implementing participation.

There is no Participation without communication, while communication can exist without participation.

Let us look closely at both communication and participation.

Communication is now recognized as a key function of management of any institution, whether it is a multi-national corporation or a local government of a small community.

In the previous chapter we saw that good governance is largely about strengthening accountability and transparency on the side of (local) authorities and making citizens' voices heard on the demand side. These processes take place through communication. Local authorities try within their own capacities to inform the community about their work, as communication with the public is now a legal requirement and an element of good governance. However, some local authorities, because of lack of communication skills and culture, take it formally and think of it as a one-way street where information flows from the Local Government (LG) to the citizen.

What is Communication?

In traditional terms, communication is transmitting messages through given channels to "target audiences". But if we want communication to serve our good governance practices, such a model is too simple for that and is not enough to achieve the intended results.

Let us see how it works.

In any communication process two key actors are present - the sender of the message and the receiver - in our environment the local authority and the citizens. Another key concept here is the message which is being sent to the receiver - in our case decisions of the council or the mayor, agendas of the meetings, or announcements. Each time the sender gives his message a certain form or, technically speaking, a code: In what way is the message being sentorally (during a meeting), through TV or SMS, in writing (announcement on the wall), or others methods? What language/vocabulary does the sender use to put his message?

During direct talk, has any body language been used? What is the sender's tone like? Is the font of the announcement print easily legible, or is the text full of technical jargon? All these factors influence how the content of the message is perceived and understood by the receiver.

Most of the municipalities in Armenia fulfill the requirement of the law on provision of information to the population. However, there are places where this is done formally - for the controllers rather than the citizens. Indeed, there are information leaflets on the walls of the municipality with the decisions of the community council or other relevant information. But these papers are printed in small fonts and are posted high on the walls so that one has to have an eagle eye to read them. This is an example of passive communication which is also less effective than it would be if the communication encouraged action of the audience called (active communication).

After the message is coded and sent, it reaches the receiver - in our environment the citizens - who 'decode' the message. This means the following: each receiver is unique in terms of his individual characteristics, background, experience, age, disposition, views and value system. Therefore he understands - or technically speaking decodes - the message based on these factors. The coding and decoding phases are the trickiest parts of the communication process, as most of the misunderstandings take place there. "I did not mean it," "You did not understand me correctly" or "What do you mean?" are phrases that we often exchange stating that something has gone wrong in coding and decoding process. On a larger scale this may result in big misunderstandings.

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PART 1:

Introduction

Yet, let us assume that no problems occurred during the coding-decoding phase and the receiver has comprehended the message of the sender adequately. Does this mean that communication took place fully? The answer is no, because the sender does not know if his message had the desired impact until he gets feedback from the receiver.

Effective communication is not just giving out information; just as important is to encourage exchange and feedback. In order to survive, the LG must inform all its stakeholders. But if it wants to grow, it must also listen and adapt itself in response.

However, there is one more factor which, unlike coding and decoding, is out of the control of the parties of communication. It is the so-called noise. Any of the following can be 'noise':

 physical noise which hinders good hearing  a dim environment that prevents interlocutors from seeing each other's body language

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 a prevailing public opinion about some issue that impacts adequate understanding of the message

 any other outside factor that influences communication such as impending elections or the political situation

 lot more others We see from the figure that the sender and receiver each are located in their own fields or settings which are conditioned by their specific characteristics. However, these fields intersect in the green area which means that both parties have common understandings. The bigger the overlapping, the better the chances are for the parties to communicate effectively.

It is doubtless that two persons from the same educational and social background have better chances to communicate effectively than those who are not. This does not mean, however, that people with different backgrounds cannot communicate. If they are aware of such differences, they should take care of their coding and decoding process to meet each other halfway. Thus, we see that communication should be a two-way process and participants of the process should see to it that as few obstacles as possible emerge.

Many authorities (as well as the public) still experience the legacy of the soviet administration style where the dominant paradigm was a one-way communication model with pre-defined messages flowing from authorities to the public. One of the reasons why principles of good governance take a long time to be adopted is that it has been difficult to abandon the top-down communication model with pre-defined objectives and messages. The aim of this model is to persuade individuals to change,

and substitute it with a more horizontal, open-ended two-way process to engage individuals in defining change and act on it. There are often voices heard from the public saying "nobody takes us into account', 'they decide what they want', etc. Good governance is about listening to citizens' voices and enabling their active participation. They need a space where they can feel safe and stimulated to be part of the processes leading to change. Achieving this requires a different kind of communication and a different kind of thinking.

How to Develop an Effective Communication Strategy Communication must become an inseparable function in the management of the LG. In order to be effective, it is important to organize and streamline the work of the corresponding department or dedicated staff into a communication strategy. Here are the elements necessary to put together a typical communication strategy for an LG. 1. Analyze the current situation: Before we map out where we want our communication strategy to take us, we need to find out where we are now. It is also useful to contemplate how your strategy will contribute to the programme goals of the LG. Example: The municipality of City NN is concerned with the environmental situation, the ever increasing volume of the dump sites, and the low level of environmental consciousness of the population. It thinks about improving its waste management service and is introducing separation of plastic from household waste. This kind of separation

has never taken place before and citizens have had no practice.

2. Communication objectives: What do we want to achieve as a result of our communication activities?

Objectives must be clear, specific, realistic and measurable.

Example: The municipality of NN develops a communication strategy, the objectives of which are (1) to promote the separation of plastic bottles from household waste; and (2) to educate citizens about the damage that plastic causes to the environment and benefits of recycling.

3. Target groups (audience): What groups do we want our messages to reach (youth, large families, pensioners, residents of district ABC)? What are the best ways to reach them? We also need to analyze what their current habits and behaviours are, their level of awareness of the issue, their preferred way of getting information (from TV, chatting with neighbors), and whether they perceive certain barriers hearing, believing and accepting the information (see the communication model above for 'decoding' and 'noise'). The more we refine the description of the target audience, the higher probability for communication success (e.g. schoolchildren and housewives). It is crucially important to differentiate between internal and external audiences.

Internal audiences are:

Ă‚ Employees of the municipality Ă‚ Elected representatives of LG

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PART 1:

Introduction

The list of external audiences is longer:

 Citizens of the community. This is the primary audience for any LG and has different roles which the LG should take into account in their communication strategy: citizens as voters, citizens as co-producers of policy, or citizens as service users.

      Â

Local Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Media MPs and central authorities National organizations Local businesses Donor community

 We can help nature if we put our used plastic bottles in separate bins

 Encourage others to use special bins for only plastic bottles

5. Communication tools: These are the ways in which we get our messages across. The choice will depend on the preferences and the profile of the target audience (e.g. if for targeting local media a press release is a good choice, housewives will prefer TV ads during soap opera series). For a list of communication tools, advantages and limits of each of them6, see Part 3. In communicating a message, several tools can often be used. This is called a communication mix.

Others Example: The communication objective that the municipality of NN has set is quite ambitious and will target a large range of target audiences almost everyone in the city - but will place primary importance on housewives, children and local NGOs.

4. Key messages per target audience: What do we want each of the target audience to know? How we want them to change their attitude or behavior?

What do we want them to do in the result?

Example: The municipality of NN has developed the following key messages for its strategy:

 Plastic harms our environment, the damage is serious if it is not recycled and is dumped with other household waste

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Example: In order to reach its audiences, the municipality of NN used a communication mix consisting of the following tools:

 Public Service Announcements on local TV  Live talk shows on local TV with call-ins  Posters in public places  A popular brochure  Stickers on special bins for plastic  Telephone surveys 6. Evaluation: We need to think how will we evaluate our success, what are the performance indicators and evaluating measures that we want to use?

We must answer questions like the following to evaluate the success:

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Have we achieved our objectives (see step 2)?

Did we reach the right audience?

Did we use the right tool?

What is the result of our communication campaign?

Is there a good understanding inside the municipality about the communication campaign?

 What are the lessons learned for future activities?

Example: The municipality had estimated that 3 months would be required to implement the strategy. After that period, an evaluation of achievements took place where the success was measured using the following indicators:

 The population has comprehended the campaign's messages well, as the special bins for plastic are well-used and only for plastic bottles, as instructed during the campaign

 Tools that were used reached the target audiences  The survey shows that xx% of the population realizes the importance of separating and recycling plastic for the conservation of nature

 The feedback from citizens shows that the number of available bins was inadequate as they were not placed in all the neighborhoods of the town

 Citizens suggest that the capacity of the bins should be bigger for more economic efficiency

 More efforts should be made to work with children These findings will be taken into account by the municipality of NN in future activities.

Public participation Public participation is an important element of good governance. It is a process by which the citizens' input on matters affecting them is sought. The idea behind public participation is that those who will be affected directly by the policies and activities of the government can bring in their expertise, which should lead to a better, more solid, sustainable result.

Moreover, it is widely known that the legitimacy of state activities and the acceptance of new laws and regulations is increased by involving them in the development process.

In many European countries, public participation is used to decrease the gap between the government and its citizens.

However, in many of those countries, citizens participate less and less in the formal democracy: the percentage of people voting in elections is declining quickly. Furthermore, society changes: nowadays citizens are becoming more emancipated and independent, the accessibility of the Internet is increasing, a larger part of the population has higher education and the citizens are less persistent and less steady.

Therefore, governments are looking for ways to increase the legitimacy of their activities and the support of the population for certain activities and policies. For this, citizens' participation can be a good instrument.

In general we can conclude that public participation leads to:

 Better policy and a more effective implementation  Increased legitimacy of government activities  Active citizenship, which leads to a stronger democracy

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PART 1:

Introduction

Public participation is not a static notion: society and the demands of citizens are constantly changing and governments are challenged to find new ways to adjust public participation to these changes. The way public participation is implemented in a country or region depends on the state of affairs: examples from one country or region can not be copied to another country or region without taking into consideration the tradition and the culture of this specific country and region.

The participation ladder Public participation can be carried out in several ways and with the use of several instruments, ranging from basic to very advanced. The choice for a certain method and a certain instrument depends on the subject. In order to structure public participation, the so-called 'participation ladder' is often used5. The participation ladder consists of several steps: for our toolkit, we will distinguish three steps6:

Ă‚ Information Ă‚ Consultation Ă‚ Active participation However, other ways of categorising are possible. Also, ladders with 4, 5, 6, and 7 steps exist.

Public participation means contact with citizens. This can be individual citizens or specific target groups, like civil society organisations, trade unions, NGOs7, the private market, target groups for elderly, youth and disabled, and so on. It depends on the strength of civil society which groups or representatives governments choose to contact. Often,

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ordinary citizens lack the opportunity to take part in public participation, and in that case it is important to find NGOs which represent them.

The participation ladder we will use in this toolkit consists of three steps.

Active participation

Consultation

Information

Each of the steps represents a higher level of participation. For each level of participation a different set of instruments can be used (although there can be some overlap).

The most basic step is information, and, via consultation, we reach the most advanced step: active participation.

Information: Information is the basis for strengthening the relationship between the government and the citizens. Some countries developed a general law on access to information, others put these rights down in specific laws, and others have laid down the right to information in their constitution.

Countries also develop additional provisions for specific

policy areas, such as labour relations, environment, consumer protection and health.

Information should be given in so-called "clear language": it should be understandable for citizens who are not experts. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to "translate" draft laws and regulations into understandable concepts in order to make sure that citizens understand the subject and the content.

With the information level, in most cases the politicians themselves draw up the political agenda and decide upon policy development. They inform the citizens and NGOs about the process, the decisions and their considerations.

Citizens are seen as listeners. Information is a one-way activity: one party in the public participation process is informing the other party/parties.

In Part 3 you will find a detailed description of some methods and instruments for information.

Consultation: Consultation is a two-way activity: parties are brought together and exchange information, opinions, problems, solutions, practical experience and so on. We also consider feedback also as consultation: in its case there is an active approach from local governments to ask citizens for their feedback. In most cases, however, politicians decide by themselves the issues for the political decision-making process. Individual citizens and NGOs can be seen as discussion partners in the development process. The results of the discussions will sometimes be used as building stones for policy, and sometimes not. Politicians - in most cases -- don't bind themselves to the results of these discussions.

In Part 3 you find a detailed description of some methods and instruments for consultation.

Active participation: Active participation is the highest step on the ladder: the political agenda has - in most cases - been set by the politicians in cooperation with individual citizens and NGOs, and together they look for solutions. In the decision-making process, politicians can deviate from the contribution of the participants, but almost always, they need to explain8 this.

With active participation, the commitment of politicians is much larger than with the other steps of the ladder. All stakeholders act as equal partners in the public participation process. However, the politicians make the final decision.

In the Part 39 you find a detailed description of some methods and instruments for active participation.

Management of expectations is a very important element in the public participation process: citizens are often disappointed if they find out that nothing has been done with their suggestions and the interest in taking part of the public participation process decreases. Therefore, governments should, before they start to involve citizens, make it absolutely clear in which way they will use citizen input. Is there enough room to take citizens' ideas into consideration?

If, for example, there are financial limits, it is very important to inform citizens about this. On the other hand, governments could, together with the stakeholders, look for additional financing, which would be a part of the public participation process.

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PART 1:

Introduction

In any case, it is important to make clear what the political, financial and judicial framework is.

It is also important to always explain what input has been taken into consideration, what input has not, and why: explain, motivate, and tell the citizens what you did with their input.

Cultural change Public participation asks for a cultural change. As the OECD correctly mentions in its handbook, in order to really strengthen the relationship between the government and the citizens, commitment and leadership are vital elements for success. Without the commitment of politicians and civil servants, public participation will fail and policy development will be less effective and efficient. Authorities should understand the notion of public service: they should serve and meet the wishes of the citizens.

Free and fair elections, representative assemblies, accountable executives, and politically neutral public administration are all elements of representative democracy designed to ensure that government is 'for the people'.

At the same time, new forms of representation and types of public participation are emerging in all OECD Member countries (such as civil society organizations) and traditional forms are being renewed ( such as public hearings) to give greater substance to the idea of government 'by the people'.

Citizens as Partners, OECD

Of course, strengthening the relationship between the government and the citizens is not a guaranteed way to success, either. Public participation will probably make policy development more difficult because the opinions of the groups involved often differ and are even conflicting. It also might impose significant delays on the policy-making process. Besides that, it can be costly for governments. Such risks should, however, be compared with the negative effects and costs of not engaging citizens.

On the other hand, public participation also asks for adjustments from the citizens, interest groups, NGOs and everybody who is involved in the process. They should invest in increasing knowledge about laws and regulations as well as negotiating processes. There should also be enough members, employees or volunteers available who can really contribute to the public participation process: public participation costs time, money and human resources.

Finally, they should investigate the opinion of the group they represent on a regular basis.

1. The participation ladder was initially developed by S. Arnstein in the 'Journal of the America Institute of Planners', 35, 1969, 4, p. 216 - 224.

2. Also the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) uses these three steps in her Handbook, developed in 2001,.

3. In case we speak about NGOs, we mean all kinds of organizations, non governmental and private, which are partners in the process of public participation.

4. Arevik Harutunian, "From Panku Till Our Days", Yerevan 2008, Antares Publishing House 5. The participation ladder was initially developed by S. Arnstein in the 'Journal of the America Institute of Planners', 35, 1969, 4, p. 216 - 224.

6. Also the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) uses these three steps in her Handbook, developed in 2001,.

7. In case we speak about NGOs, we mean all kinds of organizations, non governmental and private, which are partners in the process of public participation.

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Part

2.

Participation and Communication in Practice

Introduction You can hardly separate participation and communication in practice. Methods, procedures or actors are usually similar for both. The most effective impact and success of participation or communication will come from the careful, thoughtful and explicit design of a participation/communication process. This part of the toolkit deals with such processes. First, we will describe essential parts of participatory processes8. Afterwards, we will provide you with a general approach to be applied to the participatory process. We can use a house construction analogy. The first chapters describe particular parts of a building (the roof, walls, windows, etc., in our case meaning the benefits and limits to participation, the selection of actors, the wide range of methods available, etc.). The chapter called "To design the entire process" provides a coherent design of the entire participatory process. The most valuable findings of this Part II are in linking the steps of the decision-making process with the levels of participation (and/or communication). In our analogy, it could be understood as the overall picture of the house. Each house is different, and you can hardly find two identical participatory processes, even if the main steps or phases will be evident.

Beside this, we also provide you with the basic rules and description of the legal framework, as well as resources and monitoring and evaluation activities.

Use this Part II to design your own participatory process, keeping the knowledge from this toolkit in your mind.

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Participation and Communication in Practice

Why we should deal with citizen participation?

Benefits and limits to citizen participation This chapter is mainly about theoretical background and deals with benefits and limits to citizen participation.

Theoretical explanation and few practical examples will help us to formulate an appropriate answer for a question asked above.

Generally, we can say: all members of the local community9 (citizens, entrepreneurs, interest groups, civil servants, politicians and others) can benefit from the well organized participatory process.

conflicts with particular public needs.

Entrepreneurs (e.g. local shopkeepers) can use an interactive decision-making process to present their activities and orientations to citizens needs.

Civil servants Government employees can use citizen participation to get important feedback. Most complaints and misunderstandings originate from the lack of information provided to target groups. Civil servants can use participatory process to provide all relevant information. Many of potential controversial issues or decisions are discussed and adjusted during interactive decision-making process.

Citizens Citizens get a better access to decision-making processes. They can express ideas, views and wishes.

Their arguments and opinions are heard and discussed with others. Citizen participation means new ways to become an active and useful member of the local community for most of them. Involved citizens can also gain insight into how decisions are reached.

They have a chance to change the quality of their lives and affect the problems they faced in daily life.

Finally, citizens can directly benefit from the decisions prepared by local government in cooperation with other stakeholders.

Politicians Representatives may present their readiness and openness to constituents (voters). Politicians get a more complex and clearer picture of the needs and wishes of different groups of people. It results in shaping appropriate ways of communication with particular stakeholders (mainly ordinary citizens) and provides a real chance to adjust policy planning more to the wishes of the public. It can help politicians to accommodate conflicting interests and building consensus among all involved partners.

Politicians can also demonstrate real transparency of the decision-making processes and their effort to seek for the best solution acceptable for everyone.

Business sector Businesses are able to receive new information relevant for future activities. Entrepreneurs can learn more about wishes and needs of the residents. They can also adjust their business activities to avoid

Ordinary citizens, politicians, entrepreneurs and others usually have own particular interests for engaging in participatory processes. Beside this we should be aware of a few general benefits of citizen participations:

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 High quality of decision-making process is one of the most important benefits. Substantial part of information is shared among all involved partners.

New and innovative solutions are discovered and large number of stakeholders can point out more intended and unintended outcomes and outputs.

 Participatory process is usually aimed at consensual decision based on compromises. Potential conflicts and protests are discussed during decisionmaking and implementation is easier and with higher public support and control. Such decision is practically more effective.

citizen participation supports representative democracy, even if it is based on aspects of direct democracy.

Citizen participation is not a universal remedy for all problems on local level, of course. We should be also aware of some limits of citizen participation or arguments we can heard against participatory approach:

 Only public authorities as professionals can make

accountable and legitimate for members of the community. Put simply, it is one of the steps from good government (decisions are not only made for people) to good governance (decision are made by people or in cooperation with them).

coherent decisions. On the contrary ordinary citizens haven't got required skills and information.

Even if citizens are not well-educated experts or professionals they can provide us with opinions and wishes. For instance, who is more relevant for naming the problems in a neighborhood than residents living there for many years or who can say what the young generation needs more so than youth themselves? Even more, if there is a lack of the information on the side of citizens, provided with the necessary information and education, they can be useful tools for reaching a goal of a system of quality governance. Ordinary citizens are not experts or professionals but they are always affected by decisions and they have to be engaged on a certain level of participation (e.g. formulate the assignment for experts, providing feedback etc.).

 Trust in democratic system and elected represen-

 Process can be misused by well organized or pow-

tatives are natural results stemming from the positives outlined. Politicians are real and open partners for ordinary citizens (not just unreachable or corrupted decision-makers). Civil servants are understood not as passive bureaucrats but as helpful servants who seek for the best solutions. Paradoxically,

erful interest groups. Although it is definitely true and many examples can be provided. Well-prepared participatory process and experienced independent expert can guarantee the objectivity of the process.

For instance, appropriate methods or organization of public meeting can prevent such manipulation.

 All involved stakeholders act with each other. They share information, opinions, personal views and wishes. Such human aspect of participation is more than important and helps all of them in community building. New relationships, friendships and understanding each other helps to form a more active and developed community.

 Participatory processes are more transparent,

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Ă‚ Interactive decision-making processes are longer and more expensive. Discussions and consensus building need time and resources, of course. You usually need a team of people to organize participatory process and many activities are usually implemented. But as we have already said, this implementation is aimed at a more effective and legitimate solution in the end.

Ă‚ Certain issues are not suitable for participatory approach. Be aware of criteria described in next chapter before you start with participatory process.

Some issues (such as public defense, justice or fighting with natural disasters) are not suitable for participation at all. Other issues are suitable only for certain levels of stakeholder involvement.

When is a participatory approach appropriate and what issues should be discussed with citizens?

Criteria for citizen participation In order to start a participatory project certain criteria should be met. These criteria relate to the issue on which the citizens are invited to participate (what), and the role of the organization that implements the project (when).

What issues are appropriate The outcome of a process of participation must have visible effects for the participants. It is important that: 1. The issue(s) selected for citizen participation fall(s) within the competence of local government: the

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city council must have the power to make a decision that reflects the outcome of the process. For example: EU membership may be an interesting topic for debate, but local government cannot do much about the outcome. It is better to talk about waste management or city planning.

2. After the decision, it should be possible to engage in practical activities within a set timeframe. If the participants in the decision-making process are going to have to wait for five years before any results become visible, this will be a source of frustration.

3. Local public interest is a precondition for motivating citizens to participate. So the problem must be of interest to the citizens (and not only to the Town Hall).

4. Differences of opinions about how to solve the problem should at least be a possibility.

When is participatory approach appropriate - the preparedness of the public authority Initiating a large public debate, and bringing it to a fruitful conclusion, demands a great deal of the organisers: The public authority needs to involve some enthusiastic supporters of the project, especially during the early phases. These people can foster support for the project among their colleagues, some of whom will regard the idea of discussing public policy with large numbers of citizens as a threat to themselves and to the establishment.

Active participation by public officials in surveys, public meetings, workshops and other activities is necessary to

ensure that the recommendations and plans resulting from the process are realistic and achievable, and can be implemented by the council or another governing body.

Local government must be prepared to invest some human and financial resources. It will need to reserve some staff capacity and funding in order to carry out the project, and especially to implement the actions or policies that result from it.

10 practical tips for a successful participatory process There are dozens of practical tips and tricks in organizing engagement processes. We will highlight just a few of them below. You should be aware of the following 10 tips before you will start with participatory process: 1) Start as soon as possible engaging citizens and other stakeholders. If you developed your own solution beforehand people will have no chance.

Commence interaction in an early satge even before you have a creal idea of teh potential results.

2) The local government should not commit itself to defending one point of view; show willingness to seriously consider all standpoints.

3) Be willing to hand over the project management to a coordination group consisting of representatives of citizens, NGO's and the Town Hall 4) Give citizens the chance to voice their frustrations; there might be old resentments which need to be vented before a constructive dialogue can start.

5) Have a listening approach, especially at the beginning; don't conduct personal or party politics over the heads of participants.

6) Develop new plans, don't only judge and discuss existing plans 7) Be clear about the purpose and rules of the participatory process 8) From the beginning express clearly what you will be doing with the results 9) Provide regular feedback concerning the results and next steps of the project to the community 10) Don't let the process carry on for too long; people will lose interest when the process turns into a never-ending discussion

Who should be involved?

Stakeholders of the decision-making processes The entire decision-making process is based on activity of its participants. Who should be participant of such a project? For answering this question, we have to explain the term stakeholders first. A lot of stakeholder definitions can be found. Let's use the most comprehensive one: Stakeholder is any individual, group or organisation that can affect or is affected by the process, project, programme etc.

Such broad definition divides all stakeholders into two groups: (A) influential stakeholders (they have power, knowledge, interests etc. to affect decision-making) and (B)

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affected ones (traditionally, they are not part of decisionmaking process, but they are subject to outputs or outcomes of the decision-making). Both these groups are very important in interactive decision-making. In fact, stakeholders are not a homogenous group. We should try to encompass (as much as possible) representatives of all particular interests, opinions, desires or streams of opinion etc.

A list of the stakeholders for every particular decisionmaking process is unique and depends on the issue and broader context. The overview below provides some inspiration for selecting stakeholders: If you think about stakeholders in local decision-making, consider including:

 Local politicians (elected representatives)  Administration (civil servants)  Representatives of regional government or state bodies (higher level of public administration)

 Representatives of civil society (organizations, associations etc.)

 Unorganized target groups (groups of people with significant needs and aspects not represented by any organization)

 General public  Representatives of interest groups  Representatives of business sector (small or medium local entrepreneurs, big investors etc.)

 Experts or other knowledgeable advisors  Local or international consultants  Etc.

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If you consider stakeholders, select them on the basis of their importance and impact rather than the size or activism of the stakeholder. Small or less active unorganized groups of citizens (e.g. handicapped people, youth, minorities, marginalized groups and others) are often less able to actively participate. But they are directly and substantially affected by decisions. Such stakeholders should be encouraged to participate and their voice needs to be heard.

Tracing the stakeholders can be described in two steps: 1) First, make a list of all potential stakeholders. This could be a quite long list with everybody you find somehow connected to the issue or decision-making. It is better to define more stakeholders (even if you find them irrelevant for your process later) than to miss someone. For selecting the stakeholders you should be aware of two principals: inclusiveness and representativeness. Inclusiveness means anyone that wants to should have real chance to be involved. Representativeness is usually based on the idea of intended selection of only the representatives of the target groups. The first inclusive approach aims at involving more individuals and ordinary citizens. The latter approach can be usually characterized by participation of organizations. In tracing stakeholders both approaches can be combined. You can enable real engagement for anyone who wants to and encourage some desired stakeholders to participate.

2) Second, try to differentiate stakeholders. You can set up several criteria and sort stakeholders along them.

For instance, you can distinguish stakeholders based on high-low level of their power in decision-making,

high-low level of affection by the decision, high-low level of their eagerness etc. Then, you can work more intensively with stakeholders directly and substantially affected by the decision etc. All stakeholders to an issue or project do not need to be involved equally at every stage of the decision-making.

How to carry out participatory process?

Techniques, Methods and Tools Most of the senior experts of citizen participation state that choice of appropriate techniques and methods is art rather than science. One method can be applied to a broad range of issues. On the other hand there is no universal method to be applied every time and on every issue. Some of the advisers make a substantial mistake - they prefer their favorite methods regardless on the issue, social and cultural context, phase of decision etc. Particular methods also need to be adjusted to given issue.

Organizers of participatory processes should be aware of what they want to achieve in each step of the process.

When the goals and desired effects for overall participatory process as well as each phase are settled, they can review the existing lists of techniques and methods.

You will find such a list in Part 3. Methods and techniques described here are grouped according to the particular aims and effects. The nature of each category is described, below: Methods and Techniques for INFORMING Informing can be understood as a one way communica-

tion process, when information flows from public authority to citizens and other stakeholders, it is essential to provide clear, comprehensive information on time. Information has to be accessible for everyone.

Consider passive and active ways of providing information. Passive way means providing information on demand.

The provider of the information ( public authority) passively waits for some activity of client ( citizen). The client first has to do something to get information (send a letter with questions, call to the information line, go and see official board etc.). On the contrary, the active way is based on proactive approach in providing information where the provider tries to deliver information to clients more or less directly.

Methods and Techniques for FEEDBACK Feedback is also one way communication process but information flows in reverse (from stakeholders to public authority). If public authority enables stakeholders to share their desires, opinions, comments of objections, it will help to formulate more consensual decisions. Passive and active approaches can be applied in feedback as well.

Methods and Techniques for DIALOGUE Generally, dialogue is a base of communication. It is always a two way process. Citizens and public authority talk to each other. Dialogue can be divided into direct (at the same time, on the same place, face to face), or indirect dialog. Dialogue provides space for clarifying all misunderstandings and finding the most appropriate ways of solutions.

Methods and Techniques for ACTION Action in this overview means all activities where stakeholders and public authority work together to suggest

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solutions or develop a draft of decisions. Using these methods you usually guarantee all important views, opinions or objections are discussed with each other and all involved stakeholders feel like owners of the final decision. They also usually will take more responsibility in implementing it.

Methods and Techniques for DECISION Such methods are usually used quite rarely. The nature of them is very simple - public authority transfers the power to make a decision to public.

A few tips for using methods:

Ă‚ Always try to combine several methods. If you rely only on one method, the risk of delivering wrong outputs is higher. Combination of several methods can help to overcome the disadvantages of each of them and test reliability of the achieved outputs.

Ă‚ Be innovative and creative in using methods. New methods can attract more attention just because it is something new. On the contrary people are sometimes less sensitive to common methods.

Ă‚ Prefer group work rather than a broad auditorium.

Managing or facilitating smaller groups (around 10 people) is always easier. It doesn't mean you should not organize big events for many people. Do it, but during the event form small groups of participants and provide them clear assignment for their group work.

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Designing the participatory decision-making process Phases of the process, best practices Each of us has to make dozens of decisions every day.

Some of the decisions are insignificant, but others can influence our lives substantially and for a long time. Most of the decisions we make can be labeled as individual ones. They are made by us and affect mainly us.

Even as individuals, we all live together as members of our community, national society or world civilization.

Human society is well-organized and individuals have to follow collective decisions or approved rules. This usually means somebody makes decisions affecting our lives. Such decisions can be classified as administrative and they often made by public authorities. For instance, decisions made by local government usually affect entire local community (e.g. launching the new system of waste management means to buy new dumpers, containers etc. But it will also require essential changes in resident's behavior or habits like separating waste). Well-developed democracies are based on idea of public service provided by all officials. To provide public service really means that elected politicians or civil servants should serve its citizens. The best way to serve citizens in decision making process is to involve them. Participatory approach is really inherent to democratic system based on the idea of public service.

We elaborated different aspects of participatory approach in previous chapters. Now, we will consider on how to build participatory approach in decision making process.

Almost every decision making can be explained as a sequence of several phases. We can find a lot of decision-

making models with a different number of such phases. We will use a 6-step model which is inspired by the decision making model introduced by the Council of Europe10.

1. In the AGENDA SETTING phase the issue is being analyzed and all problems related to this issue are considered. The issue and the commitment to address it both have to be accepted by public authorities. It is very important in this step to identify the right problems. If wrong problems are identified, wrong problems are also solved and results will not resolve the true issue. This process also includes ensures stakeholders are prepared as well as ways of continuous monitoring.

During this step, discussions are held about the problems in the community. It also gauges whether there is support for interactive policy making. It is especially important for city councilors and executives to support the concept of community participation concerning the issues that arise.

To ensure the success of the project, it is necessary to establish a number of ground rules. This is best done by committing the city to a document, which defines the objectives and activities of the project.

Advantages of involving stakeholders in this phase:

Ò Various aspects of the problem/issue are identified Ò Stakeholders are involved from the early stage and their commitment to contribute the solution is stronger

Ò Everything is open, there is still time to adjust entire process to the specific needs of different stakeholders Disadvantages of involving stakeholders in this phase:

Ô It is time consuming. The issue as well as the entire process needs to be explained to all stakeholders.

During the DRAFTING STAGE assessments can be realized and possible solutions are defined. Participants of the process can analyze the problems, propose solutions, or provide evidence for suggested solutions. Stakeholders definitely have own experience with the problem. Or even more often they have already think about the solution to the issue at hand. It means, they also can produce their own innovative solutions. Different points of view, desires and needs are essential in drafting possible solutions.

Advantages of involving stakeholders in this phase:

Ò Different points of view, desires, needs etc. are identified

Ò New innovative solutions can be suggested

Ò Stakeholders have a direct influence in solving the issue Disadvantages of involving stakeholders in this phase:

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Ô Different opinions or suggested solutions can be in a contrast to each other. Techniques of consensus finding should be applied in such a situation Most of the DECISIONS are made by political representatives. The procedures of decision-making itself are usually well-established and differ from country to country or level of the government (national-regional-local).

Decision-makers should evaluate different views and opinions (gathered in previous phases) and take seriously when choosing final decision. Decision-makers should participate in previous phases to understand the different opinions provided by particular stakeholders. Even if the final power of choice lies with the public authority, the reasons underlying the decisions have to be communicated to all stakeholders.

Advantages of involving stakeholders in this phase:

Ò Opinions or needs of stakeholders are taken seriously by decision-makers

Ò Rumors about approved decisions are eliminated, if decision-makers inform stakeholders and provide all arguments for the solution they choose.

Disadvantages of involving stakeholders in this phase:

Ô Limited possibility of stakeholders to influence this phase - it is in the hands of decision-makers Ways of IMPLEMENTATION vary depending on issue and nature of solution. Some of the decisions can be implemented only by public authorities (e.g. a new waste management system needs a strong official overseer). Other solutions can be implemented jointly with other stakeholders (e.g. reconstruction of park in the center of city as com-

32

munity activity where everybody can participate). If the stakeholders were involved in previous phases, their willingness and readiness to participate in implementation is higher and public support to such solution is evident.

Advantages of involving stakeholders in this phase:

Ò Stakeholders welcome implementation and they are ready to participate in it

Ò Voluntary work of stakeholders should be understood as additional resource

Ò Support for implementation in much higher Disadvantages of involving stakeholders in this phase:

Ô Disillusions of stakeholders if implementation is delayed or postponed Unfortunately, even if the solutions are implemented successfully, the issue is sometimes not solved. We have to properly EVALUATE and asses all outputs and outcomes.

If intended results were not realized, evaluation can provide solid base for reformulation of the decision (or policy).

Involved stakeholders can be very easily used as an evaluators and can also provide public control on implemented results. We should also distinguish between evaluation and continuous MONITORING. Monitoring has to be designed at the beginning of the process to provide permanent feedback in each step. Effective and transparent monitoring can ensure the process is running correctly and independently (e.g. it is not misused by any interest group).

Advantages of involving stakeholders in these phases:

Ò Stakeholders as recipients are the best subject for

evaluation or monitoring; they can judge if the decision helped them or not

Ò Being the subject of evaluation or monitoring, stakeholders will pay more attention to the process or implemented results Disadvantages of involving stakeholders in these phases:

Ô Interviewing or other direct methods of evaluation or monitoring can be annoying for stakeholders TERMINATION is the last phase and it can be accompanied by the closing ceremony. The problem is solved and even more important, the atmosphere and relations inside community are improved. The results of evaluation of the implementation can indicate some persisting problems or newly emerged troubles. All of them can be solved by REFORMULATION. Reformulation aims at initiation of a new cycle of decision-making.

Advantages of involving stakeholders in these phases:

processes. Both can be understood as two sides of a coin.

In every phase of decision-making process we can identify certain level of citizen participation. You should always be aware of the level of participation you want to achieve in each of decision-making process.

To visualize it we provide you with the matrix below. It links the steps of decision-making process with the levels of participation (and/or communication). Simply put, it illustrates the inter-related elements of participation and decision-making.

Different levels of participation (from bottom to top) can be reached in every stage of decision making (from left to right). For one process the levels of participation in each phase can vary.

Use such matrix to design your own participatory decision-making process. Just as an example we put dashed lines to describe trajectories of different process. Each participatory decision-making process is different depending on issue and other specific circumstances.

Ò Stakeholders find themselves as a real partner for the public authority Disadvantages of involving stakeholders in these phases:

Ô Previous

processes

exhausted them The final part of this chapter provides the most important findings of our toolkit. Participatory process and decision-making process are not two parallel

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One practical example from the Czech Republic: Engagement of citizens in updating the strategic plan of the city of Hradec Králové - an example of a project of citizen's engagement In 2003, the strategic plan of the city of Hradec Králové was up-dated. The preparation of the strategic plan was a complicated process involving many experts. Their task was to assess the existing development documents, analyze a business environment and a potential development of NGOs in the city, monitor the application of sustainable development principles in the new strategic plan, hold discussions on the future of the city and to prepare an updated version of the strategic plan in cooperation with other stakeholders. Many NGOs cooperated with Hradec Králové in updating the strategic plan of the city. One of them was Agora CE. Agora CE entered the process of updating the strategic plan of the city development with the objective to involve citizens of Hradec Králové in the preparation of the document. Agora CE proposed a procedure where each city citizen was offered participation in the updating of the strategic plan of the city development. The participation of the public in the preparation of the updated strategic plan was planned for the period between May 2003 and June 2004.

It was necessary to design an information campaign first. Agora CE, together with other expert partners, prepared a framework for the information campaign and cooperated in the selected events (preparation of posters and leaflets, information articles in newspapers, participation in press conferences, etc.).

The first major task of Agora CE was to prepare a public opinion poll. The staff of Agora CE based the opinion poll

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preparation on the already implemented sociological surveys, existing strategic plan and, in particular, on negotiations with representatives of the municipal office and various interest groups existing in the city. The opinion poll had two parts, a questionnaire and a telephone survey. Printed questionnaires were distributed to all households as a supplement to the newsletter Radnice ("Town Hall") (a weekly published by the municipal office and distributed free of charge to each household) at the end of September/beginning of October 2003. Filled-in questionnaires were put by the city inhabitants into prepared boxes placed all over the city. In addition to printed copies, the questionnaire was also available at the city web site where it could be downloaded by the inhabitants, filled in and e-mailed to the municipal office. The telephone survey was carried out at the same time. Municipal office staff as well as telephoned city inhabitants during several evenings and asked the same questions as in the printed questionnaires. The sample of inhabitants addressed by the telephone calls was randomized from the telephone directory. Each potential respondent received an information letter in advance notifying him or her of his or her random selection into this part of the opinion poll. The opinion poll contained 38 questions aimed at the further development of the city as well as at addressing the current problems of the city. The opinion poll had also a motivational and promotional function. Each questionnaire contained a return slip. Everyone filling in the return slip was later invited to attend other events.

The opinion poll was very successful. 1 904 filled-in questionnaires were returned (of approximately 45 000 distributed questionnaires) and opinions via telephone interviews were provided by 235 inhabitants of Hradec Králové (telephone calls were refused only by one quarter of

respondents). The total number of respondents taking part in the opinion poll was 2,189.

More than 400 respondents included their contact address and the municipal office sent them a personal letter of invitation for a large public meeting. Apart from that the invitation was published in local newspapers and posters were put all over the city. The large public meeting took place in November 2003 and it was attended by more than 200 inhabitants. The participants were first informed about results of the opinion poll and, after that, they discussed everyday problems of the city and suggested possible solutions. They recorded their inputs by using welldesigned forms. During the second part of the public meeting inhabitants were looking for an answer to the question "What should Hradec KrĂĄlovĂŠ become in 2020?". They were choosing among various visions of the city development and addressed major changes that should take place in particular parts of the city life. The public meeting was attended by politicians and municipal office staff. However, their main task was to listen to opinions of the inhabitants and to explain anything unclear.

Outputs of the public meeting and all other resource materials were used by the Steering Group when defining a vision of the city development and key areas of its further development. The Steering Group represented a supreme body in the process of updating the strategic plan and it was formed by approximately 40 representatives of various groups existing in the city (politicians, representatives of public institutions in the city, entrepreneurs, NGO representatives, etc.)

Another meeting called "With Citizens About The City Development" took place in January 2004. Its objective was to discuss the selected key areas of the city future within particular groups. Everyone could choose only two

areas and deal with them during the whole evening. First, citizens described pros and cons of the current situation in each selected area and, after that, they suggested a future situation, including measures to be taken. The meeting was attended by more than 60 inhabitants.

Particular chapters of the new strategic plan were prepared in terms of expert working groups on the basis of all resource materials (including those provided by the public).

The draft was presented to the public at another large public meeting in June 2004. Nearly 80 citizens arrived to discuss and comment on particular issues and proposed measures of the strategic plan in small working groups.

The updated strategic plan was approved by the municipal council during the same month and the municipal office started to prepare action plans fulfilling particular priorities of the strategic plan. The municipal office declared its willingness to engage the public in the preparation of action plans again. Entire process was systematically monitored by the Steering group. Steering group analyze the procedural as well as content-wise results of each activity.

For instance, participants of each activity (e.g. public meetings) were always asked to fill out short evaluation questionnaire to express their feelings about such event. Their opinions were considered in next step (e.g. changes in setting of next public meeting).

Final evaluation was done by external organization as a part of SEA process. Strategic Environmental Assessment is a process for assessing environmental effects of the proposed Strategic document. Assessment of process of creating the strategy (including involvement of stakeholders) was an integral part of the SEA process. A final SEA report highlighted the stakeholder's involvement and level of citizen participation.

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Participation and Communication in Practice

Resources Availability of relevant human, financial and technical resources can be very important in effective involvement of public in decision making process. Authorities should also generate an ability to coordinate and guide these resources.

Without necessary technical, human and financial capacities it will not be possible to build an effective relationship with the citizens and civil society in general.

What do we know about resources/capacities?

It is useful to make an inventory of resources that are available to the local government for proper involving citizens in decision making process. In more concrete terms this means:

   Â

Who is going to fulfill this or that task?

What materials and services need to be procured?

What is their cost?, Where human and/or financial resources can be found / involved?

Financial resources and costs: Normally, financial resources are available in the budget of government/local government bodies and earmarked for certain activities to promote government-citizen interaction. However, it is possible to involve funds from other budget lines such as administration lines or other financial sources.

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Public participation requires (additional) financial resources: information campaigns, leaflets, booklets, radio and televisions spots, organising debates, seminars and other fora, finding facilitators and moderators, all these activities require for resources. However, if you compare these costs with the total costs, it is just a small amount.

And not involving citizens and NGOs can also lead to high costs such as a loss of trust in politicians and democracy and less effective policies.

On the other hand, as said in the introduction, governments are constantly looking for new ways of involving in the public. In many western countries government make use of the Internet and ask the public opinion via questionnaires and chats, which is much cheaper than the more traditional ways of public participation.

Time: Involvement of citizens and NGOs takes time. It is important to plan extra time for public participation in the policy development process and time table. In some European countries the additional time is calculated from 8 - 12 weeks. Especially in cases of conflicting interests, advises and opinions, it takes time to gather all arguments and develop several options. However, in case public participation takes place, time can be saved in the implementation phase because there is knowledge (and support) at the side of the citizens and NGOs beforehand: it is widely known that the acceptance of new laws and regulations by citizens is much better, in cases where they were heard and their opinions taken into account.

Human Resources: Human Resources are not only the personnel and their

time available for implementing this or that task, but also their personal abilities such as education and knowledge, work experience, whether and how they need to be coordinated, and whether approval of higher executive authorities are necessary to obtain.

However, availability of corresponding resources is a necessary but not a sufficient condition. In order to build an effective citizen-government relationship, it is important to clearly formulate all issues, tasks and procedures (how, when and what should be communicated, and participation sought).

Indeed, human resources should match up to the goals which LG has set in involving citizens in decision making; LGs are often short of resources to do so, however. Here, LGs should demonstrate their creativity. For example, one can substitute one resource for another. If you have earmarked money in your budget but lack staff, you can hire service providers for some of the tasks. Increase the resource threshold by involving staff from other departments, as all departments benefit from effective citizen participation. More importantly, you can tap resources of local civil society organizations - NGOs, media, and others.

Another way of optimizing resources is setting priorities, as it is not possible to do everything at once. You should decide which groups you need to target in the first place-which groups are of high importance for the quality of your decisions.

Society is rapidly changing. This has consequences for the way public participation is carried out. In Western European countries the use of the Internet and mobile phones is increasing rapidly and governments are trying to find ways to use the new means of communication for gathering its population's opinion. New methods are developed and new target groups (e.g. youth) can be reached by the new means.

Overview of the Legal Framework The first law on local self-governance was adopted in Armenia in 1996, which stipulated the framework of rights and authorities of LG bodies and the right of citizens to participate in the decision-making process.

In 2001 Armenia became a member of the Council of Europe and was obligated to sign and ratify the the European Charter on Local Self Governance. (A box follows in which several important clauses of the Charter are bulleted.)

In 2002 a new law on local self-governance was adopted, making Council meetings open: any citizen can participate in such meetings. The Council may pass a decision to convene an executive session only in special cases, which should be adopted by 2/3 of the votes.

Another important form of local democracy is citizen participation in all stages of budgeting: executive preparation, deliberations by the Council, execution and evaluation. Armenian law on budgetary systems, amended in April 2003, addresses the fundamental principles of budget formation and declares its transparency. Specifically, the law states major principles of developing local government budgets. Among others, this includes transparency, which makes the budget process open to the public during development and execution. The law requires:

Ă‚ Publishing a draft budget in local media within 3 days after submitting it to local Council members and printing brochures containing major data on projected revenues and expenses, statistical data and charts

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 Publishing quarterly reports on budget execution in local press within one month

 Publishing an annual report on budget execution upon approval by the local Council within 5 days

 Ensuring that any citizen has access both to draft budget and to all reports In 2005 amendments were made in the constitution based on the result of referendum. Namely,

 Heads of communities are elected for 4 years (previously for 3 years)

8. Even if we use a term participatory process, we always consider communication as well.

9. Community in a broader way of understanding. Such community encompass all individuals, groups of people, institutions or organizations living, working or just being active in given area. All members of the community create a network of relations among others and they all are aware of existence of their community.

10. For more information see Code of Good Practice for Civil Society in the Decision-Making Proces, published by the Council of Europe in 2009.

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 The community development plan is now for 4 years (previously for 3 years)

 More transparent citizen participation via the publication of council decisions, local referendum

 Community heads now can be removed only based on the conclusion of the RA Constitutional Court

 Yerevan is designated as a community, nullifying its previous status as a marz In 2004 the Law on Freedom of Information was adopted, which stipulated the right of citizens to seek and receive information from the bodies that possess the information.

Part

3.

Methods

Introduction This part of the toolkit will be used by a wide range of practitioners. We provide you with a description of dozens of methods to be used in participation or communication. We always describe each method briefly and list its advantages and disadvantages. Practical tips are included, as are selected examples of the application of the methods.

Methods and tools described in this toolkit were collected all over Europe, and some of them will not be able to be implemented in Armenia as written. You should always adjust given methods to your needs and local conditions. Some of the methods may be too advanced to be used in the Armenian context. Do not despair-use them as inspiration for the future.

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Methods

In addition to the methods and tools described on the following pages, we would like to provide a few tips for better and successful work with people: 1. Always try to combine several methods. If you rely only on one method, the risk of delivering misguided outputs is higher. The combination of several methods can help to overcome the disadvantages of each of them and test reliability of the achieved outputs.

2. Be innovative and creative in using methods. New methods can attract more attention just because it is something new. Additionally, people are sometimes less sensitive to common methods.

Favor group work over a broad auditorium.

Managing or facilitating smaller groups (around 10 people) is always easier. It doesn't mean you should avoid organizing big events for many people. Do it, but during the event form small groups of participants and provide them a clear assignment for their group work.

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Mail merge (incl. e-mail alert) Citizen Information Centre Interviews/articles in media Interactive displays Board for providing information

Official Publication Board Short description:

An official board is the most formal way of providing information. Information is displayed on the board and placed in the public domain. Everybody can come and read the information. Published information needs to meet all language and bureaucratic requirements.

Advantages: Ò Usually, a low cost Ò Satisfies a legal requirement in many countries Ò Big formats (e.g. maps or plans) can be published on an official board

Limits:

Methods and Techniques for INFORMING Â Â Â Â Â Â

Official board Information telephone line Press release, Press conferences Leaflets, posters Town hall magazine Exhibition and presentations

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Î Only a few people use it as a information resource Î Only paper materials are able to be published Î Only paper materials are able to be published Î The presence of numerous documents on an official board is confusing Î Bureaucratic language is unclear to the general public

Practical tips: Î Try to link information on an official board with other channels

Î Provide optional information as well (e.g. references to more information, practical tips on how to interpret bureaucratic language)

Information telephone line Short description:

This telephone line can be reached by any person with access to a phone. Through this telephone line, any information connected with the subject matter can be obtained.

Advantages: Ò Clients will get all needed info on one telephone number Ò The information is general and easy to understand Ò Phone calls (person to person) are more human and pleasant for both sides Ò It provides almost barrier-less access if no charge is required

Limits: Î During working hours the telephone needs to be answered, without exception Î More complex information and more complex questions cannot be answered on a general telephone line Î If the costs of the telephone are not in the budget, there might be an affordability threshold for number of phone calls Î Phone lines can be overloaded at certain moments and clients would get angry

Practical tips: Î Let the costs of the telephone line be part of the

project budget Î Make a list of frequently asked questions and have some people who can answer more complex questions available (or put the list on websites) Î Always favor personal replies over automatic replies Î Promote it. Success of such a phone line depends on public familiarity with the phone line Î Try to provide feedback to citizen's inputs Example: Several Czech municipalities implement a system of special phone lines (e.g. a "Clean City Hotline"), where citizens can get info on waste management or the cleaning/maintenance of the city. Citizens can even send an MMS (pictures made by mobile phones) of messes in public areas. A reference number is attached to such MMS's and the municipality has to take care of it.

Press release, press conference Short description:

During a press release or a press conference officials can make a statement, underline a project's main ideas, solicit questions and provide answers.

Advantages: Ò Information is given with 'one voice' Ò Contradictory information is unlikely Ò Answering questions from the press is possible during the conference Ò Information can be given in a specific moment and place

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Ò Journalists can make official statements more attractive for readers (they can "translate" official language)

Limits:

Ò Leaflets and posters are attractive and can show the philosophy of the subject in words and pictures

Limits:

Î With questions from the press, it is possible that the spokesman could give wrong or incomplete information, which might not be sorted out

Î Only headlines and one-liners can be used

Î Journalists select the most attractive issues (especially the most controversial ones) for the general public.

Important or fundamental decisions can be neglected

Î Be aware of overloading the public with information. For instance, household post boxes are sometimes full of advertisements. Your leaflet can be easily lost among others

Practical tips: Î Try to provide as much as correct info as you can to journalists. If they have to seek information themselves, they can get imperfect information.

The municipality needs to the first one to provide relevant information Î Be aware of a press conference's location(in the boardroom of the municipality or at a place where a project takes place, for example). Î Be aware of journalists who speak foreign languages: don't focus on them too much, and first be clear to your own citizens

Leaflets, posters Short description:

On leaflets and posters, short information can be given to make citizens attentive to the subject. Door to door distribution of the leaflets can be the basis for a massive information campaign.

Î Information to which the leaflets and posters refer should be updated and accessible

Practical tips: Î It is important to use other streams of information in collaboration with leaflets and posters, like telephone lines, the Internet, magazines, websites, etc. Î Posters and leaflets should be always available in paper and electronic version Î Put it on places where people convene (like libraries, hospitals, etc.) Î Use organization within the city to spread out the posters or leaflets. Î Less information on the poster or leaflets is better.

The main purpose of such information tools is to attract attention, not to provide comprehensive information. Î Leaflets can be also added to newspapers or magazines to be delivered to readers

Town hall magazine Short description:

Advantages: Ò Creative leaflets and posters can easily raise awareness on the project or the subject

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This is a magazine edited and authored by the municipality. Information can be given daily, weekly or monthly.

Usually it is distributed for free to every post box in the city (as a service provided to the public).

Advantages: Ò Such magazines are written in understandable language. No expert terms or administrative language is used. Journalistic editing provides information in a popular way

(55.000 inhabitants) a town hall magazine edited every year after the town council has decided on the new budgets for the next year. In this magazine, it is explained what the new budgets are, what budgets decreased or increased and what arguments lie behind such actions. This magazine is distributed to every house.

Ò People know that the information is accurate Ò People know where to find the information Ò The information is easily accessible and available for everyone Ò More background information can be given, as well as comments and research material

Limits: Î Due to the preparation of the magazine, information can be outdated or late

Example: Most Czech municipalities distribute their information magazines for free. Such magazines are issued monthly or even weekly.

Periodicity, format and number of pages depend on every city. You can usually find their information about municipal decisions, details about public services, cultural or sporting events, etc. All information is provided in "normal" language and residents can understand it.

Î It is a quite expensive way of informing Î It is not an independent newspaper by nature. It only provides information from town halls in an understandable way.

Practical tips: Î Create a fluent line of information during the project so people are used to looking for the information in the magazine and it becomes a habit. Î Use some pages for commercial advertisement to get extra profit and make the magazine more sustainable Î The graphic design of the magazine should follow the graphic layout of the municipality.

Example: In the Dutch municipality of Hoogeveen

Exhibition and presentations Short description:

In an exhibition or presentation, information can be shown through panels with photographs, graphics, detailed information, etc. Models or video presentations can be presented as well.

Advantages: Ò More detailed information can be given Ò Creativity can be used in optima forma Ò There is a possibility of giving oral information to people visiting the exhibition and presentations Ò Visitors can give their comments, be they oral or written

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Methods Ò People can read it at their leisure and in their home

Limits: Î People need to be active to visit the exhibition and presentation Î Only a limited number of people can visit Î Initial costs of exhibitions are rather high (material costs of displays or panels, techniques for presentation, etc.)

Practical tips: Î Be aware of accessibility of the exhibition's location Î Be sure that there is enough light in the rooms Î Try to organize it as a joint exhibition. Partners of cooperating organizations can help you share costs and make a more attractive exhibition. Î Always make exhibitions interactive. Collect feedback from visitors. Î The opening session of the exhibition can be linked to another event (e.g a briefing or public meeting). Î 3D Models, videos, photos etc. are prefered

Mail merge (including e-mail alerts, SMS alerts) Short description:

This is a message to a target group who designated themselves as interested in the information or as members of a group to be informed. Through an e-mail alert the members know when there is new information in their mailboxes.

Advantages: Ò More detailed information can be given to a specific target group Ò It is very up-to-date

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Ò Sending e-mails is a very cheap method

Limits: Î People can only be reached when they have an internet connection Î There may be problems with contact information (wrong or incomplete e-mail addresses, etc.) Î You can encounter problems with the protection of personal information (sometimes given by law)

Practical tips: Î Always ask people for contact information and build a database of active citizens (you can use such a database in a future project as well) Î Use normal information canals to advertise for the mail merge and e-mail alert Î Be aware not to end in the spam box of the receiver

Citizen information center Short description:

All needed information is available in one spot.

Citizen information center staff can also provide clients with some additional info and practical tips to deal with a given matter.

Advantages: Ò Clients will get all needed information on one spot Ò If more agendas are covered, more complex services are provided

Limits: Î Running a citizen information centre can be rather

expensive (due to updating all of the information) Î Accessibility of citizen information centre for some target groups can be difficult

Practical tips: Î Some citizen information centre networks already exist. They can be used instead of establishing new ones.

Example: The Dutch municipality of Zwolle (100.000 inhabitants) creates a new area for housing in the city. To inform the citizens and potential builders, a citizen information centre is built on location, in the middle of the new area. In this centre information is available about planning, building regulations, plans, design, sustainability, environment, etc.

Interviews, articles in media Short description:

In interviews, information can be given in a more specific way and made easy readable. Mass media should be understood as partners to help us disseminate information.

Advantages: Ò Very efficient way of providing information. Usually attracts a lot of people Ò Interviews are nice to read for people, especially with well-known citizens Ò Journalists can conduct interviews to get to the core information relevant for the people Ò It is a nice way to present officials in more friendly

or human way (especially in radio interviews or TV broadcasting) Ò Can be attractive to people who, at first sight, are not interested in the subject, but are interested in their 'idol'

Limits: Î It can be too superficial Î Limited space for informing, especially in national mass media Î Political declarations can be stated only by the interviewed persons

Practical tips: Î Arrange interviews with widely known people, like celebrities, sportsmen and sportswomen, politicians, and businessmen Î Practical and day-to-day information should be provided by a person appointed to be a press manager/spokesman of the project.

Example: To give information about the new sports hall, a well-known sportsman gives an interview in the newspaper about the excellent possibilities and training facilities that will become available after the sports hall is created. This gets a lot of attention as the sportsman won an important medal shortly before the interview.

Interactive displays Short description:

Interactive displays are computers or computer-like dashboards where people can get information and give feedback.

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Methods

They are rather similar to internet portals, but mostly placed in public spaces.

Advantages:

aspects of disseminating information. All needed information is available with this board.

Advantages:

Ò The message can be given in a creative way Ò The time needed to get an overview is short, so it can easily be used in places where people are waiting and queuing

Ò Clients will get all needed information from a limited number of persons, and they know that it is official information Ò The information is authorized by the official board

Limits:

Limits: Î Be sure that the places are easy accessible

Î The board needs to be trusted by the clients

Î Rather easily subjected to vandalism

Î Only a limited number of people can be members of the board, which means a monopoly on information

Practical tips: Î Use well-known public spaces, like municipality halls, libraries, culture halls, etc Example: In the town hall of the municipality is a large display where citizens can see a video about the new sewage system that will be used in the new building area. How it works and what is new in the system is explained. Also, information is given on the costs and on the risks. It is only a short video, and at the end of the video citizens can push buttons if they have questions or want more detailed information on a specific subject of the sewage system.

Board for providing information Short description:

Specially-appointed persons are members of the board.

This board is responsible for the how, when and to whom

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Practical tips: Î Use an Official Board only in small projects and in situations where there is a basic trust in officials and/or government Example: The Dutch municipality of Raalte (29.000 inhabitants) wanted to create a new city centre.

An official board was established for communication with the citizens where they could get all the information they needed. The information was complex and difficult to understand. Through the board, the information was made understandable and transparent for the citizens.

Methods and Techniques for FEEDBACK Â Â Â Â Â Â

Surveys Interviews/group interviews/ focus group Phone interviews City panel Internet portal Open mailbox

Surveys Short description:

In surveys, a large group of people is asked to give feedback on several issues. This feedback is summarized and conclusions can be drawn for further use. There are several ways of conducting surveys. A very cheap way is a short questionnaire (just a few simple questions) distributed as a part of town hall magazines or on websites. Such surveys can be used as rough feedback from citizens. The most expensive methods of surveys are based on the assistance of sociologists and are aimed at representative parts of population. In that case you can get deep insight into more complex issues.

Limits: Î Too complex or technical issues cannot be included Î Questions can be misunderstood

Practical tips: Î Don't use too many open questions, it is more difficult to report back Î Be very clear in what you want to know, questions should be clear and closed - ask sociologists to assist you in survey. Î Try to combine different methods of interviewing people (e.g. questionnaire and interviews). It can help you provide a more comprehensive picture Î Use existing social networks to disseminate the surveys Example: To find out what people think about the newly proposed route for a new road, the municipality decides to execute a survey amongst the target group, i.e. citizens living next to the route, possible users of the new route like transporters, truck drivers, etc. The result of the survey is used to improve the design of the road.

Advantages: Ò Easy overview of feedback from a large group of people Ò Even if people are personally interviewed anonymity is usually guaranteed Ò Easy to summarize the feedback Ò The survey itself can be a source of promoting the issue or the project (if it is designed as an integral part of it)

Computerized telephone survey instrument: This is user-friendly software which allows the random selection of telephone numbers from an existing list. It automatically dials numbers and only requires the operator to place a checkmark next to the relevant answer. The survey instrument also provides an opportunity for the analysis of results. Standard statistical error is less than 5%.

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Methods

Interviews/group interviews/focus group

Î Use friendly environments and serve good coffee and tea

Short description:

Î Have more detailed information available on paper or posters

Through interviews, either individual, in groups or in focus groups, people can give feedback on content, information, planning, communication, cooperation, etc. These interviews are held by professionals, for example from the community or from NGO's. Such aqualitative way of getting opinions aims at obtaining deeper insights and better understanding of the citizen's opinions. On the other hand, findings can't be generalized to the whole population.

Advantages: Ò People can choose their own words and are not pushed into a format Ò Both verbal and non-verbal communication can give useful feedback Ò People can talk freely Ò The atmosphere in the group can give a positive impact

Limits: Î Too much information can be given, which will make it hard to summarize Î The atmosphere of the group can give a negative impact Î Not everyone likes to speak in a group

Practical tips: Î Start in group interviews and focus groups with interviewing people who are positive and thinking constructively, as this influences the whole meeting Î Make sure to organize the meeting with round tables, not people sitting opposite each other

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Î Make photographs to use for further communication Î Have it last no longer than 1 or 1,5 hour

Phone interviews Short description:

Interviews can also be done by telephone calls. Through calls, people are asked about their opinion. Phone interviews fall between surveys and interviews described above. You can usually reach a lot of respondents (e.g. hundreds of citizens), giving you a detailed picture. The feedback gained from these calls can be summarized and used for further steps.

Advantages: Ò People can speak one-to-one Ò More detailed information can be gained and the question behind the question can be asked Ò Deeper interviews can be arranged with some subjects

Limits: Î Only a limited number of people can be reached. If you want to reach more people, you will need more interviewers. Î It is a quite expensive method and special software is sometimes needed sometimes. Î Problems exist in creating a database of the sample. Land lines are used less and less often (young people prefer mobile phones). There is no proper phonebook of mobile phones.

Practical tips: Î Use well-known people to make the interviews, this gives a high attraction and people will be more eager to cooperate Î You can use the municipal building and its offices to call people Î Try to adjust time for the respondents - make calls in afternoons or evenings Example: A large municipality wants to get feedback on its proposal for a new policy on how to deal with retail in the city centre. The entrepreneurs and shop owners are called to give their feedback in a phone interview. The feedback is summarized and used for further decision making.

Advisory board Short description:

A small number of people (usually up to 20) are members of the advisory board. Several questions are given to this body for discussion and feedback. The advisory board exists of appointed members. These members are chosen because of their commitment, network, background, professionalism, etc.

Advantages: Ò The information obtained is mostly of higher value

'normal' citizens, as there might be a lack of support from the community. Î A misconception can arise that having discussed matters with the city panel, more discussion with citizens is not needed.

Practical tips: Î Make clear to the citizens why you use a city panel, and that it is not the only way to communicate with citizens and get feedback from them Î Give a lot of publicity to this city panel and the people who are members Î Be sure that the members of the city panel have enough support from the community Î The advisory board can be established for specific groups of residents. For instance, youth in the city can form a youth parliament with the format of an advisory board.

Example: The Dutch municipality of Apeldoorn (155.000 inhabitants) installs a city panel of engaged citizens to get feedback on the new proposal for regulations of credit loans for equipment for handicapped people. The city panel consists of young handicapped citizens as well as older people using this equipment. Through the city panel, the municipality gets important information on how the new regulations could work out, and uses the feedback to make the regulations more tailor-made.

Ò Discussions can take place among people who know what they are talking about Ò The communication group is limited

Limits: Î A gap can exist between this city panel and the

City panel Short description:

A number of people are members of the city panel. The

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Methods

size of city panels differs (it can range from 20 to 100).

Members of the panel are selected from the ordinary citizens. Methods of their selection differ. They can be selected randomly or their selection can meet certain criteria (e.g. age, proportion of males and females, minority representation, etc.). A city panel meets several times a year and provides feedback on municipality work. Members receive needed information in advance and during each meeting they can comment on the work of the municipality.

Advantages: Ò A mixed structure of members on the panel can guarantee a variety of different opinions Ò It can provide in-depth feedback for a municipality Ò Members of the city panel can spread out the information from the municipality Ò Members are still typical representatives of general public, but they get more in-depth views of municipality work

Internet portal Short description:

An internet portal is a website or a part of a website where specific information on the subject can be obtained.

This portal is linked with the ability of website visitors to give feedback, chat with representatives of the municipality, complete questionnaires, share important information, etc.

Advantages: Ò People can give feedback in moments when it is comfortable for them, 24 hours per day, 7 hours per week Ò Statistics can be interpreted from the number of visitors to the portal Ò Visualization and other graphic effects enable easy sharing of information Ò It is a rather cheap way to get feedback

Limits: Limits: Î Members of the panel should be replaced from time to time. Changes in the panel (especially in incorporating new members) are expensive Î Members of the panel can be misused by particular lobby or interests groups

Practical tips: Î Set up clear and transparent procedures for selecting members of the city panel Î Try to motivate members of the panel by small awards Î Give a lot of publicity to this city panel and the people who are members

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Î Some groups of citizens have limited access to the internet Î Specialists as well as administrators need to be hired to maintain and update the portal. Î The organization of how to deal with feedback responses should be clear before the portal is opened

Practical tips: Î Use internet as a multipurpose tool (not just for providing information) Î Make links to your portal, and use your portal to provide links to other relevant websites Î See what information is already available and use

these channels. Try to avoid opening new channels that should be maintained

Example: A big fire happened in a municipality.

This caused a lot of damage and a lot of commotion amongst the citizens. To give them responsibility to react on the happenings, the municipality opened a mailbox where people can leave a message about their feelings, problems, thoughts, etc.

Example: The Dutch municipality of Groningen (180.000 inhabitants) uses an internet portal to inform dog owners about the new proposal for a policy on the places where people can walk their dogs with and without leashes. Through a letter these owners are invited to visit the internet portal and leave their opinions in a related mailbox.

Methods and Techniques for

Open mailbox Short description:

This is an internet facility where people can leave their feedback in a format that is readable for anyone. It is like a discussion forum.

Advantages: Ò Easy to make and easy to maintain

      Â

Round table conference Public meetings Public debates Happening event/festival City walk On-line conversation/internet forum Chats

Ò Nice way to have discussions on the internet, readable for anyone

Round table conference (RTC)

Ò People can use anonymous names and give feedback you would not hear in a different way

Short description:

Limits: Î An organizer who takes care of the level of feedback is needed Î Be careful of harsh reactions, using spiteful words, discriminating words and threats

Practical tips: Î Don't pay too much attention to the reactions

This is a meeting in which people are not sitting opposite each other--everybody is seated at a round table regardless their organizational position. All members of the discussion are equal to each other (citizens have same rights to provide arguments or ideas as public officials, experts, etc.).

Advantages: Ò In situations where there is a lot of distrust or discussions about who is more important than the next person, it helps to focus more on the content of the discussion and on the solutions

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Methods

(remember King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table) Limits: Î The number of participants is limited. If more than 15 people are participating in a round table discussion, it becomes very difficult

Practical tips: Î Invite only a few people Î If more people are coming, organize several parallel discussion tables. People can have discussions at several tables and each table can also focus on certain aspects of the issue

Limits: Î If there is a lot of opposition on the subject, it can be a very offensive atmosphere, 'the group' against 'the individual' Î Not everybody is eager to speak in public Î Well-organized interest groups can dominate the discussion Î Natural speakers can take advantage of natural listeners, which gives an overestimation of their opinion

Practical tips: Î Make sure everybody can hear and see everything, so have good communication assets

Î A good facilitator can lead the discussion and help the group to reach desired results

Î Have a good facilitator who can de-stress the atmosphere

Î Be flexible, as things can change during the meeting

Î Serve good refreshments, create a pleasant working atmosphere

Public meetings Short description:

In public meetings people are invited to get information about the subject and to give their opinion in public. It is open for anyone who is interested. There can be several formats for public meetings, from the more formal (especially focusing on providing information - e.g. briefing) to very interactive (as already mentioned RTC).

Advantages:

Î The place, date and time need to be convenient to participants Î Openly declare the goals and timeline at the beginning of the public meeting. Î Publicity and invitations of public meetings are very important. You will never get a good public meeting without enough participants

Public debates Short description:

Ò A lot of people can be reached and informed in a short amount of time Ò You can give a lot of general information and people can react immediately Ò Direct communication between citizens and officials creates more trust

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Public debates focus on the exchange of ideas and debating about them. Several panelists are invited to provide basic information or different opinions. Afterwards, everyone can ask questions, and provide his/her opinions or react on another's opinions.

Advantages: Ò As people already know about the content, more time and energy can be put into debating about the subject: about solutions, possibilities and threats Ò Each debate can have its best-fit auditorium (e.g. if you organize debate for young people, you can place it in a music club) Ò An auditorium as a natural part of debate can make discussion more lively and target-oriented

Limits: Î The number of participants in a public debate can be high, but the number of participants in the actual debate (the people debating)can be limited.

Many people come for the 'show' Î An experienced moderator should be hired to facilitate public debate with the active role of auditorium.

Practical tips:

the subject. Events also attract many visitors. You can use their presence and start providing information, discussing solutions, recruiting new members to working groups, etc. A pleasant and relaxed atmosphere can help to address controversial issues in more constructive way.

Advantages: Ò Very good way to raise a lot of public awareness Ò Good way to find support for your statements, opinions, and ideas Ò Short surveys can be held Ò Signatures can be collected, be they pro or con

Limits: Î Make sure that everything is well organized. Bad organization gives bad publicity to the subject and organizers, and can draw the attention from the subject to the organization Î The event could be superficial

Î Have a good facilitator with humor

Î People will come for the event and not for the subject

Î Have good communication assets

Î Participants of the happening event should not be understood as a representative sample

Î The room should be big enough to give people a place to sit Î Invite relevant and attractive guests (decision-makers, experts, opinion leaders, etc.) Î Place, date and time need to be convenient to participants Î Serve good refreshments, create a pleasant working atmosphere

Events / festival Short description:

During an event or a festival a lot of attention is drawn to

Practical tips: Î Have a lot of happenings for the children, they will take their parents with them Î Do not exploit people by serious discussions or work, find an appropriate balance of work and fun Example: To introduce a new ticket for public traffic, the public transport organization organizes a large event. A lot of exposure is generated, due to the fact that a well-known pop star will give a mini-concert.

Through bill boards and information in the press, a large group of interested people is reached. For chil-

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dren there are small events, there is music, places to eat and drink and in the meantime information is given to the public about the new system.

City walk/site visits Short description:

The general public, public authorities and other stakeholders walk together through the city. They visit places related to a given issue and discuss the issue and possible solutions on the spot.

Advantages: Ò It helps to see the reality of the situation. Ò All aspects of the issues can be discussed directly at the spot where it happens Ò Real situations can support the imagination and creativity Ò Walking together through the city is fun and helps stakeholders understand each other Ò It is more attractive and active than just sitting in a meeting room and talking

Limits: Î The capacity of groups walking together (if there are many people, just form several small groups to walk independently) Î Weather conditions can affect the city walk

Practical tips: Î Announce the city walk in advance and also publish the itinerary. Some people may join you on the way Î Organize a city walk for an issue and the needs of participants (not your own needs)

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Î Take some input materials with you (short reports, analyses, plans, etc.) Î Record all comments and opinions. Make a summary at the end of the walk.

Example: To have a public debate on the draft list of the monuments in the city centre the municipality decides to use the tool of a city walk with all interested partners and citizens. During this walk, it is explained why the buildings have monumental value and what their place in the rest of the public space is. Citizens can ask questions of architects and historians, and can get a better understanding of the situation. Also during the walk, the debate can go about the different opinions on the proposed list and the value of the buildings.

Online conversation/internet forum Short description:

People can use internet to find other persons interested in the subject at hand. If this is done group-wise, other people can join in and react to each other. Opinions are readable by everyone, and everybody can react. Online tools can also be used for collecting serious comments or objections to certain solutions. It can help to address all pros and cons.

Advantages: Ò Easy accessibility for people who have the internet Ò 24/7 accessibility Ò You get a nice overview of all different existing thoughts Ò Low costs Ò More transparency and openness - all information remains accessible for everybody

Limits:

Advantages:

Î People who are more into speaking than writing will not join

Ò It is a good opportunity to exchange thoughts and debate with other people

Î Discussions can become very detailed and only between two specialists

Ò A lot of awareness can be risen with well-known participants

Î Lack of direct moderating interventions

Limits:

Î Well-organized interest groups can dominate online discussions

Î The capacity of the server can be limited, so when there is a lot of traffic during the chat, the lines may break down and the result may be rather negative

Î People might react anonymously, which gives them the chance to

Practical tips:

Î Limited control of quality and politeness

Practical tips:

Î Be aware that the result can be rather small. It can mean just a few valuable comments or ideas among dozens others

Î Have some well-known people available to raise awareness

Î Always combine it with other online tools (e.g. questionnaires, voting).

Example: To debate the new tax proposal for waste, the municipality starts an online conversation. Several people join and tell their opinion.

From this debate it becomes clear to the municipality that they should include parts of the municipality that lie outside the city borders in the tax proposal. This was initially not included in the proposals, but due to the internet forum, the focus was put on it.

Chats Short description:

In chats people can chat with each other in order to exchange opinions and debate about them.

Example: At the introduction of a new magazine chatting is used to raise awareness. Citizens can chat with politicians or well-known actors or singers to express their opinion and ask questions.

Methods and Techniques for ACTION Â Â Â Â

Workshops Planning weekend Citizens work groups Town hall committees

Workshops Short description:

Workshops consist of people who work together to

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achieve a certain goal. The start and end of this cooperation is clear. The chairman of the workshop guides the workshop and is responsible for the order, the agenda, the planning and the output. The result is, of course, the responsibility of all of the participants. In workshops, a variety of solutions can be achieved. Creativity is one of the key items and principles. The setting is rather informal and principles of partnership and equality of participants prevail. Workshops are rather short and are one-shot.

Advantages: Ò If the problem is clear, solutions can be worked on together with professionals Ò Different variations can be worked out Ò The building of a network among different stakeholders can be easier Ò Different professions can influence each other and more unconventional solutions are possible

and, because of the close cooperation and the open atmosphere, there is a lot of commitment for the plans.

Planning weekend Short description:

In a planning weekend different stakeholders come together to work on the problem. Due to the short time available, the need to come up with a result stimulates more creativity and participants are eager to cooperate to have a result. Most of the activity is dedicated to participants.

Experts (e.g. architects or planners) stand behind and follow participants' discussions or actions. Weekends are the most appropriate time for such a planning event. It provides a lot of time to analyze and assess the current situation and work out ideas for the future (e.g. what the city park will look like).

Advantages:

Limits: Î It is very time consuming Î Only a limited number of people can take part Î It needs a lot of preparation

Practical tips: Î Invite only a limited number of people (more than 8 is not efficient) Î An experienced facilitator is needed Î Have materials available that stimulate creativity

Ò It can be rather efficient, within a short time a lot of creativity is likely Ò Due to the time limits the planning weekend has the effect of a pressure cooker, which enlarges the possibilities of having a result Ò Open and relaxed atmosphere Ò Some planned events can follow planning work

Limits: Î It needs a lot of commitment from participants Î Participants need to stay till the work is finished

Example: For the design of a new construction area, the workshop tool is used. Together with designers and citizens, the design is prepared.

Within one day several variants are designed

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Practical tips: Î Find a place with nice surroundings to stimulate people

Î Be aware that due to the decrease of energy of the participants, they might try to leave and go shopping, so find a rather remote place Î The best way is organize it outside directly on given spot (e.g. under a big tent during the sunny days) Example: Instead of having a one-day workshop the same work can be done in a planning weekend. Due to the fact that it is in a wonderful place the cooperation is great, people are very creative and active and the result of the elaborated design for the new construction area is very good.

Citizen work groups Short description:

Members of the work group are appointed by the decision-maker to analyze issues and formulate solutions. Work groups meet several times to provide decision-makers with comprehensive and high quality input. Representatives of different stakeholders are members of the group. Work groups act as respectable bodies for public authorities and are based on partnership work (all members are equal and all opinions are discussed) Advantages: Ò More complex and serious issues can be solved by work groups Ò Its output can be directly adopted by decision-makers Ò Any particular interests can't dominate the input due to the wide range of involved stakeholders Ò More wishes, needs and opinions are considered in discussions of the work group

Limits: Î Limited resources are available for work groups (time, material, human, etc.) Î Independent and objective facilitation of work group is needed

Practical tips: Î The number of work group members should not be higher than 20. If more people are involved, try to initiate small team work inside the whole work group. Î Always try to collect contact information of active people. You can ask them later to be a member of another work group Example: For the discussion of the location of a road near the city, a citizen work group is established. Under the guidance of professionals all issues are covered, like safety, noise reduction, environmental sustainability, connection of other roads to the new road, etc.

Town hall committees Short description:

Town hall committees are committees where people are invited by the municipality to the municipality hall to debate and react on proposals and solutions. The setting is rather formal. Compared with citizen work groups, such committees are long-run and are not so flexible. On the other hand, core competencies of committees are higher.

Advantages: Ò Due to the formal setting, debates and discussions are more regulated

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Ò More respectable outputs

Limits: Î Creativity is not stimulated much Î The location (i.e. the town hall) can be an incentive for people to come Î Political influence can be more evident

Practical tips: Î Have professionals available to support the debates with material, input, research, etc Example: A town hall committee is established to discuss new municipal regulations for subsidies. In the committee, all partners involved exchange ideas and come up with new proposals to find a solution for limited budgets. The people involved mainly are board members who get subsidies.

Methods and Techniques for DECISION Â Â Â Â

Referendum

answer chosen can be either yes or no. A referendum is usually held only on a single issue. The result of a referendum is taken into account by the final decision makers.

Advantages: Ò A transparent and unambiguous decision made directly by citizens Ò The campaign to start the referendum can raise a lot of awareness Ò Some referendums are obligatory in the results (nobody can change result of referendum), some referendums are just consultative (they provide feedback to decision makers)

Limits: Î The results are always discussed either by the losers or the winners Î The people active in organizing the referendum can easily lose their motivation when they see how decision-makers deal with the results Î Formulation of the key question can affect the result of referendum Î It is a rather expensive tool

Practical tips:

Election

Î Always use closed questions

Citizens jury

Î Combine referendums with elections (costs will be reduced)

Neighborhood committee

Referendum Short description:

In a referendum, a proposed solution is put forward.

Citizens can vote on paper what they think about it. The

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Î Have the debate on formulation of the questions before they are put in the referendum Example: As there are two variants for the new road, the town council decides to get the opinion of the citizens by staging a referendum. The two

variants are explained and pros and cons are written down. Through citizens voting for one of the variants, opinions can be quantified. With these results the town council decides on either of the two variants.

Election Short description:

Through an election, the different variations for solution of the problem can be put forward and voted on. Different candidates represent different solutions or ideologies.

Advantages: Ò The result is a clear answer, yes or no Ò It puts an end to endless discussions

Citizen jury Short description:

The citizen jury is a group of citizens who decide on what the best solution for a problem is. The setting is formal and debates are in public.

Advantages: Ò The chance for trust in the result is larger as jury members are part of the society

Limits: Î There is no democratic posturing for the jury; they are not elected by the people as the members of the town council are, for example Î The voice of few can have impact for many

Practical tips: Limits: Î It happens in certain period (e.g. every 4 years)

Î Let the citizens themselves elect members for the jury and don't have them elected by the authorities

Î Problems exist of selecting particular candidates or voting just for parties

Î Try to find key persons from society

Practical tips: Î Be transparent in who is elected and why Î Make the election in public, so people can follow it and see how it is done Example: In the building of a new school there are two final variants. Through an election the citizens can vote for which of the two variants they favor. The variant with the highest number of votes will be proposed to the town council, who will have the final decision.

Example: The municipality installs a citizen jury for the proposal of a decision for the names of streets. In this citizen jury several proposals are discussed. Members are professionals with, for example, historical background. The jury comes up with a proposal for the name of the streets and the town council has the final decision.

Neighborhood committee Short description:

Municipalities can delegate responsibility to manage

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some public affairs to certain group of residents in given area (e.g. on outskirts of the city). Local communities can, through neighborhood committees, manage the issues of the locality themselves. Certain budgetary or other resources are transferred to such a body.

Limits: Î Means and responsibilities to be delegated to committee is limited Î Money or other resources can be misused Î The manner of electing committees has to be discussed and controlled

Advantages: Ò People in small communities can manage some of their affairs themselves

Practical tips:

Ò Committees can react immediately and are in daily contact with the community

Î It is an ideal method for maintaining public areas (parks, playgrounds, etc.)

Ò Social control or informal respect to members of the committee exists

Biblography

Arnstein, Sherry. A Ladder of Citizen Participation, Journal of the American Institute of Planners (35) 4:216 -24, July 1969 Wates, Nick: Community planning handbook, London, 2000 Citizens as Partners – OECD handbook on information, consultation and public participation in policy-making, OECD, 2001 Citizens as Partners – information, consultation and public participation in policy-making. OECD 2001 People & Participation – How to put citizens at the heart of decision-making. Involve, 2005 The Public Participation Manual. Austrian Society for Environment and Technology, 2007 Harutyunyan, Arevik: From Panku Till Our Days, Yerevan, 2008 (in Armenian) Community Finance Officers Association, Reform of Local Self-Governance in Armenia, Report (in Armenian) Basics of Integrity in Commuity Service, OSCE (in Armenian) Handbook for Municipal Politicians, Moscow, 2009 (in Russian)

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