Examining Participatory Governance in a Devolving UK: insights from national parks policy development in Northern Ireland

This paper provides a contemporary examination of policy making and participatory practice in the context of devolving governance in the UK. The paper takes Northern Ireland as its focus and is particularly timely considering the context of devolved governance, the ongoing transition from conflict to relative peace and the potential for rejuvenating democracy through participatory
governance. The paper concentrates on one particular policy process, namely the attempted designation of a national park in the Mournes Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A thematic analysis of qualitative data is drawn upon to analyse the structural factors that framed the policymaking process, in particular the role of power in determining how consultation processes were 2 initiated, designed and undertaken. Using Lukes’ model) as an analytical framework, power is shown to manifest at multiple levels within the policy-making process to influence policy outcomes. The paper reveals how the persistence of a top-down approach to policy development combined with a highly parochial political outlook undermined attempts to designate a Mourne National Park. The paper concludes that, given the immaturity of recently devolved government in
Northern Ireland, in this instance, the democratising intentions of devolved governance have not been met. This has implications for Northern Ireland’s recent reform of public administration which devolves certain planning powers to local authority level and the management of the internationally significant Mournes landscape.

Interplaying user roles in e-government design : a participatory good governance perspective

The interplaying roles among the user groups must be adequately-mapped to fulfil the design needs of Egovernment applications. In previous studies, the design of citizen-centric e-government and its theoretical understanding is still limited in relation to the requirement of engaging malleable features for supporting all relevant users’ roles in governing bodies. Operationalising IS theories to improve the design of e-government application has been a much sought-after objective. Yet, there is a lack of actionable guidance on how to develop e-government application that exhibits high levels of users’ engagement through malleable features. Under a participatory good governance perspective, the paper reports a qualitative study and identifies requirement of malleable provisions to support the interplaying roles among users in a case demonstration of extensional service delivery in government. While service content describes the features available on an e-government application for assisting user groups in completing their support services.

Formative evaluation for improving collaborative planning : a case study at the regional scale

In an earlier paper (Cameron & Johnson 2004) we introduced the idea of formative evaluation (or evaluation for development), the purpose of which is to provide information for improving planning programs and activities. This type of evaluation differs from the two other types: outcome evaluation which aims to judge the success or otherwise of a program; and evaluation for knowledge which seeks to contribute to theoretical work on planning processes and activities. In the earlier paper we also outlined the first stage of formative evaluation in the SEQ 2021 regional planning exercise showing how the process of planning for community engagement was modified in light of the evaluation findings. This current paper details the second stage of formative evaluation in which the collaborative planning component of SEQ 2021 was evaluated, as such it further demonstrates how formative evaluation can be used to improve planning programs. The evaluation findings also provide insights into strategies for more effective collaborative planning. We begin with an overview of collaborative approaches to regional planning, including the SEQ 2021 regional planning program. We then outline formal and informal evaluations of various collaborative regional planning exercises, including the predecessor of SEQ 2021 - SEQ 2001. This sets the scene for discussion of the approach used to evaluate the collaborative component of SEQ 2021. After outlining the main findings from the evaluation and the ways these findings were used to refine the collaborative planning process we conclude with a series of recommendations, relevant not only to SEQ 2021 but to other collaborative planning exercises

'Nobody but a bunch of mothers' : grassroots activism and women's leadership in 1970s Melbourne

This group biography draws on oral history interviews to show how crucial women's leadership was to Melbourne's urban protest movement in the 1970s. Inner city resident's action groups were characterised by a high degree of participation by women. For most it was a radicalising experience as they became involved in action for the first time in their lives. Their involvement in local action and politics contributed to the development of more open and participatory governance focused on community building and environmental issues.

Identidade e participação da comunidade rural nos processos de desenvolvimento local:desafios e competências do regulado de Nhambita-Moçambique

This thesis is defined as a reflection on the mechanisms of expression and insertion of the homo situs in the participatory governance in Mozambique. For a better understanding of this social fact, it was settled a periodization which covered the decline of colonialism at the time of the independence, which was proclaimed in June 1975, the civil war that lasted over 16 years and the period of the democratic State, further established. Therefore, we sought to understand the mechanisms and failures of the participation of the homo situs in local development projects that absorbed the needs and problems of these peasants, not mobilizing the skills and social competences of these communities. It would be essential for the homo situs a genuine democratic practice involving a political culture based on the social construction of the territories of the traditional man which was characterized by being procedural and historical, finding in participation its higher base. In this context, it would be desirable that the community development in Mozambique could contemplate and respect the choices of the homo situs. For this purpose, it would be fundamental the consistency between theory and practice, which builds and rebuilds, continually the competence of the peasants, facilitating the possibility of realization of their primordial aspirations. In the research, it became apparent that there is not a continuous process of participation of the rural communities, which appear as participants, only at the time of the implementation of the activities. Therefore, even having the participation of the communities expected by the law, with predictable moments of discussion and necessary conditions for that, the State failed to establish an ongoing process of democratic dialogue with traditional populations, as well as it failed to organize, properly, accurate informational bases to help solve the problems of rural areas. These facts have led to obstacles to the process of conquest of the human and civil rights of the traditional communities

Territorial administrative reorganization as a strategy for optimizing the structure of local government

Through the tough economic and social situation and the lack of values that has been experienced in recent years, local governments especially in Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain have been forced to strongly consider the structure and size of their public sector. Despite some initiative to reduce the number of municipalities and provinces, little substantive progress has been made in improving the management of the local public Administration during this crisis. In this study a territorial administrative reorganization is proposed as a strategy to optimize the structure of local government, analyzing the Spanish situation in general, and an autonomous community in particular.

Desencontros legais e morais na pesca artesanal: a Educação Ambiental política para a transformação socioambiental em Rio Grande/RS e São José do Norte/RS

A dissertação intitulada “Desencontros legais e morais na pesca artesanal: a Educação Ambiental política para a transformação socioambiental em Rio Grande/RS e São José do Norte/RS” busca analisar a compreensão das comunidades de pescadores artesanais do Rio Grande e de São José do Norte acerca de aspectos do desencontro entre as normas legais pesqueiras e as normas morais daqueles atores sociais, e os reflexos na conservação do meio ambiente e no exercício da cidadania ambiental, a fim de colaborar, por intermédio da Educação Ambiental, com o fortalecimento dos pescadores para a reversão do atual quadro de crise social e ambiental vivenciada na pesca artesanal da região, bem como para refletir sobre a ineficiência das regras legais aplicáveis no estuário da Lagoa dos Patos. Para tanto os objetivos foram estruturados de forma a investigar os aspectos do desencontro mencionado; analisar seus reflexos no declínio da conservação dos recursos renováveis e no exercício da cidadania pelos pescadores artesanais; e apresentar alternativas possíveis pela e para a Educação Ambiental, enquanto educação política, visando a proporcionar a transformação socioambiental dos pescadores para a garantia de sua participação cidadã nas esferas de decisão relativas à sua vida social e profissional. A pesquisa teve uma abordagem qualitativa, com enfoque teórico-metodológico nas representações coletivas dos pescadores. O trabalho foi composto de levantamento bibliográfico e documental, que serviu de apoio para a obtenção das representações mediante a realização de grupos focais junto a quatro comunidades de pescadores nas cidades pesquisadas. Esse corpus de pesquisa foi analisado com base na metodologia Análise Textual Discursiva. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que a crise instaurada na pesca ultrapassa a dicotomia existente entre as leis ambientais e as normas morais dos pescadores artesanais, emergindo o aspecto da necessidade financeira e de sobrevivência de pescadores e de suas famílias. Verificou-se, outrossim, que o desencontro pesquisado refletiu negativamente na conservação dos recursos naturais, na medida em que gerou a falta de efetividade de leis relacionadas àquela atividade profissional, repercutindo desfavoravelmente no exercício da cidadania ambiental pelos pescadores. Concluiu-se que a Educação Ambiental política possui um papel fundamental para o empoderamento dos pescadores artesanais em busca de sua participação ativa nos processos de gestão dos recursos pesqueiros estuarinos, numa verdadeira governança participativa, voltada à conservação ambiental e edificação do bem coletivo.

El poder del debate ciudadano: procesos de gobernanza en la agenda interlocal de desarrollo Kennedy-Bosa

El objetivo de este artículo es analizar cómo el debate ciudadano incide en la gestación de procesos de gobernanza en la Agenda Interlocal de Desarrollo Kennedy-Bosa, proyecto de participación ciudadana en Bogotá. A través del documento se pretende demostrar que el debate: 1) permitió que las organizaciones sociales, presentes en la Agenda Interlocal, entablaran relaciones horizontales; 2) posibilitó la interacción de múltiples actores de la ciudad, entre ellos Secretarías Distritales y entidades privadas; 3) promocionó el diálogo y el intercambio de ideas como medio para la resolución de problemáticas identificadas en las localidades de Bosa y Kennedy. Para demostrar lo anterior, se realizó observación participante y entrevistas en las que se evidenció el proceso de toma de decisiones y la interacción de los actores presentes en la Agenda.