21 Facts About Public participation

Public participation, known as citizen participation or patient and public involvement, is the inclusion of the public in the activities of any organization or project.

Public participation is similar to but more inclusive than stakeholder engagement.

The principle of public participation holds that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.

Public participation implies that the public's contribution will influence the decision.

Public participation is part of "people centred" or "human centric" principles, which have emerged in Western culture over the last thirty years, and has had some bearings of education, business, public policy and international relief and development programs.

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In recent years public participation has become to be seen as a vital part of addressing environmental problems and bringing about sustainable development.

Public participation is recognised as an environmental principle, see Environmental Principles and Policies, and has been enshrined in the Rio Declaration.

In some countries public participation has become a central principle of public policy making.

Public participation is viewed as a tool, intended to inform planning, organising or funding of activities.

Public participation is typically mandatory for rules promulgated by executive agencies of the US government.

Public participation is a regarded as one potential solution to the crisis in public trust and governance, particularly in the UK, Europe, and other democracies.

Citizen Public participation is only sustained if citizens support it and if their involvement is actively supported by the governing body.

The argument being that public participation can be a means for the participating communities to hold public authorities accountable for implementation.

Concept and practice of public participation has been critiqued, often using Foucauldian analytical frameworks.

Such accounts detail how Public participation can be a method of capturing community activity into regimes of power and control although it has been noted that capture and empowerment can co-exist.

Further, in the context of considerable scientific uncertainties surrounding environmental issues, public participation helps to counter such uncertainties and bridges the gap between scientifically-defined environmental problems and the experiences and values of stakeholders.

Critics argue that public participation tends to focus on reaching a consensus between actors who share the same values and seek the same outcomes.

Consequently, who should be involved at what points in the process of environmental decision-making and what is the goal of this kind of participation become central to the debates on public participation as a key issue in environmental governance.

Right to public participation is a human right enshrined by some international and national legal systems that protects public participation in certain decision making processes.

Likewise, the right to political participation means the right under which the ruling authority is committed to providing rights to citizens, including the right to nominate and elect representatives, to hold public office in accordance with the principle of equal opportunities, to participate in private and public meetings, and the right to form and join political parties.

Democracy and public participation are closely connected democratic societies have incorporated public participation rights into their laws for centuries.