Obstacles and solutions on the ladder of citizen participation: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

This article presents a systematic review of the English-language empirical literature about citizen participation to identify the obstacles to its implementation and the most successful ways to address them. Three sets of variables seem to impact effectiveness: contextual factors, including information asymmetries and public officials’ attitude; organizational arrangements, including community representation criteria and process design; and process management patterns, including group dynamics and collaboration quality. Two recommendations stem from our analysis: internalize decisions in organizational procedures, and establish ongoing interactions between government bodies and their stakeholders. We conclude that half-hearted engagement is unlikely to lead to successful citizen participation.

KEYWORDS:

• Citizen participation
• stakeholder inclusion
• interactive decision-making
• deliberative engagement
• interactive governance

Acknowledgements

The article is the outcome of the joint work of all authors. Mario Ianniello wrote the ‘Introduction’ and the subsection ‘Organizational arrangements’; Silvia Iacuzzi wrote the subsections ‘Contextual factors’ and ‘Process management patterns’; Paolo Fedele wrote the section ‘Research strategy’; Luca Brusati wrote the sections ‘Discussion’ and ‘Conclusion and future research’.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the European Commission under Lifelong Learning Programme ERASMUS Multilateral Project ‘SME Leaders and Sustainability: Deliberative Engagement (SME-DE)’, 538864-LLP-1-2013-1-UK-ERASMUS-EQR.

Notes on contributors

Mario Ianniello

Mario Ianniello has a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Management from the University of Parma (Italy) and is an adjunct professor of management at the University of Udine’s Department of Economics and Statistics. He has taught university courses in the UK and the Balkans and cooperated with NGOs, development agencies and local authorities.

Silvia Iacuzzi

Silvia Iacuzzi, after completing a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford, obtained her Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Tübingen (Germany). She is an assistant professor of management at the University of Udine’s Department of Economics and Statistics. She has worked as a researcher, trainer and policy consultant in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Paolo Fedele

Paolo Fedele has a Ph.D. in Public Management from the University of Parma and is associate professor of management at the University of Udine’s Department of Economics and Statistics. His research interests are public management reforms and interactive governance.

Luca Brusati

Luca Brusati has a Ph.D. in Management from Bocconi University and is associate professor of management at the University of Udine’s Department of Economics and Statistics. He has been a visiting scholar at NYU and Mannheim University (Germany) and a visiting professor at Klagenfurt University (Austria), Lodz University (Poland) and SP Jain School of Global Management (UAE).