Public participation is an umbrella term used for when individuals engage with the various activities, structures and institutions of democracy. It can be understood as the act of engaging people to voice their opinions and judgement, giving them the right to influence the decisions that affect them and improve representation. This includes voting, contacting a political representative, campaigning, lobbying, and taking part in consultations and demonstrations, as well as taking part in participatory and deliberative processes.
Participation does not happen in a vacuum. It is influenced and shaped by a range of societal and contextual factors. There are four primary, and interconnected, reasons why advocates of participation in national and local governance see it as a ‘good thing’:
- By involving individuals more directly in decisions that affect their lives, participation is seen as a way of strengthening the legitimacy and accountability of democratic institutions
- A belief that involving people in local decision-making processes and bringing them together around a common cause or interest can empower communities and help build social cohesion
- Participation is considered a tool for reforming public services and for providing services that are better suited to people’s needs and that are more efficient
- Participation has been associated with personal benefits for participants ranging from increased political efficacy and satisfaction gained from influencing change to personal development and growth in self-esteem from learning new skills such as public speaking. Participation is associated with greater social justice, more effective public services and a society of self-confident citizens, as well as being an expression of active citizenship
If you want to learn about Participation more broadly, have a look at the Pathways to Participation research project. It was conducted in 2009-2011 by Involve, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR). It looks into how and why people participate, how their involvement changes over time, and what pathways, if any, exist between different activities.