Public Participation for 21st Century Democracy

370 Pages·2015·16.671 MB·English

by  Tina Nabatchi, Matt Leighninger

P r a i s e f o r P u b l i c P a r t i c i P a t i o n f o r
2 1 st c e n t u r y D e m o c r a c y
“Around the world, citizens are demanding new forms of democracy, in which
their engagement extends beyond the ballot box and tokenistic consultation. In
a tour de force of the field, this book provides a practical, comprehensive, and
insightful overview of how the field of public participation in the United States
has been transformed over the last half century, and why it must continue to
be re-invented for this century and beyond. This book will be a great resource
for students, policy makers, practitioners, and others concerned about creating a
more democratic, participatory, and sustainable society.”
—Professor John Gaventa, Director of Research, Institute of Development Studies
“If you care about democracy and its future, please read this book! Nabatchi and
Leighninger have produced a conceptually rich and immensely practical over-
view of public participation and how we the people, our elected officials, and
leaders of all kinds can improve our lives together as free people in a democratic
society.”
—John Bryson, McKnight Presidential Professor of Planning and Public Affairs,
Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
‘ “Grand plans are made of small elements,’ say the authors of Public Participation
for the 21st Century. In this tour-de-force, Nabatchi and Leighninger vividly capture
the small elements of change stirring across the country in which citizens are assert-
ing their central role in America’s greatest adaptive experiment—democracy. The
authors provide a framework that moves from the theoretical to the practical and
back to help us make sense of the current chaos and experimentation that always
accompanies deep systemic change. In this unflinching examination of how public
policy could be better with more citizen participation, they inspire us to think
grandly and also to roll up our sleeves to create the future we want.”
—Paula Ellis, Civic Entrepreneur, Former Media Executive, Journalist,
Community Builder, and Philanthropist.
“A thoughtful, comprehensive, and original work, this book reveals the state-of-
the-art on public participation in the 21st century. This book offers one of those
rare occasions on which you get the best of theory and practice in just one vol-
ume. It is a must-read for scholars, a go-to for practitioners, and a wake-up call
for those who doubt citizens’ capacity to make things work.”
—Tiago Peixoto, Team Lead, Digital Engagement Unit at the World Bank
“Today, people worldwide are crying out to have more say in the public decisions
that most impact their lives locally and nationally. Nabatchi and Leighninger
have written an engaging, accessible, and comprehensive book that will enable
thousands of students, practitioners and government officials to improve public
participation to meet the challenges facing 21st century democracy.”
—Dr. Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer, Executive Director of the
National Institute for Civil Discourse
“Nabatchi and Leighninger authors deftly slice and dice conventional participa-
tory processes and replace them with new ideas for quality public participation.
Examples from real world policy areas, as well as ‘participation scenarios and
tactics,’ drive home the everyday relevance of this book. Questions for discus-
sion make this a natural for classroom use, but its reach is far broader: This book
is a ‘must read’ for those around the world who hope to foster true democratic
participation.”
—Rosemary O’Leary, Edwin O. Stene Distinguished Professor,
School of Public Affairs, University of Kansas
“Community engagement is essential to building public trust, which will increas-
ingly be the working capital for local governments. Knowledge of emerging ap-
proaches for both high-tech and high-touch engagement are now essential for all
elected and appointed officials. Public Participation for 21st Century Democracy
is a practical guide for officials who understand these challenges and want to en-
courage citizen contributions to governance.”
—Robert O’Neill, Executive Director, International
City/County Management Association
“Public Participation for 21st Century Democracy is an extremely valuable re-
source for public participation practitioners, educators, and researchers. Far
more than a ‘how-to’ manual, the authors demonstrate the necessity of recog-
nizing and responding to the ever-changing social, political, organizational, and
sector-specific dynamics that influence how, when, and why public participation
efforts succeed or fail. Perhaps most importantly, the authors offer practical strat-
egies and guidance to assist readers in strengthening the quality and impact of
public participation initiatives.”
—Kyle Bozentko, Executive Director, Jefferson Center
Public Participation
f o r
2 1 s t C e n t u ry D e m o C r a C y
Tina Nabatchi
Matt Leighninger
Cover image: ©iStock.com/VLADGRIN
Cover design: Wiley
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Copyright © 2015 by Tina Nabatchi and Matt Leighninger. All rights reserved.
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ISBN 9781118688403 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781118688533 (ePDF)
ISBN 9781118688595 (ePub)
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Pamela
For Ahmad and Linda
And for all those around the world who seek to improve democracy

C o n t e n t s
List of Figures, Exhibits, and Tables ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
About the Authors xv
Part one Participation in a Rapidly Changing Democracy 1
one Citizenship, Outside the Public Square 3
two Good or Bad? Charming or Tedious?
Understanding Public Participation 13
three Pictures from a (R)evolution: The Fitful
Development of Public Participation in the
United States 45
Part two Participation in Action 75
four Participation in Education 77
five Participation in Health 117
six Participation in Planning and Land Use 155
seven Participation in State and Federal Government 195
vii
Part three Participation for Democracy, Present
and Future 239
eight Participation Scenarios and Tactics 241
nine Assembling Participation Infrastructure  287
ten Building Democracy 305
Name Index 329
Subject Index 337
viii Contents