BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PRACTICE

There is growing agreement across society that the state cannot (and should not) direct the actions of citizens without their co-operation, any more than the market alone can be relied upon to address the challenges of our time. Whether in dealing with climate change, public health concerns, tackling international terrorism or promoting pro-social behaviour, we are entering an era in which progress is only possible if individuals, communities and public services are each able and willing to contribute to the solution. For this to happen, public participation must become the core, not the counterpart, of the future of public service decision-making. Over time the public has grown less deferential towards authority and this means that the relationship between elected representatives and their constituents and between the institutions of the states and the citizens must change. This is why participation is important to the public sector.

Public participation is not only important for organisations in the public, private and non-profit sectors, it also has the potential to change how individuals and communities live and interact. Taking part in local decision-making or discussing future policy can have a transformative effect on how people think about themselves and their role in society. Citizens have a lot to offer. Their ideas might not always be better, but they are different; they give a different perspective. Bringing a lot of different people together allows new ideas to develop.
 

Public Participation Guidelines

• Adapted to the context – Understanding and appreciating the social institutions, values, and culture of the communities in the project area; and respecting the historical, cultural, environmental, political and social backgrounds of the communities which are affected by a proposal.
• Informative and proactive – Recognizing that the public has a right to be informed early and in a meaningful way in proposals which may affect their lives or livelihoods. Increased interest and motivation to participate occur by diffusing simple and understandable information to the affected and interested public.
• Adaptive and communicative – Recognizing that the public is heterogeneous according to their demographics, knowledge, power, values and interests. The rules of effective communication among people, in the respect of all individuals and parties, should be followed.
• Inclusive and equitable – Ensuring that all interests, including those non-represented or underrepresented are respected regarding the distribution of impacts, compensation and benefits. The participation or defense of the interests of less represented groups including women, children, elderly and poor people should be encouraged. Equity between present and future generations in a perspective of sustainability should be promoted.
• Educative – Contributing to a mutual respect and understanding of all stakeholders with respect to their values, interests, rights and obligations.
• Cooperative – Promoting cooperation, convergence and consensus-building rather than confrontation. Engaging conflicting perspectives and values as well as trying to reach a general acceptance of the proposal toward a decision that promotes and supports sustainable development should be pursued.
• Imputable – Improving the proposal under study, taking into account the results of the public participation process; including reporting and feedback to stakeholders about the results of the process, especially how their inputs have contributed to decision-making.

Operating Principles  

• Initiated early and sustained – The public should be involved early (before major decisions are made) and regularly in the process. This builds trust among participants, gives more time for public participation, improves community analysis, improves screening and scoping of the process, increases opportunities to modify the proposal in regards to the comments and opinions gathered during the public participation process, reduces the risk of rumors, and improves the public image of the proponent. It can also give the regulator more confidence in the approval decision they must make.
• Well planned and focused on negotiable issues – All stakeholders should know the aims, rules, organization, procedure and expected outcomes of the public participation process undertaken. This will improve the credibility of the process for all involved. Because consensus is not always feasible, public participation should emphasize understanding and respect for the values and interests of participants, and focus on negotiable issues relevant to decision making.
• Supportive to participants – The public should be supported in their will to participate through an adequate diffusion of information on the proposal and on the public participation process, and a just and equitable access to funding or financial assistance. Capacity-building, facilitation and assistance should also be provided particularly for groups who don’t have the capacity to participate, and in regions where there is no culture of public participation, or where local culture may inhibit public participation.
• Tiered and optimized – A public participation programme should occur at the most appropriate level of decision-making (e.g., at the policy, plan, programme or project level) for a proposal. The public should be invited to participate regularly, with emphasis on appropriate time for involvement. Because public participation is resource consuming (human, financial, time) for all  stakeholders, public participation optimization in time and space will ensure more willing participation.
• Open and transparent – People who are affected by a proposal and are interested in participating, whatever their ethnic origin, gender and income, should have access to all relevant information. This information should be accessible to laypersons required for the evaluation of a proposal (e.g., terms of reference, report and summary). Laypersons should be able to participate in relevant workshops, meetings and hearings related to the process. Information and facilitation for such participation should be provided.
• Context-oriented – Because many communities have their own formal and informal rules for public access to resources, conflict resolution and governance, public participation should be adapted to the social organization of the impacted communities, including the cultural, social, economic and political dimensions. This shows respect for the affected community and may improve public confidence of the process and its outcomes.
• Credible and rigorous – Public participation should adhere to established ethics, professional behavior and moral obligations. Facilitation of public participation by a neutral facilitator in its formal or traditional sense improves impartiality of the process as well as justice and equity in the right to information. It also increases the confidence of the public to express their opinions and also to reduce tensions, the risk of conflicts among participants, and opportunities for corruption. In a formal context, the adoption of a code of ethics is encouraged.

Developing Guidelines

For improving the outcomes of public participation, all actors should actively promote:

• Access to useful and relevant information for the public. Even if information is actually generally available, it might need some improvement to be useful to laypersons, or more focused and relevant to the decision-making process.
• High-level involvement and participation in decision making.
• Creative ways to involve people.
• Access to justice and equity.