Innovations in Democratic Governance
This chapter explores how direct citizen participation can feature throughout the varied stages of the public policy cascade. It discusses a range of democratic innovations for public participation, focusing on three aspects of the policy process: public opinion formation, decision-making, and implementation. The case studies indicate how public participation can operate at multiple geographical scales – ranging from the neighborhood level all the way up to the transnational – and illustrate how participation at different levels might be linked up. The examples explore ways that citizens might craft their own rules for participation; monitor those rules and the policies they help generate; and cooperatively implement their own local policies. They also suggest ways in which the role of experts and officials might be transformed into one of largely supporting and facilitating public participation. To conclude, the authors discuss a few ways in which innovative practices might contribute to a more effective policy process.
