The Promise of Participation: Experiments in Participatory Governance

Involving citizens in the governance of public services - education, housing, transport - holds out the promise of more responsive, better run and more democratically accountable services. But it is a big ask.  Many people won't have the experience, the time or the confidence to get involved. In this podcast, which was first broadcast on the New Books Network, Heath Brown talks to Daniel Altschuler about the factors that can help ensure successful participatory governance. This question has long drawn the interest of scholars in political science. The promise of increasing civic engagement through institutions that allow citizens to participate has been studied extensively, but often in urban environments. Daniel Altschuler and Javier Corrales  build on this literature in their book, The Promise of Participation: Experiments in Participatory Governance in Honduras and Guatemala, but shift to rural parts of Honduras and Guatemala. The book focuses on Community Managed Schools and the participation of parents in school administration. Their extensive study demonstrated positive impacts on organisational learning and civic engagement for participating parents, but they conclude that it is crucial to offer training and support. If you enjoyed this podcast, why not check out others on the New Books Network, like  PAUL-BRIAN MCINERNEY's From Social Movement to Moral Market: How the Circuit Riders Sparked an IT Revolution and Created a Technology Market