Why is participation so important?
There are many reasons for participation. It demonstrably increases the acceptance of construction projects in municipalities. In addition, it is now often a mandatory condition for cantonal awards or national funding programs. Furthermore, in neighborhood and area development, it has great potential that goes far beyond forms such as consultation or hearing. However, this potential is still little exploited.
Initial situation – where projects start in communities
In recent years, the efforts of municipalities to involve their residents in planning processes in a participatory manner have increased more and more. This happens partly out of legal necessity, but pleasingly many municipalities strive to provide their population with a more attractive community environment and to maintain livable communities that are more than just a place to sleep.
Often, the municipalities organize elaborate participation workshops for this purpose, to which the population is invited. In reality, however, it often turns out that the same people and groups participate, even if they are not necessarily the main stakeholders of an upcoming change process – which, after all, a new project always is.
But in this way, participation often brings little to nothing, especially for the main stakeholders, the resulting projects do not find majorities at the ballot box or are unused after implementation. This is where remedies are needed.
Implementations in five steps
Step 1 + 2: Preparation
Depending on the project, planning processes have very different main stakeholders. Determining this should therefore be the first step. Statistical data (mostly already available) and targeted observation help with this.
In a second step, the municipality must then clearly define the participation framework (finances, time period, what exactly is it about, etc.) and communicate this in a target group-oriented manner. Important: Use different channels!
Step 3 + 4: Concept and Participation
Matching the goals, the appropriate methods are selected in the third step. These must match the available resources as well as the target groups that are to be reached.
Now the actual participation process can be carried out – be it simple or multi-stage. Depending on the project, it may be worthwhile to plan for a certain openness in multi-stage processes, regarding the use of methods.
These results can then, if desired, be presented to the population for discussion – it is advantageous here (transparency) to be able to justify the results. This creates understanding for the concerns of the main stakeholders; but also secondary stakeholders can thus contribute their possible concerns.
Step 5: Implement measures
Next, the measures for implementation must be planned. Here it can be helpful to define different levels:
- quickly, easily and inexpensively implementable
- medium-term measures involving costs
- measures to be implemented in the longer term
Where one likes to live - the long-term goal
Thanks to quickly visible results, this approach reinforces the target groups’ belief that engagement in participation is worthwhile for them. The effectiveness of participation experienced in this way strengthens and motivates them to participate more – which then also translates into a truly attractive and livable community in the medium and long term.
About the author
Christine Hotz has been advising municipalities on participation and social space development for many years. She has recently proven her expertise in various management positions and her work has also been recognized by the ARA. At enovation, as project manager, she designs the participation measures and implements them in the social space together with the team.
