Practical Experience of Public Participation: Evidence from Methodological Experiments

This paper discusses the general principles underlying the proper participation of the public in decisions which affect a community. The paper begins with a brief consideration of the philosophical and political rationale for including the public in these decisions. These are then considered in terms of what is needed in a public participation process in order to ensure that it is fair, helpful and cost effective for all people involved. The paper then describes two examples where experiments in public participation were set up to test these principles. Finally, the application of these outcomes in other circumstances is considered. Thus the paper will discuss the processes of public participation and deliberation, the potential for decision-making processes in general and the problems associated with these approaches.