Participation requests: a democratic innovation to unlock the door of public services?

Bennett, H., Escobar, O., Hill O'Connor, C. , Plotnikova, E. and Steiner, A. (2022) Participation requests: a democratic innovation to unlock the door of public services? Administration and Society, 54(4), pp. 605-628. (doi: 10.1177/00953997211037597)

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Abstract

Democracies are under pressure and public administrations must evolve to accommodate new forms of public participation. Participation processes may reproduce or disrupt existing power inequalities. Through a multi-method empirical study of "Participation Requests," a new legislative policy tool to open up public services in Scotland, this article addresses an empirical gap on governance-driven democratic innovations (DIs). We use Young's distinction of external and internal inclusion and find Participation Requests replicate the pitfalls of traditional forms of associative democracy. We contend that DIs should be co-produced between institutions and communities to bring a participatory and deliberative corrective to temper bureaucratic logics.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This work was supported by: 1) What Works Scotland was funded by The Economic and Social Research Council and Scottish Government, grant number ES/Moo3922/1 , 2) Yunus Centre evaluation was funded by the Scottish Government funding reference: MAR312731.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Hill OConnor, Dr Clementine
Authors: Bennett, H., Escobar, O., Hill O'Connor, C., Plotnikova, E., and Steiner, A.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
Journal Name:Administration and Society
Publisher:SAGE Publications
ISSN:0095-3997
ISSN (Online):1552-3039
Published Online:17 August 2021
Copyright Holders:Copyright © The Author(s) 2021
First Published:First published in Administration and Society 54(4):605-628
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons license

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