Facilitators as culture change workers: advancing public participation and deliberation in local governance

Bynner, C. , Escobar, O. and Weakley, S. (2023) Facilitators as culture change workers: advancing public participation and deliberation in local governance. Local Government Studies, (doi: 10.1080/03003930.2023.2190586) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

Practitioners who facilitate public participation in governance operate at the interface of three policy agendas: public service reform, social justice and democratic innovation. Scotland offers a paradigmatic site for studying this interface through the role of officials who work as facilitators of public participation. Reforms in the last two decades have generated new spaces for engaging citizens and communities while challenging official facilitators to reconcile grassroots community action with institutional engagement. This article draws on empirical research from the What Works Scotland dataset (2014–2019), which is the first to examine the nature of this role across Scotland. Our analysis unpacks the tensions of interactive modes of governance and explores facilitators’ agency in responding to cultural practices that are resistant to change. The paper argues that official facilitators are more than process designers and discursive stewards; their work involves challenging and changing the cultural practices of the state at the frontlines of democratic upheaval and renewal.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by What Works Scotland, funded by the Scottish Government and the UK Economic and Social Research Council under Grant ES/M003922/1.
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bynner, Dr Claire and Escobar, Mr Oliver and Weakley, Dr Sarah
• Authors: Bynner, C., Escobar, O., and Weakley, S.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences
• Journal Name: Local Government Studies
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 0300-3930
• ISSN (Online): 1743-9388
• Published Online: 04 April 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Local Government Studies 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
190851		What Works Scotland	Nicholas Watson	Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)	ES/M003922/1	S&PS - Institute of Health & Wellbeing (Social Sciences)