OBSTACLES TO EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT
Power to the people?
Increased public participation does not
enjoy unqualified support among public
officials and politicians. Not surprisingly,
some see it as a threat to their professional
judgement or democratic legitimacy, fearing
‘governance by referendum’ in which
their role is reduced to that of ‘rubberstamping’
decisions made by the public.
However, in practice, engagement with
users and citizens does not obviate the
need for service experts or for political
judgement. In most cases, it simply provides
more information about the range of, often conflicting, views among the public.
Politicians and senior managers still need to decide how best to reconcile competing interests
and to allocate resources accordingly.