Between virtue and profession: Theorising the rise of professionalised public participation practitioners

Barry, Janice; Legacy, Crystal

doi:10.1177/14730952221107148

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…All stakeholders play an important role in participatory processes, one particular group has so far not played a prominent role in literature, even though their role is increasingly important for the design of successful participation projects. Although PSOs rely on experts' and practitioners' professional knowledge to develop successful participation projects (Barry and Legacy, 2023), their role, involvement and contribution is not well-accounted for, and then, often only theoretically. In some, e.g., Austria, participation projects should not only focus on citizens as stakeholders, but also consider others as stakeholders too, including experts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They extend participation to include previously excluded voices, help decision-making processes be accessible to a broader range of stakeholders, support innovative engagement, increase quality, and promote different participatory techniques (Bherer and Lee, 2019). The professionalization of public participation practitioners sets new standards and codes of practice and thus changes participatory practice (Barry and Legacy, 2023), but practitioners not played a particularly prominent role in the participation literature so far, nor has the impact of their activities and knowledge been considered extensively in research agendas.…”

Section: Background Public Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…PSOs also rely on participation experts and practitioners' professional knowledge to help them design successful participation projects (Barry and Legacy, 2023). Their involvement is important for the development of participation projects, but their role and contribution are not well-accounted for in literature on governance and participation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Policy Cycle: a framework for knowledge management of practitioners' expertise and role in participatory processes

Edelmann,

Albrecht

2023

Front. Polit. Sci.

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There is extensive literature on stakeholder theory and knowledge management in the private sector, but less on the public sector, particularly in the context of public participation projects. Public participation initiatives are often designed using a case-by-case approach to identify relevant stakeholder groups, the engagement methods, and the tools to be used. In addition, public sector organizations (PSOs) often rely on participation experts and practitioners' professional knowledge to design successful participation projects. Given that public participation is to enable PSOs access to participants' knowledge, knowledge management is a central issue in public participation projects. In this multi-method, qualitative study we focus on the management of experts' and practitioners' knowledge, and we aim to show how their knowledge contributes to participatory processes and projects, and how the policy cycle can be used as a knowledge management framework to collect and structure their knowledge. We used sequential analysis to study the experiences of 84 practitioners from the public sector collected during a series of workshops. Our findings show the need to locate participation initiatives in the context of the government policy cycle, that the policy cycle can be used for knowledge management in public participation projects and to recognize that practitioners represent a key stakeholder group in public participation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background Public Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Policy Cycle: a framework for knowledge management of practitioners' expertise and role in participatory processes

Edelmann,

Albrecht

2023

Front. Polit. Sci.

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“…Another issue is that public participation has become an 'industry' (Barry & Legacy, 2023), in which consultants play a major role. As in SIA, these consultants might proclaim independence and autonomy, but in reality are subject to consultant-proponent relationships.…”

Section: Persistent Weaknesses Recurring Issues and Various Criticism...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Community engagement, public participation and social impact assessment

Burdett

2024

Handbook of Social Impact Assessment and Management

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Community engagement, which is also called public participation, is a key component of social impact assessment (SIA). However, although overlapping, the professional fields of practice of public participation and SIA are separate discourses and communities of practice. Although they share many goals and principles, and draw on similar techniques, they are pursued for different reasons. Put bluntly, SIA and public participation, though similar and related, are not the same (Vanclay et al., 2015). While SIA requires community engagement, public participation has a wide range of applications across many sectors. A lack of appreciation of this difference has led to the fields of SIA and public participation being conflated by various stakeholders.SIA is the process of analysing and managing the social consequences arising from planned interventions (Vanclay, 2003;Esteves et al., 2012;Vanclay et al., 2015). While the terms 'community engagement' and 'public participation' are somewhat interchangeable (including in this chapter), for various reasons some practitioners have a preference for one or the other term. SIA practitioners generally prefer use of 'community engagement', whereas public participation professionals tend to use 'public participation'. In an environmental impact assessment (EIA) context, 'public participation' is generally regarded as being the act of involving the individuals and groups who are positively or negatively affected by a proposed intervention that is subject to a formal decision-making process (André et al., 2006). Community engagement is regarded as being broader and refers to any attempt by a project or organisation to interact (engage) with its host communities and broader publics, irrespective of any formal requirement (OECD, 2017(OECD, , 2022. It is important to realise that, while participation/engagement around projects may not be a formal requirement of national legislation in all countries, it is nevertheless a strong expectation or requirement of international standards, and is a requirement of all international financial institutions (Vanclay & Hanna, 2019). Also important to note is that what is usually intended by participation or engagement is more than 'consultation', which is simply the collection of the views of people about something, such as a proposed project or activity.This chapter discusses community engagement and public participation in different settings, untangles the unhelpful conflation with SIA, and clarifies the distinctions, synergies, and characteristics of good practice. It draws on the key international frameworks that guide public participation and SIA practice, specifically those of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), notably the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation (IAP2, 2018), and those of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) that relate to public participation (

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Section: Persistent Weaknesses Recurring Issues and Various Criticism...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Handbook of Social Impact Assessment and Management

2024

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The objective of this series of Research Handbooks on Impact Assessment is to provide a critical assessment of the state-of-the-art in the research and thinking in the various fields of impact assessment, including environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment, social impact assessment, health impact assessment, biodiversity assessment, cumulative impact assessment, and so on. The series will also consider the use of impact assessment across a variety of sectors, including agriculture, energy, forestry, mining, transport. The aim is to produce prestigious high-quality works of lasting significance, offering a comprehensive overview of the research fields in question. With oversight from the Series Editor, Professor Frank Vanclay, a noted specialist in the field of impact assessment, the Research Handbooks comprise carefully commissioned chapters from leading academics and/ or reflexive practitioners selected by editors who are recognized leaders in their field. Taking a genuinely international and often transdisciplinary approach, the books in the series address current and sometimes controversial issues. Through clear analysis and lucid writing, these Research Handbooks are designed to shed light on contemporary issues and contribute to current debates. Offering unrivalled analysis and discussion, each Research Handbook will be an invaluable source of reference for an international audience of scholars, researchers and

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Between virtue and profession: Theorising the rise of professionalised public participation practitioners

Cited by 14 publications

References 51 publications

The Policy Cycle: a framework for knowledge management of practitioners' expertise and role in participatory processes

The Policy Cycle: a framework for knowledge management of practitioners' expertise and role in participatory processes

Community engagement, public participation and social impact assessment

Handbook of Social Impact Assessment and Management

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