The dilemmas of engagement : the role of consultation in governance / Jenny Stewart.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stewart, Jenny, author.

Series:

Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political planning--Citizen participation.

Political planning.

Political participation.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (98 pages)

Place of Publication:

Canberra ANU Press 2009

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory : Australian National University E Press, 2009.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file

Summary:

‘Consultation’ has become something of a mantra in contemporary governance. Governments well understand that policy occurs in a highly contestable environment in which there are multiple, and often competing interests. They well recognise the political imperative to ‘engage’ stakeholders in order to manage potential conflict and, hopefully, obtain acceptance for their policies and programs. As a result, politicians and public officials frequently emphasise the need for consultation as an essential element of the deliberative processes underpinning the development of policy or the implementation of programs and services. But, moving beyond the rhetoric of consultation and engagement, how well is it done? In this monograph, Professor Jenny Stewart maps out the principal approaches used by governments to consult with and engage affected communities of interest. Stewart critically assesses the available literature and draws directly upon the experiences of political actors, bureaucrats and community sector organisations in order to identify the ‘good, bad, and the ugly’ of engagement. Through a judicious use of selected case studies, Stewart distils the essential dilemmas and contradictions inherent in many consultation strategies and highlights their relative strengths and weaknesses. This monograph is a probing and dispassionate analysis of the rationales, methodologies and outcomes of consultation and engagement. It is not intended to be a ‘cookbook’ or a ‘how to’ manual for those consulting or the consulted. Nevertheless, there is much here for the policy practitioner, the researcher and members of those ‘communities of interest’ who might, one day, find themselves the target of engagement.

Contents:

Table of Contents; Jenny Stewart; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. 1. Conceptualising engagement; Engagement and power; Metaphors of engagement: ladders or stars?; Who to engage?; Community; Involved stakeholders; Powerful interests; Other government agencies; Summing up; 2. 2. Why engage?; Addressing deficit one: articulating preferences through deliberation; Addressing deficit two: revisiting representation; Addressing deficits three and four: holding public agencies accountable; Are democratic deficits overplayed?; Why engage? The policymaking perspective; Improving information flows

Enhancing diversityEarly warning of problems; Tapping into community resources; Greater problem-solving capacity; Problem solving through enhanced learning; Political management; Summing up; 3. 3. The 'how' of engagement: contexts and achievements; Consultation; Information exchange; Photographs; Storytelling and anecdote; Electronic networking; Fusing ideas and support; Deliberative forums; Dealing with conflict; Negotiated agreements; Committees of inquiry; Creating participatory governance; Partnerships in service delivery; Multi-actor (participatory) policy making; Participatory budgeting

The role of public servantsSumming up; 4. 4. What works for managers? Case studies from the field; Consultation for regulation; Formal and informal channels of consultation; Public and non-public consultation; Managing the politics of consultation; Managing multiple streams; Participatory decision making: natural resource management; Using the right language for engagement; Consultation as learning: the role of parliamentary committees; Speaking to government, speaking to constituents; Managing expectations; Summing up; 5. 5. Improving consultation practice

Consultation and the seven bureaucratic sinsDealing with the silos; Murdi Paaki; Centrelink's Murray-Darling Basin Project; Consultation when the news is bad; The Traveston Crossing Dam; How could this process have been better managed?; School closures in the Australian Capital Territory; How could this process have been better managed?; Local government amalgamations in Queensland; How could this process have been better managed?; Rural and Remote Area Health Services in Western Australia; How could the process have been better managed?; 'We arranged a consultation and no-one came'

How could the process have been better managed?We could not get political 'buy-in'; How could the process have been better managed?; Summing up; 6. 6. Risks, opportunities and challenges; Understanding context; What's your motivation?; Operational risks; Engagement and program implementation; Networking; Collaboration; Co-production; Challenges; Flexibility; Inclusion; Language; Settings; Control; Summing up; 7. Conclusion; Bibliography

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

CC BY-NC-ND

Description based on: online resource; title from pdf title page (JSTOR, viewed June 8, 2020).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781921536830

1921536837

Publisher Number:

10.26530/OAPEN_459074