Building Community Networks through Education and Opportunity: A Case Study in Public Land Management
Introduction
A participatory culture is one in which members believe their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connection with one another as a form of civic engagement. The community itself provides strong incentives for active participation and it has become increasingly obvious that the public has knowledge that is different from, yet just as important as, the knowledge of experts. Fostering meaningful participatory action based on solidarity, mutual learning and relationship-building, needs to occur throughout the process of promoting civic engagement, and building a collaborative network. Combining public participation
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Engaged citizens often lead the charge and provide the catalyst for new policies and improvements in public services. Collaborative structures involving engaged citizens may take many forms such as a formal network, a coalition, partnerships, or informal coordination services (Agranoff & McGuire, 2003a; Agranoff & McGuire, 2003b; Nalbandian, 2005). However, both expert knowledge, and the knowledge of the public are valuable in making policy decisions and achieving the goals of the collaborative structure. Effective civic engagement can be difficult to define and even harder to achieve. Challenges in the form of participation or inclusion, communication or sharing information, and legitimacy or authority can take shape in any form of collaboration involving engaged citizens. Building participation, examining the impacts, management, and facing challenges are important steps for effective civic engagement. This paper will discuss these steps as they relate to education and opportunities to promote citizen involvement and identify the challenges demonstrated concerning Oregon’s Elliot State …show more content…
Civic-minded citizens engage in many activities including educating and informing themselves about social and political issues, volunteering for civic organizations, efforts to garner support from the community for a specific cause, serving on boards and committees, and working with political entities to shape policy decisions. The United States Forest Service’s “2012 Planning rule” and Bureau of Land Management’s “Planning 2.0 rule” are examples of federal agency efforts to encourage balanced and broad representation with all levels of government, the science community, environmental and conservation groups, recreation users, private landowners, and private industry (Lanham, 2016; Leavenworth, 2017; Siler, 2017). As clients and community activists become increasingly engaged in the planning and delivery of services alongside public sector professionals, the networks created will adapt to meet different roles and functions to serve the public needs. Volunteers, non-profits, and community-based organizations can continue to grow and develop as civic-minded individuals as a result of civic engagement (Bringle et al., 2011). To promote this trend government agencies would need to assume a role of supporting, encouraging, and coordinating the capabilities of organizations, service users, and communities (Bovaird,
On the national civics assessment, “two-thirds of 12th graders scored below ‘proficient’…and only 9 percent could list two ways a democracy benefits from citizen participation” (O’Connor and Romer 4). The information provided clarifies just how little students know about democracy. Without education on the subject, they are unaware as to how their government contribution is beneficial and why it is needed in the first place. The students, because of their lack of understanding, therefore choose to not take part in their government and fail to carry out their duties as a citizen. The authors provide more research that shows “the better people understand our history and system of government, the more likely they are to vote and participate in the civic life” (O’Connor and Romer 8).
Vangen, S., & Huxham, C. K. (2012). The tangled web: Unraveling the principle of common goals in collaborations. Journal of public administration research & theory, 22(4), 731-760.
The author writes that in asset based community development and a core Public Allies belief, is that the symbolic “glass of water” is both half empty and half full. The author extends the example to individuals as well as communities in saying that “ever member of a community, no exceptions, has gifts and talents that contribute to the community.” Additionally, every individual and community has weaknesses, and the proper application of leadership is to combine everybody’s assets to counter everybody’s weaknesses in the process of improving our communities. Public Allies makes no attempt as an organization to find and correct weaknesses, they only identify Allies’ assets to train them into community leaders. These ideas align well with the authors definition of leadership.
It is our civic right and duty to actively participate in governmental affairs. This recent election really highlighted the divide in opinion regarding the importance of governmental participation. “To many, our democratic system seems so broken that they have simply lost faith that their participation could really matter,” West writes in his essay entitled The Deep Democratic Tradition in America. Young people feel unimportant and irrelevant, which explains the lack in turnout from young voters ages 18-29. However, it wasn’t just young voters that didn’t turnout. Millions of eligible voters didn’t show up for the 2016 elections. A democracy without active participants is a democracy bound for
Citizen involvement: A practical guide for change. Basingstoke, England: Macmillan. Beresford, P., 8! Harding, T. (Eds.). (1993).
Regardless of the political environment, it is the responsibility of voters to take initiative in becoming politically involved. However, the current electoral system in the United States is not one that fosters voter participation, but instead often discourages voting altogether. This is evidenced through the lackluster voter turnout in the United States, which is amongst the lowest of any democratic nation. While it is convenient to blame this lack of democratic participation on a lazy and apathetic public, the root of the problem lies elsewhere. The current system of winner-take-all elections, strategic gerrymandering, incumbency advantage and governmental unresponsiveness to constituent desires is enough to deter even the most politically consci...
...cts are unknown. Preliminary data indicates the Youth Advisory Council model, one example of the community problem-solving approach, may be a promising avenue for engaging young people. Additional longitudinal research in coming years will be crucial in developing more definitive conclusions. Anecdotally, many students find great value in the program, indicating it develops leadership skills and provides motivation for further community participation. The participants are not the only beneficiaries, however. Through thorough planning and thoughtful implementation, the sponsoring agency and broader community gain significantly from such a process. Involving young people in addressing community problems at the local level can infuse new life into agencies and communities, while helping to prepare young people to become active, engaged citizens in our democracy.
Green, Donald. "Youth Voting” THE CENTER FOR INFORMATION & RESEARCH ON CIVIC LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT. Tufts University, 2012. Web. 02 Oct 2013. .
The relationship between young people and nonprofits can be the start of a significant change in our community, and should be a reciprocal and powerful educational experience. An open-minded and encouraging flow of communication between organizations and community members can be the launchpad for the social and environmental change organizations talk about and try for every day. Together, we can make change – not just a semblance of idealism, but reality, as well.
To achieve civic engagement is undertaken in many diverse ways. These are determined by several factors, amongst them the purpose of the civic engagement, the people involved in it, the funds to be involved amongst others. The...
Community engagement is now a priority in many public sector agencies. Besides appealing to democratic principles, citize...
The road to a better government is not easy, however, it is essential to improve the delivery of services that affect the quality of life for citizens. The primary theme in this chapter is that the Government is being faced with accountability and as an explanation, the citizens have developed an increase of expectations and also demand improvements that are visible in the delivery of public services. The government needs to have bi-directional dialogue with its citizens, monitor its implementation, and be accountable for the results. The government needs to take citizens into consideration and the citizens need to take part in the government.
...rganizations have also shown that the key to success lies in the evolution and participation of community based organizations at the grass-root level.
Community engagement is the active participation of local residents and community groups in the decisions that affect their lives (Herefordshire Council, 2013). Therefore, community engagement should be about engaging in open communication to ensure the council understands the needs of the local community.
This paper will begin by highlighting aspects of citizen participation showing the advantages and disadvantages it has on the policy process and discuss how citizen participation in the policy making pro...