Regional reform and citizen participation in Sweden

Seven years ago the Swedish government launched a Regional Reform Programme with the aim of establishing a new intermediate level of governance alongside the national level and that of the local municipality. The conditions for achieving constructive institutionalization differ considerably in Skåne and Västra Götaland, the two regions participating in the pilot programme. However, the level of citizen participation (i.e. voter turnout in regional elections) in the two regions does not differ—in both regions, citizens have demonstrated tremendous indifference towards the new fora. One reason for this could be that the reform has to a very large degree been built on traditional political structures, which in turn have suffered a loss of credibility in the past decades. There might, however, also be reason to question the often presupposed link between a region's degree of socio‐cultural consolidation and its acceptance as a vital and meaningful political entity.     

Coordination and citizen participation

This study investigates the validity of the assumption that coordination and citizen participation are related inversely and, thus, are incompatible as features in the same social service reform strategy. Seventeen social service organizations situated in the same urban area were studied. Data were obtained by structured interview. The concepts of coordination and citizen participation were operationalized by means of scales. The findings support the validity of the assumption noted above. Although interpretations of the findings can be provided, they are post-factum. This implies a need for explanatory research which might be guided by theories of community power structure and of organizational behavior.     

Equal Citizenship for All. Disability Policies in the Netherlands: empowerment of marginals

In January 2001, two of the Netherlands' National Councils of Disabled People and of Chronically Ill People merged to form the Dutch Council of the Chronically Ill and Disabled People (CG-Raad). The strategic policy plan of the newly-formed CG-Raad combines the principles of equality and diversity. This article discusses various aspects of current disability policies in the Netherlands and presents the Dutch welfare state as a 'constructed society' whose policy classifications deconstruct people's personal lives. Everyday life in a society of this kind is a very complicated affair for disabled people. Disability management is presented as a way of overcoming the problems caused by these complications. This article presents an alternative proposition--the 'varied society'. This is a society in which all people are regarded as worthwhile. It is also the principle on which the CG-Raad's strategic policy plan, entitled 'Equal Citizenship', is based.     

An analysis of citizen participation in anti-poverty programmes

This article explores citizen participation, describing levels,forms and benefits of participation by local community members.In particular, it analyses citizen involvement in anti-povertyprogrammes, drawing on primary research in Jamaica, where asocial fund forms a major plank of the national government'spolicy and programme to reduce poverty. Using naturalistic inquirymethods, the research sought evidence of citizen participationin social fund subprojects aimed at improving community infrastructureand social services and strengthening community organizations.This article discusses four types of participation revealedby the research and the implications for community-level approachesto economic improvement and social change.     

The evaluation of citizen participation in policymaking: Insights from Portugal

While citizen participation in policymaking is on the rise worldwide, the scholarly debate centring around its evaluation has not developed to the same extent. The article discusses the methodology and findings of the evaluation of the project “Portugal Participa: Caminhos para a Inovação Societal” which started at the end of 2014, and was implemented in 2015 and 2016, in Portugal. As the project promoted actions at both national and local levels, the evaluation accounted for both layers with a major focus on the analysis of procedures and outputs to examine its success. Through the application of a multi-method approach – data collection and analysis, cost-effectiveness assessment, interviews, pre-post surveys, and counterfactual focus groups – involving a wide array of agents – political representatives, civil servants, NGOs, citizens, national academia, and the funding sponsor – findings have helped retrieve three main insights that aim to contribute to future research on the evaluation of citizen participation in policymaking, which should shed light on: the (re)connection of multiple agents; the role within the governance systems; and the pursuit of social inclusion.     

Integral citizen observatory of Los Cabos: popular participation conscious and competent

ABSTRACT

According to the United Nations data more than half of humanity lives today in the cities, but it is expected that in 2050 it could be almost 80% of the global population. That means a transformative role of cities at all levels in the coming decades. Participation and democracy in the twenty-first century must be promoted and practiced from the cities. A popular participation based on the observation, and also in an active participation within the management of the government can promote good governance where citizens can be empowered to achieve a higher level of democracy in our cities but also in our society. Currently therés an international standard on quality management in local government; ISO 18091:2014, it contains 39 indicators on public policies that local governments cannot stop attending. I would like to present in this article the success case of the Integral Citizen Observatory of Los Cabos (OCI Los Cabos) based on this international standard, as a model of smart citizens aware and competent. It has been such a good job that the incoming Mayor has included it in the actual Municipal Development Plan for Los Cabos 2015–2018, the diagnostic report data and the proposals of the Integral Citizen Observatory.     

Psychodynamics and empowerment in community mental health

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between empowerment philosophy and psychodynamic principles and practices, as it applies to community mental health work. It suggests that as empowerment philosophy is more a system of values than a model of mental health and illness, it cannot in itself act as a framework for understanding and working with disturbed people. I suggest ways of disentangling the often fraught relationship between the two frameworks by identifying the contribution I see each as able to make to the task of providing services which sustain people in the community, and attempt to articulate the elements of a practice model consistent with both sets of principles.     

Citizen participation in neighborhood health centers for the poor: the politics of reform organizational change, 1965-77

Through a longitudinal study of neighborhood health centers for the poor in the United States, this paper presents an analysis of the political economy of change within reform organizations. In the final accounting, we seek to explain the shift in the role of poor people participating in health care decision making from that of program developer and change agent to the role of program restrictor. We conceptualize the neighborhood health center (NHC) as a reform organization whose initial objective was to use health care as a tool for achieving political and economic development within low-income rural and urban communities. The analysis, based on a prospective study of NHCs between 1965 and 1977, using interviews with citizen board members, NHC project administrators, NHC physicians, HEW decision elites, and oral history interviews with former Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) administrators and directors, exemplifies the generic social organizational problem of how social, political, economic, and ideological forces shape the emergence and performance of a new reform organization.     

Mediating role of citizen empowerment in the relationship between participatory monitoring and evaluation and social sustainability

The paper explores the mediating influence of citizen empowerment on the relationship between participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) and social sustainability as a contribution to the ongoing debate on sustainability. The empirical investigation took the form of mixed-methods approach with the objectives to determine the extent to which PM&E influences citizen empowerment; establish the extent to which citizen empowerment influences social sustainability; and establish the joint influence of PM&E and citizen empowerment on social sustainability. The study employed a concurrent parallel design, in which samples for quantitative and qualitative components were different but drawn from the same population, and data collected within the same timeframe. Quantitative data were analyzed through bivariate and multiple regression analyses. Conversely, the qualitative component utilized interpretive technique and recursive abstraction to organize, summarize and give impression on the causal mechanisms at play in the quantitative data. Evidence from the study revealed that citizen empowerment mediates the relationship between PM&E and social sustainability. The study also found that when PM&E and citizen empowerment are considered together, citizen empowerment seems to have a dominant influence on social sustainability than PM&E itself. Thus, the government and development practitioners should prioritize citizen empowerment as a precursor to the realization of social sustainability outcomes.     

Personal empowerment program: addressing health concerns in people with schizophrenia

Three staff nurses in the Outpatient Schizophrenia Service of the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, became concerned about the weight gain of their patients. Patients and their family members were also concerned and asking for help. Before integrating a program to address these concerns, staff first had to demonstrate that a program of this nature would be beneficial for clinic patients. Of the 75 clients screened, many presented with problems in the areas of weight, blood pressure, and fasting blood sugar and lipid levels. Although not a research study, an 8-month pilot project was implemented to address these concerns. It was hypothesized that integrating all dimensions of wellness in patient programming would have a positive effect on various defined indicators (e.g., weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and fasting blood sugar and lipid levels). Screening tests before, during, and after the 8-month project provided the physical outcome measurements. Social and psychological outcomes were described through observation and group member feedback. The positive results are significant in terms of empowering patients in the long-term management of their health.     

Mental health citizen surveys: a comparison of two within household telephone sampling techniques.

Two within household telephone sampling techniques for collecting citizen survey data for community mental health center's needs assessments were compared on the basis of respondent demographic characteristics; response, completion, and refusal rates; and, administrative costs. Initially, all households were chosen via random digit dialing. Then, one technique allowed the surveyor to interview any adult member of a household who answered the phone. The other technique used was developed by Troldahl and Carter and required the use of a reference table procedure to determine the appropriate respondent. While more expensive, the Troldahl-Carter method produced significantly better representativeness of the population for a rural county. Factors relating to a decision regarding which technique to employ are discussed.     

Mothers' empowerment and father involvement in child health care in Bangladesh

With the advent of a couple-approach to health, particularly in the arena of reproductive health and child health, father involvement in child health care has become an important focus of preventative health. This study assesses the association between mothers' empowerment variables and father involvement in childcare in Bangladesh using data from a subsample of 903 women from the Couples Dataset of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2011. Father involvement in child health care was measured as a count variable enumerating the number of specific events during which the father was present: child's last doctor's visit, child's immunization, and birth. Poisson regression was conducted to assess the association between empowerment and demographic variables and father involvement. Results indicated that mothers' household decision-making power and age above 45 years, and fathers' age, fathers' education, and family wealth were significantly associated with father involvement. The study concludes that older and more educated fathers with family wealth and whose wives denied having household decision-making power were more likely to be involved in their children's lives than their counterparts.     

Power,participation and post modernism: User and practitioner participation in mental health social work education

The focus of this paper is service user and social work practitioner participation in the teaching for the mental health social work course. A review of the programme seeks to illuminate the value and significance of participation. The obstacles exposed through interviews and a collective workshop suggest a blocking opposition between idealistic education and ‘the reality of practice’. However this opposition is challenged by user and black advocacy participation. The value of participation appears in terms of anti-discrimination and extended possibilities to bring about change. Theory and practice divides are also dissolved. Participation is connected to power and modern and post modern approaches to education provide the theoretical framework.