TRENDS IN PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: PART 1

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVES

VIVIEN LOWNDES, LAWRENCE PRATCHETT AND GERRY STOKER
INTRODUCTION
Enhanced public participation lies at the heart of the Labour governments
modernization agenda for British local government. As the white paper
Modern Local Government: In Touch with the People states, the Government
wishes to see consultation and participation embedded into the culture of
all councils . . . and undertaken across a wide range of each councils
responsibilities (DETR 1998, para. 4.6). Such bold statements suggest that
the modernization programme is introducing fundamental change into
local democratic practices: change which is addressed as much towards
altering cultures and attitudes within local government as it is towards
creating new opportunities for democratic participation. Yet the belief that
local government should involve the public or get closer to the community
is hardly new. The history of British local government is littered with
experiments in public participation and consultation (Gyford 1991; Burns
et al. 1994; Stoker 1997).
This article analyses the prospects for change through an examination of
current practice and attitudes within local government. It presents ndings
from research commissioned by the Department of the Environment, Trans-
port and the Regions (DETR) to ll gaps in existing knowledge about the
extent and nature of participation exercises in local government (Lowndes
et al. 1998a). The study is unique in that it provides, in effect, a census
of local government activity to enhance public participation. Survey-based
analysis was complemented by qualitative research on the experience and
aspirations of local government members and ofcers regarding public par-
ticipation both positive and negative. Consequently, this research comp-
lements existing studies of new developments in local participation which
have tended to be largely descriptive and uncritical, focusing upon
examples of good practice and lacking any statistical underpinning
regarding general trends (Stewart 1995, 1996 and 1997; LGA/LGMB 1998;
New Economics Foundation 1999).
Vivien Lowndes is Professor of Local Government Studies and Lawrence Pratchett is Reader in Local
Democracy in the Department of Public Policy at De Montfort University, Leicester. Gerry Stoker
is Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde.
Public Administration Vol. 79 No. 1, 2001 (205222)
Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2001, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street,
Malden, MA 02148, USA.
206 VIVIEN LOWNDES, LAWRENCE PRATCHETT AND GERRY STOKER
The research had two key objectives:
To provide an up-to-date picture of the nature and scope of public
participation in local government via a survey of all local authorities.
To investigate the views of local authorities and their citizens on par-
ticipation initiatives in practice via selected case studies.
This article reports the research ndings as they relate to local authority
activities and attitudes. A subsequent article will consider citizen perspec-
tives (Lowndes, Pratchett and Stoker, 2001).
A questionnaire was sent to the chief executives of all principal local
authorities in England in January 1998, covering the level of use and trends
in the take-up of a range of different participation methods. Local auth-
orities were asked about their use of nineteen different forms of partici-
pation. The questionnaire also investigated perceptions of the factors stimu-
lating participation initiatives and the benets and problems encountered in
practice. A response rate of 85 per cent was achieved. (In total 332 principal
authorities that existed at the time responded, of which 310 provided sub-
stantive survey returns.) Alongside the survey, case studies were conducted
in 11 local authorities. These involved in-depth interviews with individuals
who had developed or organized participation initiatives, ranging from
senior ofcers and members through to those responsible for managing
specic activities. (For further details of the research methodology, includ-
ing the topic guides employed, see Lowndes et al. 1998.) This article reports
on the ndings from both the survey and the case studies.
As with all surveys, there are limits to interpreting the ndings and gen-
eralizing them to the broader population (Denscombe 1998). These prob-
lems are compounded by the complex operational structures of most local
authorities, which make it difcult for one individual to have complete
knowledge of all the organizations initiatives. It is inevitable, therefore,
that there will have been some under-reporting of participation initiatives
in some authorities. Where questions of attitude or perception have been
answered there are also limits to interpretation, as these represent a per-
sonal understanding on the part of the respondent, rather than an organiza-
tional position. However, the high response rate (85 per cent of all
authorities) and the seniority of most respondents (most were chief execu-
tives or senior ofcers within a policy unit) ameliorate these difculties. In
addition, the case studies were used, in part, as a triangulation tool to verify
the reliability and validity of the survey instrument.
It is important to note that the research was concerned only with local
authority initiatives to stimulate participation; it did not cover community-
generated activities such as self-help groups, petitions or direct actions. Fol-
lowing Parry et al., participation was interpreted broadly to refer to public
involvement in the processes of formulation, passage and implementation
of public policies (1992, p. 16), and electoral practices were not covered.
Political parties were also beyond the terms of the research, although we
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TRENDS IN PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 207
acknowledge the important role that such organizations play in structuring
many opportunities for political participation. The initiatives under investi-
gation varied signicantly in terms of both their scale and scope that is,
their duration and cost, their policy or issue focus, and the numbers and
specic groups of citizens targeted. They also varied in depth ranging
from the provision of information, to consultation over specied options,
to problem-based deliberation, and user-management of services. The nine-
teen forms of participation constitute an inelegant, yet pragmatic, bundle
of activities, covering virtually all the rungs in Arnsteins (1971) famous
ladder of participation (see Gyford 1991; Burns et al. 1994 or Audit Com-
mission 1999 for commentaries). The one thing that all of these methods
have in common is that they are attempts to encourage participation in local
affairs beyond the traditional processes of political engagement (voting and
party membership). It is for this reason that they can be seen as contributing
(potentially) to a process of democratic renewal (DETR 1998; Pratchett
1999).
THE USE OF DIFFERENT METHODS
In order to establish a census of participation initiatives the survey asked
each local authority to identify the different forms of participation or con-
sultation they had used in the previous year. The responses from this are
summarized in chart 1 (p. 216). For the purposes of analysis the different
forms of participation are divided into ve categories:
Consumerist methods forms of participation which are primarily cus-
tomer-oriented in their purpose and are mainly concerned with aspects
of service delivery.
Traditional methods methods which have a long history of use in local
government and are traditionally associated with public participation.
Forums activities which bring together users of particular services,
residents of an area, individuals concerned with specic issues (for
example, community safety) or those with a shared background or
interest (for example, minority ethnic groups), on a regular basis.
Consultative innovations new methods which seek mainly to consult
citizens on particular issues rather than to engage them in sustained
dialogue.
Deliberative innovations new methods which encourage citizens to
reect upon issues affecting them and their communities through some
form of deliberative process.
This categorization is inevitably crude and a case can easily be made for
including some forms within a different category. For the purposes of
analysis, however, it displays some important distinctions between differ-
ent forms of participation.
The most striking feature of chart 1 is the dominance of consumerist
methods as a means of consulting the public. Local authorities have clearly
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208 VIVIEN LOWNDES, LAWRENCE PRATCHETT AND GERRY STOKER
responded to the customer orientation encouraged by Conservative govern-
ments in the 1980s and early 1990s, with 92 per cent of authorities operating
a complaints/suggestions scheme and nearly as many (88 per cent) under-
taking service satisfaction surveys. Traditional methods are also widely
used, with more than four-fths of authorities issuing consultation docu-
ments and holding public meetings during the census year. Forums are also
a popular means of encouraging regular dialogue with different groups:
while the organization and operation of forums varies greatly, it was
notable that 87 per cent of all authorities claimed to operate at least one
type of forum.
Of greater interest, however, is the level of innovative methods in use.
Nearly half of all authorities (47 per cent) used focus groups, and a signi-
cant proportion used other deliberative mechanisms to engage with com-
munities in a more general way: some 45 per cent undertook some form
of community planning or needs analysis involving public participation,
while more than a quarter were using visioning techniques. Perhaps sur-
prisingly, given recent publicity surrounding them (Smith and Wales 2000),
only a small proportion of authorities (5 per cent) used citizens juries,
although this gure is somewhat blurred by the different labels which vari-
ous organizations attach to this activity. Consultative innovations such as
citizens panels were less widely used than deliberative techniques,
although 55 authorities already had a panel up and running and a further
18 expected to implement one in the near future. While different authorities
use the terms citizens panel and citizens jury to describe a range of different
techniques, for the purposes of this research the term citizens jury referred
to groups of citizens brought together to deliberate on a specic issue, while
the label citizens panel was reserved for a statistically representative sample
of citizens who are periodically consulted on a range of issues. The other
major area of innovative consultation was in the introduction of interactive
web-sites: 24 per cent claimed to already have such technology in operation
and a further 9 per cent anticipated implementation within the subsequent
12 months (Lowndes et al. 1998a). Such claims, however, need to be bal-
anced against a more recent study of local government web-sites (SOCITM
1999) which found that no authority in Britain offers a truly transactional
site and only 6 per cent offer a good level of interaction. The remainder
offer only very limited interaction (22 per cent) or no interaction whatsoever
(72 per cent). The extent to which technology is being used to extend partici-
pation and consultation is clearly limited.
While chart 1 provides a valuable summary of the extent to which each
form of participation is used by local authorities, it is also useful to analyse
this information in different ways. It is evident, for example, that most auth-
orities use more than one form of participation (Lowndes et al. 1998a).
Indeed, the survey ndings show that, on average, each local authority
used around nine different forms of participation during the census year.
Averages, however, can conceal marked differences between individual
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TRENDS IN PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 209
authorities. Chart 2 (p. 217) disaggregates the data into type of authority
to reveal signicant differences between urban and rural authorities. The
mean averages show that all three types of urban authority used around
eleven different forms of participation. By contrast, district councils (which
are generally smaller in terms of both population and geography although
with some notable exceptions) generally used only eight different forms
of public participation. Given that chart 1 shows that the vast majority of
authorities use at least two forms of customer-oriented consultation
(complaints/suggestions schemes and service satisfaction surveys) and two
traditional forms of participation (consultation documents and public
meetings) this indicates a generally low level of innovation among smaller
authorities. In some respects, this is not surprising these authorities gener-
ally have smaller budgets and fewer resources with which to experiment.
At the same time, however, it does appear to imply that smaller authorities
will not necessarily be more actively engaged with their communities at
least, not through formal participation mechanisms. County councils, how-
ever, stand out within the predominantly rural areas. Counties were parti-
cularly advanced in their use of interactive web-sites and were also good
at using other consultative approaches, presumably reecting the problems
of geography which confront most counties. Such a nding reinforces the
argument that different participation approaches may be more suited to the
needs of particular types of organization.
The greater range of participation methods used in some authorities
raises questions about the extent to which innovations are related to party
political control. In particular, are the most innovative authorities controlled
by the political parties most closely associated with the participation agenda
at national level? Chart 3 (p. 218) analyses the average number of partici-
pation initiatives by political control. Somewhat surprisingly, it shows that
there is very little difference between any of the three major parties. While
Liberal-Democrat controlled authorities are slightly ahead, using a mean
average of 9.8 initiatives, they are closely followed by Labour (9.6) and
Conservative (9.1) controlled authorities. These gures may be affected by
the exceptionally high number of Labour controlled authorities that existed
at the time of the survey and the absence of Conservative controlled auth-
orities. Of greater interest, however, are the consequences of an absence of
clear political control. Where authorities have no overall control, the aver-
age number of initiatives drops to 8.4. This suggests that while the con-
trolling party is not a signicant factor in determining the average number
of initiatives, the absence of one is. The absence of clear political leadership
in hung authorities appears to restrict the opportunities for experimen-
tation with participation and reduces the opportunities for innovation. This
effect is even stronger in Independent controlled authorities where the aver-
ages drop even further (6.2), although the relationship between small rural
local government and Independent control somewhat blurs the analysis,
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210 VIVIEN LOWNDES, LAWRENCE PRATCHETT AND GERRY STOKER
making it difcult to determine whether size or political control is the most
important factor in causing this effect.
TRENDS AND INNOVATIONS IN PARTICIPATION
So far the analysis has concentrated upon the overall picture of partici-
pation as it existed at the time of the census. It is interesting, however, to
examine the ways in which local authorities arrived at their current pos-
ition. Chart 4 (p. 219) summarizes recent trends for some of the more innov-
ative modes of participation and compares them with the recent growth in
other, more conventional, methods. The most striking feature of chart 4 is
the fact that all modes of participation are on the increase (this conclusion
also applies to the other modes of participation not included in this chart).
Even traditional modes of participation such as public meetings and ques-
tion and answer sessions are being more widely used than previously. This
suggests that there is a momentum behind the participation agenda which
extends beyond any individual method. Indeed, it would appear that far
from being a focus on a few fashionable innovations, the participation
agenda has encouraged local authorities to renew their acquaintance with
traditional forms of participation, as well as to experiment with alternatives.
Of course, the distinction between traditional and innovatory forms of par-
ticipation is not always apparent to individual authorities. In some of the
case study authorities the introduction of question and answer sessions
during committee meetings was deemed a major innovation which had
caused great controversy among councillors; in others it was deemed a rst
step towards more open participation; and in others it was a long-standing
tradition which was taken for granted (Lowndes et al. 1998a). Such attitudes
were important in determining the speed at which different innovations
were taken on board by different authorities.
Chart 4 also indicates the points at which innovation started to accelerate,
notably the mid-1990s. Focus groups, in particular became particularly
popular at this point, possibly reecting national party interests in these
tools. The other forms of innovative participation also show marked growth
during this period: visioning, especially, shows a quite dramatic take-up in
the three years from 1995. Clearly there is a process of learning and knowl-
edge sharing involved as different authorities have experimented with dif-
ferent tools and passed that information on through the local government
community. Of more signicance here, however, is the apparent willingness
of local government to engage with these innovations. The rapid take-up
of new forms of participation suggests a latent disposition within local
government for much greater public involvement and an enthusiasm for
developing new opportunities.
FACILITATORS AND BARRIERS TO ENHANCING PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION
The sharp growth in many forms of participation in recent years raises
important questions about the main purposes of public participation initiat-
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TRENDS IN PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 211
ives and the factors stimulating the development of participation strategies.
Respondents were asked to identify the main purposes and benets of par-
ticipation initiatives in their authority. Two stood out as being important
to the majority of authorities. First, many respondents stressed the impor-
tance of gaining citizens views and recognized that council decisions were
likely to be better informed if they were linked to participation exercises.
Second, a large proportion of respondents saw participation as being
directly related to service improvements, clearly reecting the current
emphasis on consultation within the Best Value framework. Both of these
benets, however, are largely internal to the commissioning organization,
reecting the information needs of decision makers and service providers
rather than those of the community. Indeed, the goals of empowering citi-
zens or increasing their awareness were largely secondary to the more tan-
gible benets of improving decision making. However, it should be noted
that such a nding contrasts sharply with the experiences of many citizens,
especially those who had experience of deliberative participation (see
Lowndes, Pratchett and Stoker, 2001, for a more detailed analysis of this
point).
Alongside the analysis of purposes and benets, survey respondents
were also asked to rank a number of issues according to how important
they were in stimulating an interest in public participation measures within
their authorities. Chart 5 (p. 220) summarizes their responses by attaching
weighted scores to the various categories. There are always problems in
asking individuals to attach ordinal rankings to complex and non-ordinal
patterns of preferences or beliefs. While it is important to be cautious when
interpreting such responses, however, it is clear that internal factors were
considered by respondents to be much more important than external stim-
uli. Corporate strategy, departmental projects and ruling group policy all
scored consistently high. By contrast, central government initiatives and
local government networks were not deemed to be of much signicance in
stimulating activity in this area. Whether such responses reect reality is
not an issue here. What is signicant, however, is the perception among
respondents (local government chief executives) that the participation
agenda is being driven more by local internal factors than by external impo-
sition. There is, therefore, a strong sense of ownership of these initiatives.
Such ownership, however, did not blind respondents to the difculties
they had encountered in developing participation strategies. Respondents
were also asked to rank the main problems experienced in implementing
participation initiatives. Their responses are summarized in chart 6, again
using weighted scores derived from the rankings. As might be expected,
the majority of respondents identied lack of resources and time as the
main factors inhibiting the development of public participation. Such issues
are not trivial. The case studies found that local authority resources rarely
matched their ambitions in this area and that justifying greater expenditure
on participation was always difcult when there were pressing social or
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212 VIVIEN LOWNDES, LAWRENCE PRATCHETT AND GERRY STOKER
economic problems demanding resources (Lowndes et al. 1998a). Moreover,
the time commitment necessary to make different initiatives successful
acted as a powerful inhibitor to greater experimentation. As a consequence,
several of the case study authorities had adopted a rolling policy of using
different forms of participation in different years: perhaps holding a series
of focus groups one year, conducting a residents survey another year, and
so on. In so doing, they were often aware of the limitations of their strategy
and, in particular, realized that the potential added value of matching infor-
mation from several sources was lost through this method. The problem of
when and how to commit resources to democratic enhancement, rather than
to service delivery, is an unresolved dilemma which lies at the heart of the
current process of democratic renewal.
The other important point which emerges from chart 6 (p. 221) is that
lack of public interest was seen to be a major inhibitor in many authorities.
Indeed, 58 (nearly one-fth) of respondents ranked this factor rst. Such
ndings have important policy implications, for while chart 4 suggested a
latent disposition among respondents towards enhanced participation,
chart 6 shows that the same respondents to do not perceive a strong
demand for it. The challenge for local authorities, therefore, is not only to
develop more and better opportunities for participation but also to stimu-
late demand for such initiatives across their communities.
THE DRAWBACKS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Although the respondents demonstrated considerable enthusiasm towards
enhanced public participation they were nonetheless frank about the prob-
lems and drawbacks associated with such initiatives. While two-thirds of
authorities indicated that their experience of participation initiatives was
largely positive, 35 per cent emphasized some negative effect (Lowndes et
al. 1998a). Two problems were particularly common. First, almost a third of
those identifying negative effects (32 per cent) were concerned that public
participation initiatives raised unrealistic public expectations. This was
particularly important when the authoritys ability to respond to particular
issues was constrained by nancial or legal limitations. Some authorities
also indicated that this was a problem when public demand on a particular
issue conicted with broader council policy. Second, a quarter of those
identifying negative effects were concerned that public participation initiat-
ives slowed down the decision-making process by introducing additional
stages into an already bureaucratic process. This was particularly a concern
where the authority was working with other agencies which demanded a
faster response.
Respondents also identied other negative effects, although these
occurred with less frequency. These included concerns that initiatives had
introduced additional costs to the decision-making process or placed
additional burdens on ofcers and members without any clear gains from
participation. There were also concerns that issues were often captured by
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TRENDS IN PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 213
particular groups who were not representative of the wider community,
leading to populism and short-term decision-making among elected mem-
bers. Concerns that community-based participation initiatives encourage
parochialism and an over concentration on relatively trivial issues were also
expressed. As one respondent put it relatively minor issues assume greater
importance than they perhaps warrant. Another went further, suggesting
that participation initiatives had led to greater conict and acrimony among
different sections of the community. This was matched by similar concerns
that initiatives might undermine the authority or legitimacy of elected
members or ofcers, and that being responsive to citizens may distract
attention from other more important issues. Finally, a small number of
very active authorities expressed concerns that in some areas there was a
danger of consultation overload, especially where many organizations
were consulting on a range of overlapping issues. Coupled with this was
a concern that unless initiatives are seen by all actors as being successful
there is a danger of groups losing condence not only in the initiative, but
also in the authority more generally.
Most respondents did not see these negative effects as excuses for avoid-
ing participation. Rather, most authorities saw them as challenges to be
overcome. Indeed, for many of the case study authorities such problems
were seen as being a necessary part of the learning experience in developing
more effective public participation strategies (Lowndes et al. 1998a). Never-
theless, all authorities acknowledged that there were certain issues which
should not be opened up to participation. The most commonly mentioned
issues were those of internal management, condential issues, commer-
cially sensitive matters and activities which are prescribed by statute, ther-
eby leaving the council no discretion. Other respondents, however, ident-
ied equally pertinent issues, although these were less frequently reported.
These included: issues requiring a quick response from the council; issues
which might raise unnecessary fears among the community or lead to
blight; areas where the ruling party had a clear manifesto commitment to
proceed in a particular way; and those issues which might exacerbate com-
munity tensions or create unnecessary cleavages between communities.
Most respondents were at pains to emphasize, however, that regardless of
which issues were opened up to public participation the nal decision
should always rest with elected members.
THE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATION INITIATIVES
Public participation is not simply about giving citizens more inuence over
particular decisions. Many of the case study authorities emphasized that
participation initiatives were only one factor among many that might
inuence a decision. Elected members, particularly, argued that they had
a duty to weigh a range of factors which might contradict current public
opinion. Nevertheless, it is useful to reect upon how much impact partici-
pation initiatives have on nal decisions. The survey asked respondents to
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214 VIVIEN LOWNDES, LAWRENCE PRATCHETT AND GERRY STOKER
describe in their own words the effect of their participation initiatives on
nal decisions. Chart 7 (p. 222) groups these into six categories. The key
feature of these six categories is that only two (better informed decisions
and strong inuence) can be deemed to be wholly positive and these
accounted for only a third of respondents. The remaining two-thirds of
respondents had noted some negative effects of initiatives in the work of
the authority. While such reservations do not invalidate public participation
initiatives, they should alert all those involved with the democratic renewal
agenda to the issues which need to be addressed if initiatives are to be seen
as being successful.
The limited impact of public participation initiatives on nal decisions is
not wholly surprising and, indeed, it may even be appropriate. As the
Audit Commission (1999, para. 48) observe, it is the elected members role
to decide what weight to give to the results of community consultation
alongside other factors, such as available resources, statutory requirements
and the views of partner organisations. What is not clear from the survey
ndings, however, is whether the results of participation initiatives have
been given their due weight in the decision-making process. Low levels of
impact may well be explained by such arguments but they also need to be
justied, especially to the public.
CONCLUSIONS
The survey of participation initiatives has shown a commitment and
enthusiasm across local government for innovation in this area. Over the
last few years the number and range of participation initiatives in local
government has expanded greatly, offering citizens wide opportunities to
take part in local affairs. This growth in participation opportunities reects
more than simply a response to the current democratic renewal agenda or,
indeed, a party political programme. Rather, it demonstrates a sense of
ownership within individual authorities of the democratic possibilities
which such initiatives hold and a willingness to develop them. In providing
a census of participation initiatives within local government, therefore, the
survey has provided an important benchmark against which to measure
democratic development in future years.
The ndings from the survey offer more than just a benchmark of partici-
pation activity. The experience of local authorities has revealed difculties
as well as advantages in enhancing public participation: difculties which
they must address if they are to meet consultation requirements in respect
of Best Value, the power to promote the social, economic and environmen-
tal well-being of the area, or the beacon council scheme. Top of most lists
is the crucial dichotomy between justifying expenditure on democratic
activities when specic services are still in need of resources. Similarly, the
tension between introducing real democratic enhancements and achieving
efcient and effective service delivery remains. As participation becomes
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TRENDS IN PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 215
more entrenched in the culture of local government so these problems and
dilemmas will become more pressing.
The claim that the observed growth in participation initiatives represents
democratic enhancement needs to be treated with some caution. While
many of the initiatives do provide new opportunities for individuals or
groups to articulate their preferences, it is clear that, on their own, they
often do not live up to the fundamental democratic tests of popular control
and political equality (Beetham 1999). Individual initiatives are often delib-
erately designed to discriminate in favour of particular groups or areas,
especially where authorities are trying to reach socially excluded groups.
In this respect, they automatically fail the democratic test, even though they
may be seeking to address failings in existing democratic practice. Where
they can enhance local democracy, however, is as part of a broader pro-
gramme of participation and community engagement linked into tra-
ditional democratic processes (Lowndes et al. 1998b). The overall approach
that local authorities adopt towards participation, therefore, will be
important in establishing the extent to which individual initiatives can
enhance local democracy.
Among many authorities there is a perception that there is little public
enthusiasm for enhanced participation, particularly among those groups
who are traditionally excluded from political participation. Such a percep-
tion makes justifying participation initiatives even harder. These percep-
tions, however, are only half of the picture. Our research also investigated
citizen attitudes and perceptions towards local government participation,
including some of the most socially excluded groups in society. The nd-
ings from this part of the research are reported in a subsequent article in
this journal (Lowndes, Pratchett and Stoker, 2001). Making the link between
local government and citizen perceptions of participation is possibly the
greatest challenge facing democratic renewal.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to thank the other members of the research team:
Steve Leach, Melvin Wingeld and David Wilson.
APPENDIX
Charts 17 follow on pp. 21622.
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A
W
R
E
N
C
E
P
R
A
T
C
H
E
T
T
A
N
D
G
E
R
R
Y
S
T
O
K
E
R
CHART 5 Factors stimulating participation initiatives

B
l
a
c
k
w
e
l
l
P
u
b
l
i
s
h
e
r
s
L
t
d
.
2
0
0
1
T
R
E
N
D
S
I
N
P
U
B
L
I
C
P
A
R
T
I
C
I
P
A
T
I
O
N
2
2
1
CHART 6 Factors inhibiting participation initiatives

B
l
a
c
k
w
e
l
l
P
u
b
l
i
s
h
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r
s
L
t
d
.
2
0
0
1
222 VIVIEN LOWNDES, LAWRENCE PRATCHETT AND GERRY STOKER
CHART 7 Impact of participation on nal decisions
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