Disappointment with political institutions along with declining trust in politicians and declining interest in local politics are tendencies across Europe at the moment. Governments are under pressure to improve the quality and the legitimacy of decision-making and to improve the public service. To be able to achieve these goals the governments are focusing still more on citizen participation.

Research in citizen participation in EU countries in general finds that practice often fails to exist up to expectations, for the reason that most exercises remain top-down, with agendas and rules of engagement dictated by the state partners. The CINEFOGO research shows that effective participation depends on both the will of politicians and the readiness of citizens to engage and both are difficult to achieve, especially where the legacy of state socialism remains.

Taylor from University of West England, who is one of the responsible of the research, suggests: "At the EU-level there is a need for dialogue between citizens and decision makers to consider how to improve the level and quality of participation at the municipal level in different parts of the EU. At the same time clarity is needed about whether participation engages people as citizens or consumers, about the relationship between formal representative systems and participatory mechanisms and about the need for resources. And finally at the institutional level clarity is needed over the rules of engagement, the objectives of engagement, who is to be engaged, at what stage in the decision-making process and how to deal with conflict".

CINEFOGO suggests furthermore to see on the potential of e-democracy and to support local organisations since neighbourhood organisations often have a dynamism and creativity missing from local government.

If you are interested in hearing more about the topic, do not hesitate to contact scientific communications consultant Ellen-Kristina Kristensen on telephone number  +45 4674 3307 or mail ellenk@ruc.dk

Source web: http://www.cinefogo.org/workpackages/wp14/index_html

Working papers are available to download from the CINEFOGO outcomes database:
http://cinefogo.cuni.cz/index.php?&w=50&srch=wp14&id_result=3388