Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants
The Potential for Public Empowerment through Government-Organized Citizen Participation
Department
School of Public, Nonprofit & Health Administration
College
College of Community and Public Service
Date Range
2012-2013
Disciplines
Business | Law
Abstract
Public administration scholars and practitioners have long grappled with the prospects of balancing democracy's aims at openness and public inclusion with bureaucracy's chief values of efficiency and expertise. During the past half-century, a wide range of citizen participation opportunities has emerged, many of which have sought to bring citizens to a more influential position in shaping administrative direction. Under the auspices of a vast grant system, the federal government has frequently linked funding eligibility, at least partially, to the recipient jurisdiction's willingness and ability to facilitate public involvement. Once public participation has been mandated, the choice for administrators is not whether to include the public, but rather, how inclusive to be in terms of quality of interaction and potential for impact.
Conference Name
Public Management Research Conference
Conference Location
Madison, WI
ScholarWorks Citation
Buckwalter, Neal D., "The Potential for Public Empowerment through Government-Organized Citizen Participation" (2013). Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants. 1251.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg/1251
