3.7 Citizen Participation in Development

Citizen Participation in Development

Concept

Citizen participation in development involves mainstreaming citizens in the nation-building process, enabling them to freely exercise their political, economic, social, and cultural rights. According to modern development principles, citizens are the most knowledgeable about development issues, needs, priorities, and challenges, making them the primary stakeholders in development. This concept is rooted in participatory development, enhancing administrative efficiency and political legitimacy. The pillars of citizen participation include governance power, decentralization of authority, transparency, democratic values, active civil society, and prioritized development areas. The World Bank defines citizen participation as a two-way interaction between the government and citizens. The concept began evolving in the 1970s and gained prominence in the 1980s with the introduction of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) by non-governmental organizations, which integrated rural communities’ knowledge, skills, and aspirations into development plans. In the 1990s, the concept of good governance emphasized transparency, accountability, rule of law, and public participation, further reinforced by emerging concepts like liberalization, globalization, and privatization, which placed citizen participation at the core of development. Participation can be individual, representative, or collective, fostering ownership and social responsibility in development activities. Citizen engagement is essential from identifying needs to implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and providing feedback on projects. It balances the power dynamics between citizens, society, and the state, fostering constructive relationships that promote national progress and sustainable development, while conflictual relationships lead to societal discord, unrest, and disharmony. The nature of citizen-state relations depends on the dynamics, objectives, and socio-political context of participation.

Stages of Citizen Participation

1. Undertake Need Analysis: Align the objectives and goals of citizen participation, including identifying concepts, piloting, and project enhancement.
2. Defining Degree of Engagement: Provide citizens with opportunities to select appropriate plans during the development and implementation of development concepts.
3. Creating Citizen Engagement Team: Form informal or formal groups involving all internal and external stakeholders to facilitate discussions, collaboration, interactions, and suggestions.
4. Undertaking Engagement: Emphasize effective and significant citizen participation through surveys, consultations, and open meetings.
5. Analyze Input and Provide Feedback: Evaluate the impact of citizen participation through various mechanisms and provide feedback after preparatory stages.
6. Institutionalize Engagement: Internalize and implement citizen participation practices.

Tools and Mechanisms for Citizen Participation in Development

Various tools are used to actively involve citizens in different stages of development:

• Formation of local-level user groups or beneficiary committees.
• Public hearings.
• Social audits.
• Public audits.
• Third-party evaluations.
• Citizen panels.
• Formation of citizen juries.
• Workshops and seminars with stakeholders.
• Review meetings.
• Citizen report cards.
• Direct monitoring and observation of development projects by citizens.

Importance and Need for Citizen Participation

• Fosters self-respect and self-reliance in society.
• Develops collective decision-making capacity.
• Enhances mutual understanding and goodwill between citizens and the state.
• Reduces project costs and promotes frugality.
• Creates a sense of ownership and belongingness among citizens.
• Increases transparency in projects, ensuring proper use of funds and quality improvement.
• Enables sustainable operation of development initiatives.
• Reduces the government’s burden.
• Enhances governance legitimacy and administrative effectiveness.
• Fosters a two-way interaction environment between government and citizens.
• Encourages citizens to become self-reliant and independent.

Problems in Citizen Participation in Development

• Lack of clear policies, laws, standards, and procedures.
• Failure of development programs to directly address citizens’ voices, choices, and rights.
• Inability to mobilize public participation in prioritizing, selecting, and implementing development activities.
• Lack of transparency and accountability in project implementation.
• Absence of meaningful citizen participation.
• Lack of mandatory legal provisions for citizen engagement.
• Failure to translate political and administrative commitments into practice.
• Limitation of public participation to mere paperwork at the local level.
• Elite capture in development projects, sidelining social justice.
• Lack of trust in government, reducing citizens’ spontaneous engagement and ownership.
• Low citizen capacity due to illiteracy, lack of awareness, skills, or expertise.
• Exclusion and marginalization hindering equal participation.
• Lack of documentation and accounting for physical, economic, and social contributions in participation.
• Forced or pressured participation rather than voluntary engagement.
• Absence of mechanisms or practices to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of citizen participation.
• Failure to utilize citizens’ skills, capacities, and expertise effectively.
• Insufficient focus on enhancing modern, technology-driven knowledge, skills, and capacities.

Arrangements for Citizen Participation in Nepal

• Constitutional Provisions: Article 51 of the Constitution of Nepal, under state policies, emphasizes enhancing local public participation in national development processes.
• Local Government Operation Act, 2074 BS: Mandates maximum participation of local intellectuals, experts, experienced individuals, professionals, marginalized and endangered communities, women, children, Dalits, youth, minorities, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens in planning and implementation.
• Public Procurement Act, 2063 BS, and Regulations, 2064 BS: Prioritizes citizen participation through the formation of user committees for implementing local-level development activities.
• Good Governance (Management and Operation) Act, 2064 BS, and Regulations, 2065 BS: Addresses citizen grievances through public hearings, social audits, public audits, and third-party evaluations.
• Emphasis on inclusive principles for citizen participation in development activities conducted by governmental and non-governmental entities.
• High prioritization of citizen participation in budgets, policies, and programs at federal, provincial, and local levels.

Measures to Enhance Citizen Participation in Development

Citizen participation should be driven by free will and rights, not by pressure or mandates. To make it effective, clear policies, standards, leadership development, and public awareness are essential. Specific measures include:

1. Participatory Planning:
   • Ensure processes to incorporate citizens’ opinions, needs, and priorities in development planning.
   • Collect suggestions through public hearings, community meetings, and other platforms.
2. Regular Dialogue Between Representatives and Citizens:
   • Conduct periodic “People-Representative Dialogue” programs at ward, rural municipality, or municipal levels.
   • Build trust and accountability among stakeholders.
3. Public Hearings and Social Audits:
   • Present progress and expenditure details publicly after project implementation.
   • Allow citizens to ask questions, provide feedback, and offer suggestions directly.
4. Grievance Handling System:
   • Establish accessible online or physical systems for submitting and tracking grievances and their resolutions.
5. Citizens’ Budget:
   • Present budgets in people-friendly language for easy understanding.
   • Provide transparent information on budget allocation and expenditure.
6. Transparent Information Dissemination:
   • Share development-related information through websites, social media, and notice boards.
7. Public Awareness Campaigns:
   • Conduct training and campaigns to educate citizens about development, planning, rights, and responsibilities.
8. Ensure Inclusive Participation:
   • Provide representation and decision-making roles to women, Dalits, indigenous groups, persons with disabilities, youth, and seniors.
9. Form Local Monitoring Committees:
   • Create citizen-led committees to monitor project implementation.
   • Ensure transparency and quality in project execution.
10. Encourage Creative Suggestions and Innovation Competitions:
    • Solicit solution-oriented suggestions from citizens to enhance development effectiveness.
    • Reward and implement outstanding suggestions.

Implementing these measures will build citizen trust, enhance ownership in development projects, and ensure effective utilization of public resources.

Way Forward

• Emphasize contribution-oriented and program-driven participation rather than passive involvement.
• Engage stakeholders directly in development activities, fostering community responsibility for development.
• Focus on capacity building through citizen awareness, orientation, and empowerment.
• Implement people-friendly legal frameworks, policies, and programs to give tangible form to citizen participation.
• Establish legal and structural arrangements to involve citizens in all local development activities.
• Enable citizens to proactively identify their needs and lead the formulation of plans, projects, and programs, rather than merely accepting services.
• Create mandatory legal provisions to ensure citizens bear accountability for areas they are involved in.
• Mobilize all societal groups, empowering them with rights and ensuring accountability through clear legal mechanisms.

Conclusion

The scope of citizen participation is vast, encompassing local development to nation-building. In Nepal, there is a lack of clear standards for citizen participation, and it is often mobilized under governmental control rather than as a matter of citizen rights and free will. Therefore, establishing clear policies, regulations, and standards, along with fostering citizen awareness, orientation, and empowerment, is essential to develop citizen capacity, promote spontaneous engagement, ownership, and accountability, and institutionalize a robust system for citizen participation in development.