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Interactivity of district meetings and the attainment of goals in the municipality of Enschede : process evaluation of a civil participation experiment

Dijkstra, H.L. (2018) Interactivity of district meetings and the attainment of goals in the municipality of Enschede : process evaluation of a civil participation experiment.

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Abstract:This thesis presents an evaluation research of an participation policy experiment in the municipality of Enschede implemented between 2015 and 2016. The experiment was implemented with two main aims: The first was to increase citizens’ participation in and influence on district policies and the second was to formulate and attain district goals. Towards these aims, district meetings were set up that resulted in district agendas containing goals specific for each district. We evaluate the process through description of the organization in terms of rules-in-use, followed by measurement of interactivity and attainment of agenda goals. Results are retrieved through a case study, in which 35 civil participants were involved in a survey and 5 in-depth interviews with municipal workers were conducted. Based on these interviews the first conclusion is that the process is organized in an interactive way regarding the rules-in-use. This corresponds with the municipal ambitions to increase citizen participation. Second, based on the survey including participant-citizens and interviews with participant-policy makers it is concluded that the meetings were interactive in terms of transparency, openness and equality and that participants evaluate the process and outcomes as satisfactory. Due to a low response on survey questions concerning agenda goals, limited conclusions could be drawn concerning the attainment of specific agenda goals. Future research on the attainment of goals created in a participative setting could bring more clarity about this topic.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:88 social and public administration
Programme:Public Administration MSc (60020)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/75047
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