Communities are the basis of the organization of society, and today it is important to realize the importance of involving the public in decision-making by local authorities. After all, the public, as a bearer of unique experience, views and needs, is an integral part of any successful public initiative or project.
One of the key aspects of public involvement is to ensure transparency and openness in the decision-making process. When citizens have the opportunity to influence decision-making, it builds trust and ensures greater accountability on the part of local government representatives.
Public involvement also helps ensure a diversity of opinions and ideas in the decision-making process. The collective intelligence of the community is often more effective in solving complex problems than individual solutions. The diversity of opinions allows you to take into account different aspects of problems and find compromise solutions that take into account the interests of all interested parties.
In addition, public involvement can help raise citizens' awareness of issues affecting their community. The more people understand the problems facing their community, the more they can pay attention to these issues and participate in solving them.
In such countries as Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the USA, Sweden, Australia, self-organization of citizens at the local level is carried out through institutions of the non-profit sector, the most common of which are centers of local societies, neighborhood societies and neighborhood trusts. These institutions are non-profit and mainly function in the form of associations and trusts.
Ukraine's experience is different. Despite the fact that Ukraine has created prerequisites for widespread involvement of the population in solving local problems, the activity of community members is at a low level.
The main reasons for this are:
- war and shifting focus to other needs;
- lack of understanding by state authorities of the importance of involving the community in the processes of economic and social development;
- community members' ignorance of how they can personally join and influence changes in the community.
Despite this, there are many proactive communities in Ukraine that skillfully involve the public in decision-making and the organization of anti-corruption work in the local self-government body. The practices of such 10 communities were collected by the NGO "Foundation for Institutional Development" within the framework of the competition of successful practices of involving the public in decision-making and organizing anti-corruption work in the local self-government body, which was organized within the project "Transparent community reconstruction: tools for public involvement".
The collection included the practices of the following communities: Belogorodsk Village Council, Drohobytsk City Council, Khotynsk City Council, Odesa City Council, Kiliysk City Council, Zarichansk Village Council, Kamianets-Podilsk City Council, Rokytnivsk Settlement Council, Novopokrovsk City Council, Zdolbunivsk City Council .
More information about the successful practices of these communities can be found in the collection "10 successful practices of involving the public in decision-making and anti-corruption work in the local self-government body": https://cutt.ly/1ewMPnTV
Tools for public involvement in decision-making are a key element of community development. Their use allows creating more innovative solutions that meet the needs and expectations of residents. Awareness of the importance of public involvement is a step forward in building sustainable, transparent and progressive communities.
This publication was compiled with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. It’s content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.