We think differently, providing our unique creativity and perspective to your project; together turning opportunities into action.
We are living in interesting times. Never before has citizen participation been higher on the UK political agenda. Participation has become the buzzword across our public institutions in health, education, governance and the built environment. It seems like participation is everywhere.
On one hand I think this is inspirational – if effective systems for participation can be developed then we will end up with a much more cohesive society where people feel empowered to take control of their own environments and experiences, and where people will have a sense of ownership, belonging and commitment to their public services and institutions which will enrich the services that are delivered and generally make the world a happier, healthier place.
On the other hand including participation in everything is highly problematic. It’s happening too fast and is being done badly on too many projects. People are becoming increasingly skeptical about the impact their participation has on what actually happens. There isn’t enough time or money in public projects to enable professionals to carry out meaningful collaborative work. The existing models for participatory practice that we have are limited, and there is no time or space to reflect on what is happening and improve it in a way that will have a significant impact.
I’m determined to stay optimistic because I believe that participation is important, and that a healthy future society needs to be achieved through a collective effort, but I want to find out how this can work in practice. What do you think?
Posted on 22/03/07 in Participation