Description
How do you put the "public" in public management? How can the traditional ethos of professionalism and technical expertise be reconciled with norms of representation and citizen participation at a time when technology is transforming communication between citizens and government - in some ways enhancing the exchange and in other ways complicating it? "Modernizing Democracy: Innovations in Citizen Participation" points the way. Written for public administration professionals, scholars, and students interested in citizen participation, it brings together new analyses of innovative practices, from hands-on community learning and focus groups to high-tech information systems and decision support technologies. The expert contributors illuminate the various roles that public administrators and leaders can play in fostering constructive, meaningful citizen involvement at all stages of the public policy process - from initiation and planning to feedback on public agency performance.
Table of Contents
Foreword, Xavier de Souza Briggs; 1. Modernizing Democracy: An Overview of the Issues, Terry F. Buss, F. Stevens Redburn, and Kristina Guo; 2. Expanding and Deepening Citizen Participation: A Policy Agenda, F. Stevens Redburn and Terry F. Buss; 3. Community Learning: Process and Structure of Collaborative Engagement, Ricardo S. Morse; 4. Community Learning in Practice: Insights from an Action Project in Southwest Virginia, Ricardo S. Morse; 5. National Accountability Strategies for Developing Countries: Observations on Global Practices, F. Stevens Redburn and Terry F. Buss; 6. Broadening Citizen Participation Processes in Federal Programs: HUD's CDBG Programs, Terry F. Buss and Marcela Tribble; 7. Using Focus Groups to Develop Family Policy: The Case of Georgia, Terry F. Buss; 8. Information Technology and Governance, Terry F. Buss and F. Stevens Redburn; 9. Lenses for Understanding the Changing Environment for Technology-Supported Citizen Involvement, John O'Looney; 10. Simulation and Decision Support Technologies for Enhancing Citizen Understanding and Engagement, John O'Looney; 11. The Internet, Politics, and Democracy, Terry F. Buss and Nathaniel J. Buss; About the Editors and Contributors; * Index.
