Public Participation, a definitionThe collective efforts of the beneficiaries of development (ordinary people) to organise themselves and pool their social capital to attain set grassroots objectives through influencing, directing and eventually owning the development process (Rahman 1993:150 and the International Association for Public Participation)

Forms of public participationPretty et al (1995), participation comes in different forms which they prefer to call typologies and these are:

• Passive participation

• Participation in information giving

• Participation by consultation

• Participation for material incentives

• Functional participation

• Interactive participation

• Self mobilization

Levels of participationArnstein (1969:218) public participation differs in scope and depth forming eight levels of participation as follows:

1. Public control

• The public has the degree of power necessary to govern a project without outside influence

2 Delegated power

• The public acquires the dominant decision-making authority over a particular project

3. Partnership

• Power becomes distributed through negotiations between the public and those in power

4 Placation

• A few handpicked members are appointed to committees while tokenism is still the main

motivation for the powerful

5 Consultation

• The public free to offer opinions

• There is no assurance that these opinions will be considered

6 Informing

• Flow of information is one-way and top-down

• The public is informed of their rights, responsibilities and options

7 Therapy

• Focus is on shaping the public’s attitudes in order for them to conform to those in power

rather than focus on the programme or project

8 Manipulation

• The public is part of powerless committees and the notion of public participation is a

public relations vehicle for the powerful

Strategies to increase participation(Department of Environment Affairs and Tourism South

Africa (DEAT) 2002:14)

• DEAT (2002: 24) suggests three levels of strategy which

cover about thirty (30) options;

Level 1: Informing Participants

1. Legal notices

2. Advertisements

3. Magazines, news articles and press releases

4. Background information material

5. Exhibits and displays

6. Technical reports

7. Websites

8. Field trips

9. Press conferences

10. Radio and TV talk shows

11. Expert panels and educational meetings

Level 2: Consulting Participants

12. Public meetings

13. Public hearings

14. Open days open houses

15. Briefings

16. Central information contact

17. Field offices or information centres

18. Comments and response sheets

19. Surveys and polls

20. Interviews or focus group discussions

21. Telephone hotlines or complaints register

22. Electronic democracy

Level 3: Empowering participants

23. Workshops, focus groups and stakeholder

meetings

24. Advisory committees and panels

25. Task force

26. Citizen juries

27. Charettes and consensus conference

28. Imbizo: interactive governance aimed at

partnership between planners and stakeholders

29. Indaba: forum for open and frequent dialogue

between stakeholders to identify and address

issues of common concern

30. Participatory appraisal/participatory learning

& action

• Appropriate people and issue centred

research methodology through which the

concerned people conduct their own research

in partnership with the researcher or official

(Theron & Wetmore 2008: 202-219)

Key Informant interviews allows individual to speak freely and helps in the identification of various interest groups though a trusted interviewer is required for success.

Focus groups allows citizens of similar interests to express their opinions, interaction allows formulation and creation of ideas and strategies but require a skilled leader to meet with the groups several times to notice any trends

Nominal groups allow expression of all ideas in a non-debate format resulting in priotisation of needs and concerns.