This thesis examines whether and how participatory governance (PG), a model for incorporating citizen participation in designing and/or implementing strategies to solve public problems, can strengthen civil society and improve the quality of democracy. The study focuses on community-managed schools (CMS) in Honduras and Guatemala, arguably each country's largest PG initiative, in which parents managed rural schools. This thesis advances a "political capabilities" framework to explore state efforts to strengthen civil society and improve the quality of democracy. I use a mixed-methods approach, centering on surveys of over 2,000 parents and eight community case studies. My research first shows how different long-standing political legacies—“controlled inclusion” in Honduras and “coerced marginalization” in Guatemala—impinged on CMS. In Honduras, patronage networks captured CMS. In Guatemala, community- and national-level polarization contributed to CMS's reversal. Both undermined the CMS model and reduced the likelihood that participants would develop political capabilities. Despite these obstacles to stimulating civil society, I find surprising evidence of important individual-level “spillover” effects—such as gaining skills and increasing participation in other organizations—among a non-trivial minority of participating parents. Moreover, regressions and case study analysis indicate that state support, parents' level of involvement, and parents' perceptions of council effectiveness and democraticness can increase the likelihood of certain spillovers. Still, prior organizational experience remains the best predictor of subsequent participation and leadership. And qualitative analysis further demonstrates the limits of CMS's impacts on rural civil society. For the most part, individuals have not used newly acquired skills to build new types of groups and organize autonomously. Instead, community organizations remain very limited in their scope of action and heavily circumscribed by the state. In sum, this thesis demonstrates how, through one type of PG initiative, states can stimulate participation and produce changes in individuals’ civic and political behavior. But CMS was not a “game-changer” for rural civil society—the link from incremental changes in individual behavior to how rural communities organize themselves and engage with the state remains tenuous.

Esta dissertação analisa a participação da sociedade na Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC), criada em 2007 como a primeira empresa pública de radiodifusão brasileira. Mais especificamente, nosso tema é o Conselho Curador, desenhado para ser o principal mecanismo de controle social da nova empresa, responsável por garantir o caráter público da EBC. Conceito cada vez mais mobilizado, a participação da sociedade constitui-se em um campo de estudo amplo interdisciplinar cuja definição é disputada por variados referenciais teóricos. As possibilidades abertas pelas tecnologias digitais intensificaram o interesse pelo tema. Ao mesmo tempo, as discussões sobre os novos desafios das emissoras de radiodifusão pública têm enfatizado a necessidade de abri-las para o público, renovar seu vínculo com a sociedade e estreitar laços com o cidadão. Nosso estudo parte de concepções ampliadas de teorias democráticas, bem como de estudos sobre participação na mídia, para analisar a dinâmica interna do Conselho Curador durante o período da primeira gestão da Diretoria Executiva da EBC, entre 2007 e 2011. / This dissertation analyzes the society participation in Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC), created in 2007 as the first brazilian public service broadcasting. We investigate the performance of the Conselho Curador, designed to be the main mechanism of social control of the new company, responsible for ensuring the public nature of the EBC. The society participation, as an increasingly mobilized concept, has become a broad interdisciplinary field of study whose definition is discussed by different theoretical frameworks. The possibilities offered by digital technologies have intensified the interest in this subject. At the same time, discussions on the new challenges of public broadcasters have emphasized the need to open them to the public, renewing its relationship with society and strengthen ties with citizens. Our work explores the expanded concepts of democratic theories and the studies about media participation to analyze the internal dynamics in the Conselho Curador during the period of the first term of the Executive Board of the EBC, between 2007 and 2011.

Esta dissertação analisa a participação da sociedade na Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC), criada em 2007 como a primeira empresa pública de radiodifusão brasileira. Mais especificamente, nosso tema é o Conselho Curador, desenhado para ser o principal mecanismo de controle social da nova empresa, responsável por garantir o caráter público da EBC. Conceito cada vez mais mobilizado, a participação da sociedade constitui-se em um campo de estudo amplo interdisciplinar cuja definição é disputada por variados referenciais teóricos. As possibilidades abertas pelas tecnologias digitais intensificaram o interesse pelo tema. Ao mesmo tempo, as discussões sobre os novos desafios das emissoras de radiodifusão pública têm enfatizado a necessidade de abri-las para o público, renovar seu vínculo com a sociedade e estreitar laços com o cidadão. Nosso estudo parte de concepções ampliadas de teorias democráticas, bem como de estudos sobre participação na mídia, para analisar a dinâmica interna do Conselho Curador durante o período da primeira gestão da Diretoria Executiva da EBC, entre 2007 e 2011. / This dissertation analyzes the society participation in Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC), created in 2007 as the first brazilian public service broadcasting. We investigate the performance of the Conselho Curador, designed to be the main mechanism of social control of the new company, responsible for ensuring the public nature of the EBC. The society participation, as an increasingly mobilized concept, has become a broad interdisciplinary field of study whose definition is discussed by different theoretical frameworks. The possibilities offered by digital technologies have intensified the interest in this subject. At the same time, discussions on the new challenges of public broadcasters have emphasized the need to open them to the public, renewing its relationship with society and strengthen ties with citizens. Our work explores the expanded concepts of democratic theories and the studies about media participation to analyze the internal dynamics in the Conselho Curador during the period of the first term of the Executive Board of the EBC, between 2007 and 2011.

Community-based management of natural resource (CBNRM) projects have commonly failed to deliver conservation and development benefits. This thesis examined how the theoretical assumptions of common pool resource (CPR) theory have contributed to the indifferent performance of CBNRM projects. Evidence was gathered from two CBNRM case studies in Zanzibar to show that CPR institutional design does not sufficiently acknowledge the politics or social relations of project sites. Moreover, these limitations reduce CPR theory's explanatory power and the functionality of CBNRM projects. This is because CPR theory's influence on CBNRM projects is to frame people with fixed identities and related interests as 'rational resource users', rather than people enrolled in multiple network relations with differentiated means of influence, interests and responsibilities. Actor-oriented theory is used to show that CBNRM would benefit from a shift in the correlation with institutional design factors to understanding the operation of power and conflict at project sites. These findings suggest that currently CBNRM projects are too mired in concern about regulating the 'direct' relationship between resource users and conservation objectives, with problematic implications. It is shown that actor-oriented theory is more sensitive to the different capacities, interests and strategies of actors in CBNRM institutional transformation processes. While actor-oriented theory does not offer a parsimonious or predictive theory to reform CPR theory or CBNRM policy, it can provide insights into pre-project conditions and emergent practice useful for explaining project interventions.

This research explored the application of a resilience assessment (RA) template in an Ontario community to facilitate sustainable community planning. Research and application of sustainable community planning that incorporates management of social and ecological resilience is relatively young territory that requires improved understanding and extension. The research goals were to critically examine the performance of the process used to perform the RA. This inquiry was considered a knowledge-generating evaluation that combined applied research and evaluation research to contribute to theoretical understanding and action. The RA template was field-tested using a single in-depth case study - the Town of Huntsville, Ontario. A mixture of qualitative methods was used to pilot and evaluate the RA, including: key informant interviews, online group discussions, focus groups, and secondary literature review. The process used to perform the RA was evaluated against four criteria that focused on the adequacy of data collection, participant diversity, participant empowerment, and utility for other communities. This research illuminated obstacles and shortcomings within the Resilience Alliance 2010 RA workbook and offered recommendations to improve the utility of the RA for communities and participants. The RA template tested in this thesis could be adapted for application in other communities, including small urban and rural communities and larger municipalities. The RA template would benefit from additional case study research.

This research explored the application of a resilience assessment (RA) template in an Ontario community to facilitate sustainable community planning. Research and application of sustainable community planning that incorporates management of social and ecological resilience is relatively young territory that requires improved understanding and extension. The research goals were to critically examine the performance of the process used to perform the RA. This inquiry was considered a knowledge-generating evaluation that combined applied research and evaluation research to contribute to theoretical understanding and action. The RA template was field-tested using a single in-depth case study - the Town of Huntsville, Ontario. A mixture of qualitative methods was used to pilot and evaluate the RA, including: key informant interviews, online group discussions, focus groups, and secondary literature review. The process used to perform the RA was evaluated against four criteria that focused on the adequacy of data collection, participant diversity, participant empowerment, and utility for other communities. This research illuminated obstacles and shortcomings within the Resilience Alliance 2010 RA workbook and offered recommendations to improve the utility of the RA for communities and participants. The RA template tested in this thesis could be adapted for application in other communities, including small urban and rural communities and larger municipalities. The RA template would benefit from additional case study research.

在民主改革之浪潮中，政府的運作已從過往獨斷統治模式走向參與治理的型態。參與式治理的呈現方式包括了審議式民主、以公民為中心之協力公共管理、協力治理等型態。公共政策的制定本應以民意為基礎；因此，引導多元利害關係人至公共政策過程之中，共同制定決策即是參與治理的核心，而決策品質的形成關鍵在於政府如何有效管理、促進多元行動者互動以達成決策的參與過程；然而，回顧文獻發現，決策品質主題卻為學界所忽略。因此，本文從參與式治理觀點出發，以利害關係人之角度切入，選擇全民健保總額制度下的牙醫門診總額支付委員會作為個案，嘗試建構出決策品質評估架構。研究發現，由下至上的利害關係人參與過程不但有助於資訊的蒐集與分享、正確地界定問題，亦促進了利害關係人凝聚共識；同時，平等尊重的溝通態度，增強了政策學習功能；加上公共管理者適時地扮演領導角色，有效解決衝突，促進了決策過程的互動與效率。然而，研究亦顯示支委會決策過程仍有不足之處；參與決策行動者之包容性與代表性仍有改善之空間、決策資訊未達公開透明化、法律規範的模糊不清、以及決策原則標準的缺乏。因此，本文建議應該擴大參與團體類別並考量其行動能力，具體強化多元代表參與之可能；同時，應建立法規和參與機制之適當連結，確立相關法律規範，實踐權責分明的決策過程；最後，更應強調互動討論過程的公共商議精神，促進理性決策的落實。此外，也建議學界未來可著力於相關實務經驗研究，設計更為完善的評估架構，以期對於決策品質面向提供更為豐富完整的論述。 / Under the trend of democratic reform, the way of public administration has changed from despotic to participatory governance. The forms of participatory governance include deliberative democracy, citizen-centered collaborative public management, and collaborative governance. The core of participatory governance is threefold which includes involving multiple stakeholders into policy-making process, to make decisions collectively, and to base public policy making on public opinion. However, after reviewing the literature, it can be found that seldom are there studies of decision-making quality. The quality of decision making lies in effective management of the process; that is, how to encourage and manage different stakeholders’ interactions to make decisions counts a lot. Consequently, this thesis intends to fill the gap by studying the quality of participatory governance and choosing the committee of Dental Global Budget Payment System as a case to establish evaluation framework of decision-making quality based on policy stakeholder participation theory. The research findings reveal several important insights of committee governance. First, on the good side, bottom-up stakeholders’ participation is beneficial not only to the collection and share of policy information to define proper policy questions, but also to the cohesion of stakeholders’ consensus. The way of equal and respectful attitude to communicate accentuates policy-learning function during the process. Furthermore, public managers play a leading role at the right moment to solve a conflict effectively and to promote the efficiency of decision-making interactions. However, there are some defects about the process. There is some room for improvement about the inclusiveness and representativeness of participation groups. Also, the openness of decision-making information is still far from the standard of transparency. The ambiguity of statutes interpretations and the lack of decision-making principles are critical problems to solve as well. Therefore, this study suggests that the government should include even more diverse and complete stakeholders into the decision-making process and help to increase their competence to participate. Also, an effort to closing the gap between regulations and participative mechanism should be made in order to increase the outside-accountability of the process. Thirdly, the spirit of public deliberation should be highlighted during the interactions to increase the rationality of decision-making. Lastly, in order to create a more adequate evaluation framework, this thesis suggests that academia should devote more time to study the issue of public decision-making quality in the era of participatory governance.

Globalization and rapid urbanization in the developing world have been contributing greatly to a current unsustainable reality. In order to move towards a sustainable society, the strength of people working collectively as a community must be recognized and harnessed to begin making changes from the bottom up. This thesis will examine how a common participatory space has the potential to become a community hub, and to foster participatory dialogue, negotiation and decision-making within urban communities of poverty. After examining the current reality, including present development practices, this research strives to find universal elements for a common participatory space where vision building and strategic community action can flourish. This study also examines the processes needed to engage community members in the cultivation, creation and maintenance of a common participatory space.

Thesis (MPAM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Deepening participatory governance in budgetary monitoring and evaluation in a local municipality is crucial to improve transparency and accountability in the use of public funds. Participatory governance warrants the provision of meaningful, purposeful and empowering opportunities and spaces for the engagement of residents in the affairs of a municipality. Despite being advocated as an effective mechanism for promoting good governance, particularly when implemented in budgetary monitoring and evaluation, participatory governance remains a neglected area of emphasis in local municipalities. This qualitative case study investigated the effectiveness of participatory governance in budgetary monitoring and evaluation in an information age in the case of Fetakgomo-Tubatse local municipality. The objectives were to assess the ward committee members' and municipal officials' understanding of participatory governance and its importance in the context of municipal governance; examine the scope of budgetary monitoring and evaluation as implemented in the municipality, the associated benefits and barriers to implementing participatory governance in budgetary monitoring and evaluation processes, and develop insights into the effectiveness and use of ICTs in information dissemination and accessibility in relation to the outcomes and impact of budgetary monitoring and evaluation. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews and open-ended qualitative questionnaires were used to collect primary data from municipal officials (N=8) and ward committee members (N=10). Non-probability sampling techniques (i.e., purposive and snowball sampling) were used to select the participants. Tesch’s eight-step descriptive data analysis technique was utilised to analyse the textual qualitative data gathered. This research report provides the main findings and conclusions based on the objectives that the study aimed to achieve. Recommendations are made to strengthen the effectiveness of participatory governance in budgetary monitoring and evaluation in an information age in the case of the Fetakgomo-Tubatse local municipality and opportunities for future research.

Die Dissertation untersucht ob partizipative Governance ein effektives Mittel ist um lokale Regierungen in Guatemala dazu zu bewegen ihren Wählern gegenüber verstärkt Rechenschaft abzulegen und den Haushalt mehr an den Bedürfnissen der Armen auszu-richten. Das erste Papier bereitet die wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse zur Wirkung von und den Bedingungen für effektive partizipative Governance auf. Das zweite Papier stellt ein neues Verfahren zur Kalibrierung qualitativer Interviewdaten für fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) vor. In einer qualitativ-vergleichenden Ana-lyse von zehn ländlichen Gemeinden untersucht das dritte Papier wie sich effektive par-tizipative Governance, politischer Wettbewerb und Zugang zu lokalen Medien auf die Haushaltsgestaltung einer Lokalregierung auswirken. Das vierte Papier analysiert mit derselben Methode die Bedingungen für effektive partizipative Governance. Das fünfte Papier präsentiert eine Fallstudie zweier Gemeinden und diskutiert Politikoptionen für die Implementierung von partizipativer Governance in Guatemala. Die Ergebnisse der Papiere zeigen, dass effektive partizipative Governance in Kombination mit starkem politischem Wettbewerb zu einer armutsorientierteren Ausrichtung öffentlicher Ausga-ben in den zehn Gemeinden führt, da Wähler besser informiert sind. Jedoch deuten die Ergebnisse auch darauf hin, dass partizipative Governance wegen des geringen Grades zivilgesellschaftlicher Organisation, des niedrigen Bildungsniveaus und hoher Armut in Guatemala nicht effektiv implementiert wird. Partizipative Governance kann also lokale Regierungen dazu bewegen Rechenschaft abzulegen und den Haushalt armutsorientier-ter zu gestalten. Ihre effektive Implementierung wird jedoch in Guatemala lange dauern und einen hohen Ressourceneinsatz erfordern. Daher sollten politische Entscheidungs-träger und Geber auch die Stärkung anderer Informations- und Rechenschaftslegungs-mechanismen, wie der Gemeinderäte, in Betracht ziehen. / This thesis analyses whether participatory governance is an effective means for increas-ing local government accountability and for making local government spending more responsive to the needs of the poor in rural Guatemala. The first paper evaluates the scientific evidence on the impact of and the conditions for effective participatory gov-ernance. The second paper presents a new technique for calibrating qualitative interview data for fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). In a qualitative compara-tive analysis of ten rural Guatemalan municipalities the third paper examines how effec-tive participatory governance, competitive elections, and access to local media influence the allocation of local government spending. The fourth paper analyses the conditions for effective participatory governance with the same empirical method. The fifth paper presents a comparative case study of two municipalities and discusses policy options for implementing participatory governance in Guatemala. Overall, the papers’ findings show that effective participatory governance is sufficient for local government responsiveness in the study area when it is combined with competitive elections, because it increases voter information about local government performance. Yet, the findings also suggest that it will be difficult to implement participatory governance effectively in Guatemala due to the low degree of civil society organization, the low level of education of the population and the high level of poverty. The conclusion drawn from these findings is that effective participatory governance arrangements can make local governments more accountable and responsive, but that it will require much time and resources to implement them. Policy makers and donors should therefore also consider strengthening other information mechanisms, as well as existing accountability mechanisms, such as elected Municipal Councils.