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Designing Public Participation Processes

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Bryson, John M., Quick, Kathryn S., Slotterback, Carissa Schively, Crosby, Barbara C.·2013·Public Administration Review
DOI 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2012.02678.x
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Abstract

The purpose of this Theory to Practice article is to present a systematic, cross‐disciplinary, and accessible synthesis of relevant research and to offer explicit evidence‐based design guidelines to help practitioners design better participation processes. From the research literature, the authors glean suggestions for iteratively creating, managing, and evaluating public participation activities. The article takes an evidence‐based and design science approach, suggesting that effective public participation processes are grounded in analyzing the context closely, identifying the purposes of the participation effort, and iteratively designing and redesigning the process accordingly.

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  • Public acceptance is markedly higher when citizens perceive that human actors remain engaged in oversight.

    “since public acceptance is markedly higher when citizens perceive that human actors remain engaged in oversight.”

    From Balancing efficiency and ethics in public administration: The role of artificial intelligence in administrative law of the Middle East (2025) · cites this paper as Bryson et al. (2013)

    The ‘Analyze and Appropriately Involve Stakeholders’ section says participation can secure buy-in for decisions, and ‘Establish the Legitimacy of the Process’ links engagement with legitimacy. Neither passage addresses perceived human oversight or shows that public acceptance is markedly higher when it is present. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Bryson, J. M., Quick, K. S., Slotterback, C. S., & Crosby, B. C.
Affiliations
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • University of Minnesota
ORCID
Venue
Public Administration Review
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2012-11-21
Volume
73
Issue
1
Pages
23-34
ISSN
  • 0033-3352 (ISSN-L)
  • 1540-6210
DOI
10.1111/j.1540-6210.2012.02678.x
OpenAlex
W2100824295
Cited by
626
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 37 · 2025: 51 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 90 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 67 · 2020: 45 · 2019: 56 · 2018: 49 · 2017: 43 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 1
FWCI
58.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Public Administration Review (publishedVersion)
  • Annual Review of Policy Design (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Public Administration › Public Policy and Administration Research
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development
Keywords
citizen participation, participatory design, design guidelines, iterative design, contextual analysis, evaluation of participation, evidence-based design

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