Citizen participation as a balanced exchange: An analysis and strategy

Abstract

Citizen participation remains an unpredictable and frustrating activity for many public agency planners and administrators. The responsibility to involve citizens appears to be increasingly pervasive, but the strategies which make these efforts successful remain a mystery. Social exchange theory helps to unravel that mystery. This paper explores the principles of social exchange and power theories as they apply to the agency‐citizen relationship. Successes and failures are shown to be relatively predictable. Contrasting perspectives are examined. The exchange concept is used as a guide to the practice of organizing citizen participants through stages of evolutionary development. The nature of reciprocal benefits is linked to evolutionary phases. Finally, a model of the exchanges between planners and participants is proposed. Balanced exchanges are viewed as producing the greatest benefits.

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