What to do with the outputs from public participation? Conceptualising and explaining responsiveness of civil servants

Abstract

Responsiveness is considered an important value for ideal civil servants. In the case of public participation projects initiated by governments, citizens expect their inputs become meaningful for policymaking and that civil servants act timely and accurately. But are civil servants always able to practice responsivity? What does literature teach us regarding the definition of this concept and its disabling and enabling conditions? From this literature review we propose a clear and consistent definition and measurement of responsiveness. Next, we identify categories of enabling and disabling factors influencing responsive attitude and behaviour. We find that especially conditions on a personal and organisational level explain the nature and level of responsiveness of civil servants to outputs from public participation.

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