Module 1Introduction to SP

What’s in Module 1

Who are the stakeholders?

Levels of engagement

Participation as human and legal rights

Benefits of participation

The process

Who are the stakeholders?

Just what does it mean to be included?

Who has had experience of participating?

Who has conducted something like a SP campaign?

What were your experiences?

Did any aspect frustrate you?

Who are stakeholders?

Are they different from the general public?

One possible answer…

“a stakeholder is anybody with an interest or stake in a certain decision or action”

Let’s try to formulate our own definition

Levels of engagement

What does participating mean?

Are there different kinds of stakeholder participation?

Some ideas…

Again, time to write down a few ideas…

• voting• petitioning• demonstrating

• surveys• workshops• interviews• posters• ???

The engagement spectrum

PROTEST INFORM CONSULT INVOLVE COLLABORATE EMPOWER

INCREASING LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT

One-way information flow

Information exchange

Source: DEAT

“Public participation is not a single process, but rather a continuum along which there are a variety of possible levels of engagement and interaction … among stakeholders and decision makers.”

Further ideas…

What has been your experience thus far?...

• It is not necessarily about reaching consensus…

• SP may not need to reach everyone, or necessarily engage people in all stages of process

• Regardless of degree of participation, merely involving people is not a guarantee of success, we need to consider:

– Interests– Bias (e.g. gender, language, access)– Relative voice– Facilitation/environment (e.g. “leading the witness”)– Enable vs. control (involvement on whose terms?)– Decentralised vs. Centralised process

Participation as human and legal rights

Whose responsibility is it to conduct SP? Government? NGO? Project?

Why/when should a project/proponent do SP?

Rio Declaration’s Principle 10• each individual shall have appropriate access to

information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous material and activities in their communities,

• and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes, states shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available.

• Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided.

1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

It could be a legal requirement…

A good time to list a few other reasons/ benefits…

• Are there legal requirements in your country? • E.g. during the EIA process?• What about the constitution?

Section 151(1) (e) - obliges municipalities to encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in local government

Section 152 - the Objects of local government (are) to encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in the matters of local government

Section 195 (e) - in terms of the Basic values and principles governing public administration – people’s needs must be responded to, and the public must be encouraged to participate in policy-making”

South Africa’s constitution

Benefits of participation

But why should stakeholders participate - what do they get from it?

Some benefits... Empowerment

Capacity building

Broader knowledge base

Enhanced cooperation and sustainability

Enhanced accountability in decision-making

Conflict avoidance

Trust building between stakeholders

Increased awareness

Increased visibility and appreciation of projects/ initiatives

Common ground for developing solutions

The process

Process overview

Let’s try to define a process outline…

How would you go about this?

1. Define what you want to achieve, what are the objectives?

2. Who are the stakeholders and what is their interest/ potential role in the process?

3. Plan communication/ participationactivities (there may be several rounds)

4. Don’t assume it’s a success, measure and adjust approach

In 4 simple steps...