Refocusing on Participation in Policy Formulation and Implementation: The Citizen and Participatory Methods

Abstract

How do ordinary people, especially poor people, affect policies that in turn affect their well-being?  What is the role of citizen participation in policy formulation and implementation in this area of globalization? How do changing contexts and conditions affect the entry points through which actors in civil society, especially the poor or those working with the poor, can exercise voice and influence in critical aspects of social care, be they in the areas of health, politics, education, welfare, security, programmes for the disabled or any other significant policy arenas? This paper explores a view that argues for an approach to social policy that sees citizens not only as users and choosers, but as active participants who engage in making and shaping social and political policies as already preached by Theatre for Development. However, to do so raises important conceptual issues about the nature of participation, citizenship and the policy itself. The paper suggests that changing contexts and conditions- demographic change, an increased emphasis on decentralization, privatization of provisioning, and globalization – challenge traditional approaches to participation. This article discusses these conceptual issues within a broader historical review of the strategies through which methodologies like the Theatre for Development have recommended. The paper argues that participation must be repositioned in light of current realities.