Local Governance & Participatory Planning

The history of systemic racism and oppression made the Cold Spring neighborhood on the East Side of Buffalo the target of a white supremacist murderer on May 14, 2022, when he opened fire on a supermarket filled with mostly African Americans, massacring ten people, and injuring three more.
Resources and ideas poured into the region as they have in the wake of other mass-casualty events throughout these violent times in Twenty-First Century America.
Reflecting on the experiences attempting to overcome decades of inattention and systemic racism in the region, interrogating the challenges facing American society’s lack of imagination and ingenuity in meeting these historic challenges, and reporting on the current efforts to make immediate positive impacts in the region, this is a recommendation to create a collaborative governance regime in the form of a Dedicated Funding Team to support the most effective community-based efforts to improve directly impacted people’s lives.

Bu çalışma, Türkiye'de belediyecilik meselesini, yalnızca teknik bir idari sorun olmaktan çıkarıp, onu toplumsal ve siyasal bir laboratuvar olarak ele alma amacını taşımaktadır. Zira belediyeler, bir toplumun aynasıdır; o toplumun demokratik olgunluğunu, hukuka olan saygısını ve geleceğe yönelik vizyonunu en net yansıtan kurumlardır. Ne yazık ki, Türkiye'nin modernleşme serüveni boyunca belediyelerimiz, bu ideal tablodan sıkça sapmış; siyasi rekabetin, rant paylaşımının ve yozlaşmanın en görünür arenası haline gelmiştir.
Bu makalede, dünyada belediye kavramı ve belediyecilik anlayışlarının tarihsel geçmişi, bölgesel ve kültürel farklarla Türkiye Belediyeciliğinden nasıl farklarla ayrıştığı, Osmanlı dönemindeki uygulamalar ve Tanzimat fermanı ile başlayan modern belediyeciliğin gelişim aşamalarını bir perspektif edinebilmek açısından irdelenmektedir.
Çalışma Osmanlı'dan devralınan merkeziyetçi mirasın, Cumhuriyet dönemindeki hızlı kentleşme ve popülist siyasetle nasıl birleşerek bugünkü yapısal krizi doğurduğunu eleştirel bir dille analiz etmektedir. İmar uygulamalarının bir yolsuzluk kaynağına dönüşmesi, denetim mekanizmalarının siyasi iktidarların gölgesinde kalması ve yerel demokrasinin sembolik bir işlev görmesi gibi sorunlar, sadece şehirlerimizin fiziki yapısını değil, aynı zamanda toplumumuzun adalet ve güven duygusunu nasıl derinden sarstığını, toplumsal adalet anlayışının nasıl zedelendiği konuları irdelenmiştir.
Ancak bu çalışma, bir durum tespiti yapmakla yetinmemektedir. Tam aksine, bu zorlu tabloya karşı bir umut ve vizyon sunmaktadır. Bu makalenin temel tezi, Türkiye'de belediyeciliğin bir "sosyal çürüme kaynağı" olmaktan çıkarılıp, "demokrasinin beşiği" haline getirilebileceğidir. Bunun için önerdiğimiz model; uluslararası standartlarda hukuki özerklik, katılımcı ve şeffaf seçim mekanizmaları, bağımsız denetim kurulları ve en önemlisi, akıllı ve sürdürülebilir kent mimarisi ilkelerini temel almaktadır.

Participatory democrats consider Participatory Budgeting (pb) one of the most deeply established practices in contemporary democracies. Through giving citizens a say in policymaking processes, pb unlocks ideals of power-sharing between political elites and the citizenry (Sintomer et al., 2012). Thus, allocating a share of the public budget to participation is expected both to more consistently respond to citizen needs and to transform the state from within (Avritzer, 2006).Originally launched in Brazil in the late 1980s, pb received enthusiasm from alter-globalist and leftist movements during the 1990s, particularly for its emphasis on social justice and inclusion. In the 2000s, global agencies endorsed pb, contributing to its now widespread dissemination. While the pb successes have garnered praise across different regions, there are concerns about whether and how this quintessential practice of participatory democracy continues to deliver on its original promise (Baiocchi and Ganuza, 2012).Inspired by his work on the historical trajectory and transformations of pbover recent decades (Cabannes, 2004), we invited Emeritus Professor Yves Cabannes – internationally recognised for his research and practice in this field – to share his insights. José Duarte Ribeiro and João Moniz, under the coordination of Roberto Falanga, held an interview with Yves in August 2023 as part of an ongoing collaboration with international experts on participatory and deliberative practices, funded by the eu project incite-dem.1In this inter-view, Yves Cabannes generously shared his personal perspective on different pb streams and, with his characteristic and contagious enthusiasm, reaffirmed his strong belief in democratising practices. He warned against “filtered” pbthat serve only to dilute the transformative potential of participatory budget-ing and leave nothing but smoke in the air.Yves passed away in January 2025 to the great shock of all those who have drawn from his work, experienced the pleasure of knowing him personally and shared special moments together. To counter our grief, we hereby commit to keeping his legacy alive and sharing it with both older and younger genera-tions of participatory democrats. In celebration of his lifelong dedication – as a scholar, practitioner, and activist – to making the world a better place, we present this edited version of the interview.

To effectively address grand challenges, such as decarbonization, digitalization and demographic change, engagement is required from diverse actors across policy-making, private business, academia and civil society. Contemporary transformation literature emphasizes Participatory Policy-making (PPM) instruments as critical tools in this process. PPM purportedly enhances both the effectiveness and efficiency of public policies while simultaneously strengthening their legitimacy-a function particularly valuable for socially contested policy issues. However, critical perspectives highlight various theoretical and practical concerns associated with PPM implementation. This article aims to contribute to deliberative theory and practice by presenting a risk-based perspective on PPM that examines intended effects in relation to unintended consequences and contextual factors. Drawing on the lessons learned during PPM projects in Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, and Switzerland, we explore the opportunities and challenges of introducing PPM instruments at the local level within transformative societal processes. Specifically, we investigate the implementation of a set of participatory instrumentssuch as stakeholder workshops, Delphi surveys, focus groups and citizen panels-over a three-year period from 2021 to 2023. We identify four key contextual conditions influencing the prospects for successful PPM: Local political situation, trust and social capital, institutional commitment, and deliberative capacities. Based on these findings, we develop a set of guiding questions, aimed to support practitioners to develop deliberative strategies that anticipate and mitigate unintended negative consequences, such as the deceleration of essential policy changes or the erosion of political legitimization.

This paper examines the claim that the Kudumbashree women of Kerala, built around microfinance but now a key actor in Kerala's economic, social, and welfare landscape, constitute a form of social capital and contributes to social cohesion. The study is based on desk research based on the existing studies supplemented by interviews with key informants and focus group discussions. An overview of Kerala's society and politics, the rise of inclusive neighbourhood movements as precursors of the Kudumbashree and the functions that the poverty-focused and state-initiated Kudumbashree women's program is discussed. It then discusses the communal situation in Kerala and how stiff competition between the dominant communities have operated without violence and how the sporadic communal conflicts are contained through accommodation and public disapproval. It then concludes with a critical assessment of the role of Kudumbashree as a form of social capital primarily and as a force for social cohesion.

Thanks to several foundational contributions (De Angelis 2010; Hardt and Negri 2009; Harvey 2012; Ostrom 1990), the topic of urban commons has recently gained much interest, even if there is room to further investigate the relationship between urban commons and planning (Dellenbaugh et al., 2015; Muller 2015). On 5 May 2012, the artists’ collective M^C^O (henceforth Macao) drew public attention by squatting in the iconic Galfa Tower in Milan, a private property abandoned since 1996. Symbolically, it served to shine a light on the need for a radical change in urban policies regarding the reuse of abandoned sites in town (Valli 2015). In opposition to the current planning tools and resolutions adopted by the City Council of Milan, Macao’s activists developed and proposed the Constituent City manifesto (Macao 2015). Starting from these premises, the paper interrogates the issue of how urban commoning can challenge conventional planning procedures and seeks to identify the mutual influe...

The agency of mapping has been an increasingly relevant area of enquiry in architecture, urbanism and landscape at the very least since James Corner published his seminal paper on the agency of mapping in 1999. A few projects aiming to map the commons in cities have since developed, providing critical or counter-cartographies in which information on local groups and communities, activities and other informal evidence is collated. This paper draws on the concept of urban commons as third places in the sense of being beyond market or state control and management, on the notion that commons cannot exist without commoning practices and on the idea of common spaces as distinct from public, private or communal ones. As such, urban commons should be mapped not as static or invariable but rather as dynamic entities that evolve over time. From that perspective, the agency of mapping should take into consideration both current commoning practices and places suitable for these agencies to happ...

This paper presents the Integrated Energy Community Performance Index (IECPI), a novel multi-criteria evaluation framework designed to assess the systemic performance of energy communities (ECs) across environmental, technological, social, and economic/institutional dimensions. Although ECs are increasingly recognized as pivotal actors in the decentralized energy transition, the absence of integrated assessment tools continues to hinder comparability, strategic planning, and long-term monitoring. The IECPI addresses this critical gap by structuring performance evaluation around nine normalized indicators, with their respective weights empirically derived from an influence matrix calibrated using interdependencies identified in 60 documented case studies. The IECPI integrates both objective and subjective metrics, capturing measurable outcomes alongside governance structures and contextual factors. The results reveal significant disparities in the performance of energy communities, allowing for the identification of five strategic typologies: Technologically Driven, Environmentally Oriented, Socially Embedded, Balanced Performance, and Structurally Fragile. The IECPI facilitates benchmarking, targeted policymaking, and cross-case learning while aligning with international frameworks such as SDG 7, EMAS, and principles of inclusive governance. As a scalable and transferable model, it provides a robust foundation for evidence-based planning, the evaluation of community resilience, and sustainability-oriented decision-making within distributed energy systems.

Democratic myopia, lacking salience, and high uncertainty seem to make it difficult to govern long-term problems like nuclear waste disposal, biodiversity loss or the environmental consequences of infrastructure projects. Participatory approaches may benefit environmental decisions, but the literature largely neglects the implications of the long-termness of many environmental issues. Conversely, the literature on long-term governance disregards the potential of participation to solve long-term problems. To address this gap, this study develops a new conceptual framework and statistically analyzes 303 public environmental decision-making processes to assess the role of participatory governance in addressing long-term environmental problems. The results show that participatory governance indeed helps to solve and prevent long-term environmental problems-but in different ways than it addresses short-term environmental problems. Intensive deliberation proves key for effectively adressing long-term issues, while the representation of environmental and economic interests in the process makes no difference for the environmental standard of the governance output. The opposite is true for short-term environmental problems. Surprisingly, issue uncertainty, while higher in long-term issue settings, does not affect the solution of long-term but only of short-term environmental problems. In general, deliberation seems to be more decisive than mere participation for effectively addressing long-term environmental problems.

This article focuses on the role of participatory planning models to help the stakeholders in
sustainable community development. The analysis of the existing literature has been
conducted in this review to depict the participation approach and how they are applied and
the impact it has on the community, strengths, weaknesses, and the lessons learned for
sustainable development. Themes that underpin my literature review among others include
community involvement, participatory programming, and conflicting evidence gaps that exist
in the field. The analysis part is a detailed interpretation of the strengths and the weaknesses
revealed by the selected studies with the views and recommendations being suggested. The
existing body of knowledge faces the limitation of future research through studies that the
researchers recommend. In the end, this review convolutes a deeper understanding of
participatory planning complications in the institutions that are important for attaining
sustainable community development.

Accountability, a cornerstone of contemporary education policy, is increasingly characterized by external monitoring and an emphasis on outcomes or results. Largely absent in discussions of accountability are the voices of stakeholders who work, learn, and teach in schools and other educational institutions. This article highlights the critical importance of structured democratic voice. This process involves enabling diverse education stakeholders to make use of organized opportunities to articulate their views, especially in discussions of planning and evaluation, in ways that their concerns are heard and valued. Using illustrative examples at the regional, national, and local level, this article discusses how structured democratic voice can help re-imagine approaches to accountability while strengthening the enabling environment, increasing trust in the system, and improving policy ownership. Notwithstanding the challenges of building local capacity and sustaining political commitment, this article highlights the important consequences of implementing a process of structured democratic voice: in particular, sustaining educational reforms over time and meeting ambitious collective goals in education.

This study explores the factors affecting human resource performance within the Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) of Tripura, India. It identifies key performance challenges that hinder governance and development at the grassroots level, emphasizing systemic issues, skill deficits, and behavioral gaps among stakeholders. Using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with 1,302 participants, including elected representatives and officials, the study analyzed these issues through qualitative insights and Fishbone (Cause-and-Effect) Analysis. Four major performance problems emerged: Inconsistent Service Delivery, Weak Management and Supervision, Decreased Productivity, and Resistance to Change. Symptoms of these challenges include delays in service provision, lack of innovation, poor community engagement, and internal conflicts. Root causes were found to be both systemic, such as inadequate staffing, infrastructure, and funding, and skill-related, including gaps in technical knowledge, communication abilities, and leadership capacities. The study proposes a dual approach to addressing these problems. On the one hand, structural reforms are necessary to improve infrastructure, streamline processes, and allocate adequate resources. On the other, targeted training interventions should focus on building technical and managerial skills, enhancing digital literacy, fostering leadership, and improving stakeholder coordination. Training programs must also address motivational barriers by providing adequate incentives and reducing procedural hurdles. Additionally, systemic reforms such as promoting community participation, improving record management systems, and establishing conflict resolution mechanisms are critical. These steps can mitigate resistance to change, increase productivity, and enhance the effectiveness of RLBs. By aligning capacity-building initiatives with systemic improvements, this study underscores the potential for strengthening rural governance in Tripura and contributing to sustainable rural development. This research highlights the need for a holistic strategy that combines training and administrative reforms to bridge performance gaps, thereby fostering effective and efficient local governance

This dissertation problematizes the normative claim of prevalent participation models and theories: participation thrives in politically-conducive contexts. The notion is a problem because it is neglective of (a) the analytical challenge to retheorize power without equating ‘what constitutes power’ to some owned attribute or variable of the ‘powerful,’ and (b) the people participating in difficult power scenarios because such claim side-tracks the complexity of their experiences in favor of ‘successful and replicable approaches.’ Such power-blindness is made possible by a problem-solving bias in governance (Mayntz 2004, Haus 2018, Selg and Ventsel 2020, Selg et al. 2023), wherein participation is treated as a solution technology to address democratic and development problems. However, such problems are “wicked” (Peters 2017), characterized by their continuous reproduction as issue-framed solutions are introduced. As wicked problems reproduce and persist, more participation models are introduced as a response, imposing accumulating a priori normatives into what participation (as a solution technology) ‘ought to be.’ The result constitutes this dissertation’s problematique: the power-blindness and over-normativity of participation theorizing.

Finding no theoretical recourse in conventional power theorizing (i.e., the ‘three faces’) that treat power as an ‘owned’ variable or capacity constituting the ‘powerful,’ the analysis turns to relational sociology, which problematizes the constitution of the social and political into non-essentialist theorization and emphasizes processual and unfolding dynamics in understanding the contingency of relations. Drawing from the relational theorizing of Michel Foucault, Georg Simmel, Peeter Selg, and Ann Mische, among others, the dissertation develops a relational sociology of power in participation, which embeds power as influencing discursive dynamics in participation’s ‘codes of legitimation.’ The analytical development of the relational analysis engages the contingency of power relations through situating power in participation in relational spacetime, and pivoting space, time, and dynamics through notions of relational scaffolds, normative signals, and power shifts. The relational analysis comprises two dimensions: an analysis of differentiation reflecting Emirbayer’s typology of substantivist/essentialist orientations versus the relational, and an analysis of constitution, which presents the legitimation codes of power in participation, drawing from the political semiotic theory of Selg and Ventsel (2020) and Selg et al. (2023). The political semiotic categories of participation embed power in legitimizing the codes/terms of problematizing participation as structure, open, inclusion, partnership, community, and discourse (meta-participation). These political semiotic categories organize the analysis of the code legitimation as ‘moments of discursive shifts’ to unpack the discursive motions and agonistic relations in the unfolding and constitutive dynamics. The relational framing addresses the problematique by embedding the power discourse in the unfolding, dynamic, and constitutive character of reflexive legitimation.

The relational framing is applied to two cases, the Local Development Councils and the Philippine Open Government Partnership, as empirics supporting the theory-building. The cases unpack the dynamics of legitimation in their respective discursive shifts and underscore pragmatic insights that relational analysis provides for policymakers and practitioners. The dissertation concludes with an analytical engagement of relational sociology’s claims and dissonances and affirms the discipline’s promise for a more grounded and humanistic understanding of the social world.

DRAFT FOR COMMENT Will a Parish benefit from having a Community Project Impact Assessment (CPIA) Process led by Government to address issues arising

This is a private draft exploratory concept not a UK Government proposal currently:                When HS2 or a large infrastructure project’s construction works impact a Parish (village or estate) a distinctive Community Project Impact Assessment (CPIA) Process delivered through the Parish may ensure the standards the Parish (village or estate) requires are achieved, and not overlooked.  This regulatory process is needed in order to limit the impacts of a project on a Parish (village or estate) community. The process needs to have been granted by a DCO, or similar authority to be recognised as having some authority during the delivery and operations of an infrastructure project. 

Parish officials and their nominees representing a community require time to understand and learn about the project within their Parish, the delivery activities and their local impacts and over time to determine the disruptions and nuisances and effects that will arise over time from the succession of construction activities and HGV traffic incidents after the DCO is granted. Where enabling works—such as site investigations, surveys, and preparatory activities— start before the DCO is granted, that do not constitute "development" as defined under the Planning Act 2008 the Parish will be granted a pre-DCO licence for the regulatory process to commence by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.  The implementation of this process will enable communities to influence, request and request enforcement of mitigations and corrections and previously undefined outcomes due to scope gaps.

Public participation is a constitutional right and governance imperative in Kenya, particularly since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution. This paper examines the extent to which public participation influences public service delivery, using a mixed-methods approach that incorporates surveys, interviews with public officials and citizens, document analysis, and secondary data from reports and policy reviews. Findings show that while legal frameworks exist to support citizen engagement, challenges such as tokenism, limited capacity, political interference, and lack of feedback mechanisms undermine its effectiveness. Nonetheless, in counties where structured and inclusive participation mechanisms exist, public service delivery outcomes-such as transparency, infrastructure responsiveness, and citizen satisfaction-are notably improved. This paper argues that for public participation to be effective, it must go beyond procedural compliance and foster genuine empowerment, transparency, and co-creation in governance. Key recommendations include institutionalizing feedback loops, enhancing civic literacy, leveraging digital platforms, and enforcing legal standards to ensure meaningful participation.

In this paper we analyzed the effects of the Act on planning burden on the central-local relationship. We took a closer look at the Act itself and questioned the choices made by the Flemish government to achieve a partnership with the local level. Secondly, we explored how the Act on planning burden effects local sports policy and integration policy. This resulted in an elaborate analysis of the changes made to be in line with the Act and how these changes shape the interaction between the sectoral Flemish administrations and the local level.

Yerel yonetimlerde yerel demokrasinin gerceklestirilmesi, halkin yasam alanlarinin sorunlarinin belirlenmesi, cozum alternatiflerinin uretilmesi ve uygulamaya konulmasi ile yakindan ilintilidir. Yerel yasamda, yasam alanlarindaki sorunlarin ve yasam alanlari ile ilgili ihtiyaclarin bir cogu kadin ve aile hayatini ilgilendirir. Bu sorunlarin ve gereksinimlerin tespiti ve cozumunde kadinlarin da yer almasi gerekirken, bugun kadinin yerel yonetimlerde temsili ancak sinirli sayidadir. Kadinin genel ve yerel yonetimde etkin bir sekilde yer almasinin gerekliligi âsikârdir

A Parceria para o Governo Aberto (Open Government Partnership - OGP) propõe um novo paradigma de ação governamental
e de relações entre governo e sociedade civil. Este estudo busca compreender o modelo de participação desenvolvido na
cocriação de seis Planos de Ação da OGP no Brasil (2011-2023) sob a coordenação da Controladoria-Geral da União (CGU)
e com participação de centenas de organizações sociais e governamentais. A análise se focaliza em três eixos: processos e
metodologias; atores participantes; e resultados produzidos. Consolida-se um modelo de participação com a sociedade civil
diretamente atuante na coordenação do processo e com a ampliação da agenda do governo aberto para além dos órgãos de
controle. O estudo contribui para a compreensão dos aprendizados e inovações ocorridos em 12 anos de OGP no Brasil e
para o aprimoramento dos processos de cocriação envolvendo múltiplos atores e setores de políticas públicas em contextos
de governança colaborativa.

La forma que tomó la cosa que antes había sido una semilla fue la de una esfera, una esfera enorme de veinticinco mil millas de circunferencia, medida con la vara humana, pero una medida muy insignificante dentro del universo. Howard Fast Hace apenas diez años, plantear el tema del Ordenamiento Ecológico del Territorio en una escala de detalle era poco menos que una rareza en los círculos académicos asociados a las ciencias del espacio. Para quienes se dedicaban desde otros frentes a impulsar procesos de participación y desarrollo comunitario, señalar la necesidad de reflexionar acerca de lo estrictamente territorial, no sólo de lo ambiental o lo ecológico, era un tanto incomprensible y una extravagancia de algunos cuantos geógrafos, agrónomos o arquitectos. Las cosas han cambiado. Con cierta precipitación, muchos de los denostadores de antaño han dado un giro hacia lo territorial debido en gran medida a tres causas vinculadas entre sí: ■ El relativo escaso éxito de muchas experiencias de participación comunitaria, que con el paso del tiempo se enfrentaron al obstáculo de que varias de sus hipótesis y motivaciones ideológico-éticas nunca se hicieron realidad: las comunidades en que se realizaron esos "experimentos" no dejaron de ser pobres y mucho menos de deteriorar el ambiente. Ello obligó a sus

The article develops a categorization scheme for collective activities facilitated by social media. I introduce a six-part scheme consisting of two distinct dimensions: the character of the activity (deliberative or participatory) and the platform where the activity unfolds-within social media platforms; outside social media platforms but still online; or in offline settings. While existing models provide a foundation for understanding collective actions on social media, they often overlook the nuanced interactions between online and offline activities, and the transition between different characters of collective activities. The proposed model addresses these gaps by incorporating a more granular analysis of activity types and platforms, enhancing our ability to understand and leverage these dynamics for more effective mobilization and advocacy. This categorization is justified and substantiated through a netnographic study of the social media campaign advocating for justice for Roman Zadorov, in Israel. Key Points for Practitioners 1. Enhanced Framework for Categorization: The article provides a refined classification scheme for understanding collective actions facilitated by social media. This can help public managers and policy analysts better monitor and evaluate the dynamics of online and offline mobilization. 2. Integration of Online and Offline Activities: The research emphasizes the transition between online participation and offline actions, demonstrating how social media campaigns can lead to offline outcomes. Practitioners can use this insight to bridge their digital engagement strategies with physical community initiatives, fostering a comprehensive approach to public involvement. 3. Deliberative and Participatory Dynamics: The distinction between deliberative and participatory activities offers IT architects and policy analysts a nuanced lens for designing and supporting digital platforms that encourage either deep discussion or broad public engagement, based on specific goals and community needs.

Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) across the country have differential performance based on (a) the devolution of 3Fs (Funds, Functions and Functionaries) (b) their capacity building and (b) the efforts made by PRI leadership as well as by the community. The FFC award of fund has created an opportunity for responsive local governance at the cutting edge institutional level of the Gram Panchayat (GP). The guidelines issued by Ministry of Finance for the release and utilization of the local bodies grant stipulate that proper plans are to be prepared by the GPs for the basic services within the functions devolved to them as per State laws before incurring expenditure under the FFC award. In the context of the Constitutional mandate, these plans have to be participatory plans involving the community, particularly the Gram Sabha, in the formulation of priorities and projects and will also have to ensure the mandates of social justice and economic development mentioned in Article 243G. The Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) is to have a clear component addressing vulnerabilities of poor and marginalized people and their livelihood opportunities through an integrated poverty reduction plan that converges with the labour budgeting and projectisation exercises under MGNREGS as well. The GPDPs are also an opportunity for the community to be engaged in setting local development agenda and finding local solutions to development issues. In this context, the present paper has made an attempt to understand the status, how the GPs are preparing the plans, how people are mobilised and what are the problems and challenges are based in collective decision making in selected states and the field observations are presented for better understanding the readers, researchers and policy makers.

This study presents a Comprehensive Village Development Plan (VDP) for Kottaiyur Village Panchayat in Krishnagiri District, Tamil Nadu. The research focuses on holistic and integrated rural development, addressing socio-economic challenges through a structured planning approach. It identifies key issues such as limited access to education, poor healthcare infrastructure, lack of drinking water, inadequate roads, unemployment, and human-wildlife conflicts. The study highlights the necessity of community participation and multi-agency collaboration, involving government departments, Panchayati Raj Institutions, banks, and NGOs.

The research follows a situation analysis approach, utilizing focus group discussions (FGDs) and household surveys to assess community needs. It proposes strategic interventions, including infrastructure development, employment generation, women empowerment, environmental conservation, and social security measures. Specific action plans include water conservation projects, school and hospital renovations, road repairs, skill development programs, financial inclusion efforts, and sustainable agricultural practices.

The study emphasizes the importance of good governance, participatory planning, and capacity building to ensure sustainable village development. It concludes that strengthening local institutions, digitalizing data management, and empowering local leadership are critical to achieving long-term socio-economic transformation in rural areas.

This research aim to explore role of stakeholders and participation in improving access to healthcare and social care systems for local communities, especially in relation to UN SDG-3 and focuses on development and service delivery within the local government framework. This study utilize a qualitative research approach and employed semistructured interviews to collect insights from the government officials. The results reveal that collaborative involvement improves operational efficiency and health-care outcomes while promoting equitable access to health care services for marginalised communities. However, these benefits are often undermined by self-centred conflicts and interests rooted in entrenched malpractices and political agendas, leading to further marginalization. This study also highlights the significance of inclusive governance structures that prioritize mechanisms of engagement with marginalised communities ensuring their needs are met. Moreover, it contributes to stakeholder theory by stressing the necessity of addressing power dynamics in building sustainable healthcare systems that meet the needs of native communities, predominantly those that face marginalization.

This study determined the satisfaction to comfort room facility of Grade 11 HUMSS student. It was conducted at Marinduque National High School with 186 respondents and used stratified sampling to identify how many respondents in each section of HUMSS strand. The researcher used a self-made structured questionnaire to obtain the data needed. To determine the level of satisfaction to the comfort facility of Grade 11 HUMSS student, different statistical tools were used. To present the demographic profile (sex) of the students, the researcher used graphical presentation analysis, frequency count and percentage. Moreover, to analyze the students’ level of satisfaction to the comfort room facilities at Marinduque National High School in terms of cleanliness, accessibility and privacy, weighted mean analysis is used as statistical measure. Lastly, to interpret the suggestions and recommendations of the students to the comfort room and improve the satisfaction level in it frequency-percentage analysis was employed. The findings suggest that the factors including cleanliness, accessibility and privacy affects the satisfaction level of the students.

Key Terms: Satisfaction, Level, HUMSS student, cleanliness, privacy, accessibility, WINS Program, National Building Code, Comfort Room, Facilities.

For lending your knowledge and having the confidence in my ability to apply my skills in designing consciously and creatively. A special thanks to my doctoral chair, Wendy Meguro the much-needed professional input in tackling a monolithic task. Committee Michael Roberts and Ramsay Taum in joining me throughout the journey of tis project. Your unique input what elevated this project even outside of the architectural field. Friends & Future Colleagues I look forward to seeing what lies ahead for each one of us. You pushed me with your competitiveness, drive and passion to continue doing what I love. Thank you for reminding me that working and communicating as a team will help our visions become a reality.

The role of spatial planning systems in delivering public interest Rights in both planning processes and outcomes Planning reforms and the public interest in the UK and Ireland Key issues for review in Northern Ireland Weaknesses and challenges in the NI spatial planning system Lack of public confidence-the issues of trust, transparency and accountability in delivering public interest Engagement and influence in defining the public interest Deficits in public interest outcomes Strengths and opportunities in NI spatial planning system A coherent legislative base Strategic vision at regional, local and community levels The potential for community-led planning Clear commitment to the well-being agenda Innovative practice in the community sector Recommendations for reform of the NI spatial planning system An enhanced agenda for community outcomes Review of support for engagement Review of current legislative provisions Addressing these challenges will require, above all, political leadership, in both Stormont and local authorities, that highlights the significant role that the planning system, harnessing the energies of all stakeholders, is expected to play in the future development of Northern Ireland and its communities.

Abstract
Tribal empowerment means the upliftment of the tribal
community in order to include them in the socio-political and economic
conditions of the mainstream society. This paper examines the tribal
empowerment in Kerala both strategically and socially. The Kerala was
one of the developing states in India. In the history of Kerala, many
social reformers have raised their voice for Dalits, tribal and Adivasis.
They are Mahatma Ayyankali Pandit Karuppan, Raman nimbi and C. K
Janu. However, the modern state has a duty to uplift the tribal community
and protect its rights. The Government of Kerala has made several
policy changes for the empowerment of tribes. It focused on education,
land rights, housing and several projects related to tribal empowerment.
Perhaps, in the history of Kerala, Dalits and Adivasis are still fighting for
opportunity equality and rights. The forest conservation laws, adversely
affected means of livelihood of tribes. The protests like Chengara and
Muthanga shows the real situation of tribes in which the state denied the
land rights of tribes. One of the Malayalam movies Pada tells the story
of four men who took a collector hostage in Palakkad district in 1996.
In recent times, Malayalam films that deal with Dalit and tribal issues
such as Puzhu, KL-10, and Unda have been released. Leela Santhosh,
one of the Adivasi women of the Paniya community, was directing a film
named karinthandan. Another area was education, and the government
were established several residential schools and campuses for adivasi
communities. During the lockdown, the government had arranged TV
and mobile facilities for them. The empowerment of adivasi women
through kudumbashree mission and the murder case involving adivasi
youth Madhu reflect the representation of the moral policing of the
people of Kerala. The paper has been prepared as a qualitative content
analysis of relevant government records, newspapers, articles, and tele/
personal interviews of officials to draw conclusions.

As global recognition grows regarding the necessity for enhanced public involvement in governance, particularly through participatory budgeting (PB), many devolved governments are making attempts to implement it. This study explores the framework and impact of PB in Busia County, Kenya—a region grappling with service delivery challenges. The research problem centers on understanding the opportunities and challenges inherent in Busia's PB framework, especially given the varied effects observed in existing literature. The aim of this study is to evaluate the PB process, assess citizen engagement opportunities, and identify challenges in Busia County ten years post-devolution. Employing a qualitative case study design, the research involved semi-structured interviews with 102 purposively selected participants from seven sub-counties.
Data analysis utilized content analysis techniques to derive insights into the PB process, citizen perceptions, and outcomes. The findings reveal that while PB in Busia County has potential benefits such as enhanced transparency and public learning, significant challenges persist. These include limited access to information, inadequate citizen engagement, and public cynicism regarding the budgeting process. The implications of this study underscore the need for a restructured PB framework that fosters genuine citizen participation and accountability in governance. The study therefore puts forward establishment of clear PB legislation, enhanced feedback mechanisms following participatory forums, and improved accessibility of budgeting information to empower citizens and restore trust in the budgeting process.

According to ESPON "ATTREG" project, "attractiveness is intended as the interaction of a complex set of characteristics based on the presence/absence of certain forms of Territorial Capital with the attraction of various "audiences". Effective territorial monitoring system of territorial capital assets and better coordination among different development and sectoral policies are basic conditions for achieving territorial cohesion and territorial development goals on transnational, national, regional and local level. The South-East-Europe project ATTRACT-SEE will support policy makers to achieve better coordination of territorial attractiveness policiesbased upon place-specific assetsas well as their implementation and evaluation. The aim of the project is to establish a framework concept of territorial attractiveness at SEE scale as well as to develop tools useful for policy makers to enhance the quality of decisions concerning territorial cohesion and growth. Firstly, a common territorial monitoring framework will be established, based upon a shared concept of "territorial attractiveness" as well as upon its assets. The objective is to create a model of a monitoring system suited to the needs of policy and decision makers, in view to provide outputs useful for supporting policy development and implementation. Through the establishment of a shared system of indicators, the model will then be applied to monitor territorial quality and attractiveness. Secondly, a policy coordination process will be designed, promoting, supporting and actively moderating participation and involvement of policy and decision makers from different sectors and administrative levels. Concrete outputs such as a common territorial monitoring framework, transnational as well as transnational/national/regional territorial quality and attractiveness reports, policy coordination process handbook, and stakeholder involvement workshops will create and/or strengthen permanent stakeholder networks in spatial and regional planning. The paper gives an overview of the design of this research project and the implementation of a territorial monitoring system for South-East Europe. It focuses on the question on how to describe territorial attractiveness. It presents considerations and first results on the description of a concept of territorial attractiveness which will be the basis for the definition of common monitoring indicators. South-East Europe is one of the most heterogenous and complex regions in Europe. Transformation processes and new boundaries have changed political, economic, social and cultural patterns and relations. The region has been undergoing a fundamental change in economic and production patterns since the 1990s. While some regions, especially the capital cities, are adapting well to the new challenges, others are trying to re-orientate themselves. Significant for the programme area are regional disparities in terms of economic power, innovation, competitiveness and accessibility between urban areas and rural areas. In the European transportation network, South East Europe is acting as a bridge between North, South, East and West Europe. The existing networks however cannot keep pace with the rise in demand and the increasingly

Daghang salamat sa matahum nga pag-awit. Daw kita nagka-tagbo sa unang higayon, sa dugay'dugay na nga panahon. Asa Mipadulong ang Dios? Unsa ang langit? (Si Junim misulat sa "langit" diha sa pisara) Kana nga langit mao dapit diin ang Dios ug ang tawhanong kaanakan, nag-uban sa pagpuyo, diin ang mga ChinBumonim ug ang chinjanyodeul nag-uban sa pagpuyo, dili ba ingon 'ana? (Nanambong 'Amen') "Ang Langit maoy dapit diin ang Dios ug ang tawhanong kaanakan magpuyo nga magkauban, diin ang mga ChinBumonim ug ang mga chinjanyodeul magpuyo nga mag-uban. Tungod niini, ang langit maoy dapit diin [Siya mopahid sa matag luha sa ilang mga mata, ug ang kamatayon ma-wala na, ni wala nay pagbalata o paghilak ni kasakit, wala na (diin diha nagapuyo ang kamot sa pag-ayo sa mga ChinBumonim,) kay ang karaan nga mga butang, (ang kalibutan ni Satanas) milabay na.] (Pin 21:4)" Ang Langit maoy dapit diin ang Dios ug ang tawo nag-uban sa pagpuyo, diin ang mga ChinBumonim ug ang chinjanyodeul nag-uban sa pagpuyo, nga maoy hinungdan nga kini ang nahisulat, nga wala nay mga luha didtong dapita. Ang atong [mga luha] gipahiran na tungod kay ang atong mga ChinBumonim makig-uban man kanato, ug kini nagkahulogan nga wala nay [kamatayon] atubangan sa atong mga Ginikanan. [Ni ma-aduna pay pagbalata ni mga paghilak ni kasakit, wala na.] Ang "kamatayon" nga gihisgutan dinhi, wala nagpasantop sa kamatayon nga kinahanglan sinati-an sa ginhawa mga tawhanon,, sa higayon nga sila mahimugso, kay kini man ang dalan nga natural nga subayon sa katawhan. Kini nagpasantop ngadto sa pagkabanhaw sa kinabuhi, bisan tapus sa kamatayon. Dili ba ingon niana? Sa higayon nga kita mag-uban na sa pagpuyo, kauban sa atong mga ChinBumonim didto sa langit, ang kamatayon waa na. Nahasulat nga kamo dili na madugta pa. nahasulat nga kami ipa-bangon pag-usab. Maoy hinungdan nga wala nay pagbalata o paghilak. Ug busa, ang mga paglubong sa Doalnara, nahisama sa mga kombira sa kasal. Ug ang labing importanti, mao nga [wala nay kasakit] bisan kanus-a; kini nagpasabut nga naga-lungtad ang kamot sa pag-ayo sa atong mga ChinBumonim. Ang mga sakit kinahanglan dili na gayud molungtad sa langit. (Nanambong 'Amen') Kini ang pinaka-importanti. Tingali ma-tingala kamo kung ngan nga kini nga mga pulong gikan sa Basahon sa Pinadayag wala man natuman, apan kini kumpleto gayud nga nangatuman. Karon, sanglit ang karaan nga mga butang sa kalibutan ni Satanas milabay na man, wala nay kamatayon o pag-balata o paghilak. Kini tungod kay ang tanan paga-banhawon ug pabangonon. Sa tinuod lang, ang pag-panaw labaw pa nga mahimong hinungdan sa pag-saulog kay sa pagkinabuhi sa malisud nga kinabuhi, gumikan sa mga balatian ug sa pagka-tigulang. Mao ba kana ang kaso diha sa Sey Chon-guk? (Nanambong 'Amen'). Dili, dili kana mao. "Apan ngano nga ang mga chinjanyodeul nga miabut sa Sey Chon-guk, nag-antus man sa mga pag-agulo gumikan sa tanang klase sa mga balatian, ug misangko man diha sa lubnganan nga wala nakadawat sa kaayohan? Asa man ang Dios nga nagsaad, [Ako si Jehova nga naga-ayo kanimo]? (Exo 15:26) Tapus miabut sa Sey Chon-guk, ang katawhan mibati sa mga sakit uban sa tanang klase sa mga balatian, nga wala nila nahibaloan ang pangalan o ang hinungdan. Ug wala na-tambalan niini, nga silang tanan nangamatay nga nagagukod sa mga ospital. Apan Human maka-abut sa Sey Chon-guk, ang katawhan napukan sa balatian uban sa tanang klase sa mga sakit, nga wala gani nila nahibaloan ang mga pangalan, o ang hinungdan. Ug Having come to New Heaven, people fell ill with all kinds of diseases that they didn't even know the name or cause of. And without being able to cure it, they all died while chasing after hospitals. But where has the God gone who promised to take responsibility saying, "I am Jehovah who heals you"? Where did that God go? He can't heal diseases. He became a God who cannot heal a single disease. It's clearly written here that there will no longer be sickness. But afflicted with all kinds of diseases, how many people have left here, even going to Korea saying they must get treatment? The "I am Jehovah who heals you" is unable to do anything at all. Is this correct? God is not here. Usab, […tawaga Ko sa adlaw sa kasamok; ug Ako moluwas kanimo =, ug ikaw mohimaya Kanako.] (Psa 50:15) [Ug ikaw mangita Kanako ug makakaplag Kanako, kung ikaw mangita Kanako sa bug-os nimong kasingkasing.] (Jer 29:13) [Ang mga mata ni Jehova anaa sa mga matarung, ug ang Iyang mga igdulungog abli para sa ilang mga pagtuaw.] (Psa 34:15) [Ug unya, ikaw maga-tawag ug si Jehova maga-tubag; ikaw maga-tuaw, ug Siya magaingon, "Ania Ako."] (Isa 58:9)

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (especialização)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Economia, Administração, Contabilidade e Gestão de Políticas Públicas, Departamento de Administração, Curso de Especialização em Gestão Pública Municipal, 2019.Considerando o objetivo do trabalho que consiste em verificar quais os itens referentes à metodologia e critérios de avaliação estabelecidos pela Escala Brasil Transparente 360º (EBT) o munícipio de Anápolis não cumpriu no quesito transparência ativa, e posteriormente como reduzir as assimetrias informacionais nas relações principal-agent por meio da transparência municipal. A Teoria da Agência e a avaliação realizada pela Escala Brasil Transparente legitimaram e nortearam o problema de pesquisa: qual a importância do portal da transparência do município de Anápolis para o fortalecimento dos mecanismos de controle? Para tanto, procede-se à metodologia utilizada foi a abordagem qualitativa, a análise bibliográfica e a documental, a coleta de...

Diwali, while celebrated with joy across India, also brings an environmental crisis as waste production surges, overwhelming existing waste management systems, especially in rural areas. Over the three days of Diwali, waste generation peaks at approximately 936,000 tons, marking a 30% increase above daily averages. Due to inadequate disposal infrastructure, up to 20% of this waste-around 187,200 tons-ends up being burned or dumped, resulting in harmful environmental and health impacts. The incineration of Diwali waste after Diwalli, particularly plastics, releases 162,864 tons of CO₂, 18,720 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), and dangerous levels 8.424 grams of dioxins and 2,808 tons microplastics that contaminate air, soil, and water. This pollution is especially detrimental to rural regions, where limited waste management often defaults to open burning.

The Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) is considered as the country’s most comprehensive assessment of local governance performance. Launched in 2014 and enacted into law in 2019, the SGLG aims to continuously enhance the performance of local government units (LGUs).
However, questions about its effectiveness and evaluative usefulness arise due to its evolving design, which includes changes in measures and indicators alongside a declining trend in passing rates from 2014 to 2023. This paper uses an abductive research approach to fill the research gap,
focusing on understanding the SGLG’s “policy layering,” where new goals accumulate in its design while retaining previous ones. The discussion traces nearly a decade of SGLG policy history to explore how it frames good local governance amid changes in national priorities, policy shifts
(e.g., SGLG law, Mandanas-Garcia ruling), and maturity in its performance metrics and indicators. It highlights two learning assumptions—learning through time and learning by complying with the instrument—and explores associated challenges. While the SGLG was not initially conceived
as a comprehensive local government performance management system, its iterative approach to meet rising performance expectations reflects the evolving landscape of local governance standards. Recommendations are provided to enhance the SGLG’s design (e.g., address resource implications for LGUs struggling to meet higher performance standards, strategically manage the timing of SGLG iterations, and decentralize evaluative processes to ensure rigorous problem analysis and innovative
solutions for nonpassing LGUs). These steps aim to enhance the SGLG’s effectiveness in promoting improvements in local governance across the Philippines.

Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.

ÖZ Yurttaşlık, kent yurttaşlığı gibi antik dönemde ortaya çıkan kavramlar 18. 19. ve 20. Yüzyılda yaşanan sosyo-ekonomik değişimlere bağlı olarak geniş toplumsal kesimler için yasal düzlemde bir hak olarak görülmeye başlanmıştır. Yurttaşlık bir topluluğa veya ulusa ait olma duygusunu, paylaşılan bir kimlik olarak nitelendirilmiş ve ayrıca bu topluluğa aktif olarak katılma taahhüdünü kapsamıştır. Yurttaşlığın bir gereği olarak katılım, kişinin topluluğuyla ilişki kurmasını ve katkıda bulunmasını içerdiği için temel bir hak ve bileşen olarak görülmüştür. Çalışmada günümüzde kentsel yaşamın önemli bir parçası olarak kabul edilen katılım hakkının bilinirliği ve kullanımı yurttaşlık bağlamıyla ele alınmıştır. Çalışma bu yönüyle bir saha araştırmasını içerecek biçimde kurgulanmış ve hedef evren olarak da üniversite öğrencileri seçilmiştir. Nicel araştırma yönteminin kullanıldığı çalışmada SDÜ Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Bölümü öğrencilerinin yerel katılım mekanizmalarına yönelik algıları ve davranışları incelenmiştir. Çalışmanın sonucunda bu örneklemde yer alan gençlerin yerel katılım mekanizmaları konusunda eksikliklerinin olduğu, bazı katılım mekanizmalarını bilmedikleri görülmüştür. Ayrıca, bildikleri katılım mekanizmalarını da yeterli düzeyde kullanmadıkları verisine ulaşılmıştır.

Nigeria's fourth republic faces development challenge owing to the tensions between democracy and bureaucracy as it affects human resource recruitment that can translate in providing capacity for development. The federal character act is complicit in providing a recruitment policy template for the public service that is obsolete and is in conflict with modern bureaucratic expectations and development practice. Contextual and theoretical (dialectism, hegemonic stability and public choice theories) import with related problematic issues were considered and recommendations effectively captured the conflict atmosphere from which power-holders and the bureaucracy contend with policy choices and the burden they inflict on the state; the most obvious way out is to create transparent, accountable, representative and inclusive institutions that make public choices from consent and compromise.

Over the years, budget has been conceived reprehensively which has affected the accountability of local government officials. It is the objective of this study to pervade into the study of budget and budgetary control as it serves as a tool for accountability in local governments. Hypotheses were drawn to test if budget is a means of achieving accountability in local governments. Two Hundred copies of Questionnaire were distributed to local government officials one hundred and eighty-nine was retrieved. The data were analysed using chi-square with the aid of Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The result shows that the use of budget and budgetary control has greater effect on the accountability of local governments. Thus, budget, if used properly and well communicated, appointed and elected officials of the government at all levels would be answerable for their actions; as information communicated is a prerequisite for accountability.

The International Institute of Social Studies is Europe's longest-established centre of higher education and research in development studies. On 1 July 2009, it became a University Institute of the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). Post-graduate teaching programmes range from sixweek diploma courses to the PhD programme. Research at ISS is fundamental in the sense of laying a scientific basis for the formulation of appropriate development policies. The academic work of ISS is disseminated in the form of books, journal articles, teaching texts, monographs and working papers. The Working Paper series provides a forum for work in progress which seeks to elicit comments and generate discussion. The series includes academic research by staff, PhD participants and visiting fellows, and award-winning research papers by graduate students.