The World Bank - Working for a world free of poverty

Views menu

Syndicate content
Exploring the interactions among public opinion, governance, and the public sphere

About us

Welcome

This blog is published by the Communication for Governance & Accountability Program (CommGAP).
Learn More>>

participation

Transparency Delayed, Transparency Denied?

Submitted by Antonio Lambino on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 16:42

Is transparency delayed, transparency denied? How about when disasters, such typhoons or earthquakes, strike? Should transparency and citizen access to information as regards the disbursement of calamity funds be considered a priority? Or should transparency temporarily take a back seat during disasters with all efforts going into emergency response?

Quote of the Week

Submitted by Anne-Katrin Arnold on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 10:30

"Participation is, clearly, the proper avenue of approach to the study of public opinion, for, in various senses, public opinion is participating opinion. But the legitimation of participation rests on the older, broader, and more philosophical proposition that just governments are governments to which, in some sense, the subjects have given their consent. Like participation, consent is never perfect, and like it also there are variations in forms of consent. Since we can hardly say that nonexistent opinion can be public opinion, we can hardly say that a primitive and inarticulate acceptance of a governing order is really consent."

 

Francis Graham Wilson, 1962
A Theory of Public Opinion

Stairway to Mobilization

Submitted by Anne-Katrin Arnold on Tue, 09/08/2009 - 13:10

The ultimate goal for working on the demand side from a political communication perspective is the mobilization of the public. We want to drive citizens who lack information and efficacy to being an active public, participating as relevant actors in the public sphere and in thereby in political decision making processes. Here at CommGAP, we base our approach on a range of literature from the study of public opinion and social movements and came up with what we call the "Stairway to Mobilization." In the coming days and weeks we will try to illustrate this concept with practical examples and case studies, but for now lets discuss the theoretical background.

On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're a Dog

Submitted by Anne-Katrin Arnold on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 11:00

On this blog we've seen several posts on the merits of new media in governance - I'm specifically referring to posts from my colleague Fumiko Nagano, from Silvio Waisboard, and from Kristina Klinkforth. All three authors are very careful, or outright dismissive, when it comes to the abilities of new information technology, specifically social networking sites, to aid the empowerment of citizens and to support democracy. Based on research, common sense (and my own addiction to Facebook) I want to challenge my colleagues by saying: On the web, it's all about efficacy and voice.

Sometimes Silence Speaks

Submitted by Darshana Patel on Wed, 08/19/2009 - 14:29

One of the objectives of CommGAP and this blog is to strengthen citizen voice in the public sphere, particularly of those who are often marginalized in public spaces.  This voice in the public sphere is important for any advocacy effort or social movement and also an essential right for every individual. As one part of the process of building this voice, participation in various decision-making and policy processes is seen as an integral part of development work. In fact, it has been a development buzzword since the late 1970s.  But sometimes participating can be a setback.

Civic Spheres, Open Government

Submitted by Fumiko Nagano on Tue, 06/23/2009 - 10:50

Last month, US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer spoke in an engaging panel discussion on the role of art and architecture in civic spheres at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. He talked about the design of Boston’s federal courthouse: an effort that strove to create a building that was accessible and inviting to the people, so that they would recognize it as a public space—their space—and use it.

Institutional Takes on Communication for Development

Submitted by Paolo Mefalopulos on Mon, 06/01/2009 - 10:17

I returned from my two weeks of traveling with a more optimist outlook about Communication for Development -C4D- and the way it is being considered and applied around the world. I went first to Lisbon, Portugal, where I was invited to be a guest speaker in a week-long workshop on communication for social change sponsored by the Objectivo 2015 - UN Millennium Campaign in Portugal and hosted by the Lisbon's School of Communication and Media Studies.  The course was directed at Civil Society Organizations managers and program officers. It has been very encouraging to see not only the high level of interest of participants, but also to realize that C4D principles and concepts can be and are applied effectively in the context of more developed countries.

Transparency, Participation, Collaboration

Submitted by Antonio Lambino on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 12:44

On my way home from work last Friday, I chanced upon a fascinating interview on C-SPAN radio on government transparency, access to public information, and citizen participation at the U.S. Federal level.  New York Law School Professor Beth Noveck, currently serving as White House deputy chief technology officer, was talking about the open government initiative.  One of its key components is a site (whitehouse.gov/open) dedicated to Web 2.0-based transparency, participation, and collaboration efforts of the U.S. Federal Government.  The site links to online resources where citizens can access public information (transparency) and provide input into the policymaking process (participation).  The goal is not just consulting citizens on public matters, said Noveck, but a structured process through which they can help generate actual policy options.  Other links bring users to sites that seek specialist input on military science, education, small businesses, and technology applications in international development (collaboration). 

(Development) Communication: The Lubricant for Running the Development Engine Smoothly

Submitted by Paolo Mefalopulos on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 09:41

The third of the ten key issues about development communication is a crucial one and it asserts that there is a significant difference between development communication and other types of communication. What is the difference and why is important? Let us start by defining communication’s most renowned function; i.e. informing audiences and/or trying to persuade them to change attitudes or behavior. Communication is almost exclusively identified this way. However, the interdisciplinary area of development communication is not exclusively and not even primarily about information or persuasion.

M-Government: The Promise of Participation

Submitted by Antonio Lambino on Thu, 03/12/2009 - 15:16

Internews Network and Internews Europe recently released a report entitled “The Promise of Ubiquity: Mobile as Media Platform in the Global South.”  According to the release, the report was commissioned “to help the media to understand the exciting potential, the incredible challenges and the perils of refusing to change.”  It’s an impressive volume, packed with multi-country stats and trends, future visions, and case studies from the Global South.  These cases include use of text messaging (SMS) for a news service in Sri Lanka, election monitoring in Nigeria, crop price distribution in Indonesia, and expert health consultations for the Philippine diaspora in the Gulf region.  An interesting discussion on the report here.