The importance of Public Participation

Public participation implies people taking part in government programs. The community has the right to participate in the shaping and development of such a program. This way the services of the government can become more transparent for the citizens and they have the chance to engage in certain changes that may occur in the community. Through public participation, the government’s programs can be improved and with the help of the right agency of digital public participation a more efficient Bürgerdialog / citizen dialog may take place.

Nowadays citizen participation has been made easier through a special software that makes the implication of the public, concerning problems of the community, more efficient and simplified. A communication platform will raise the number of people involved in important matters of the community. Every citizen can have the opportunity to be part of the decision making, feeling this way more valued in the community he lives in. Major decisions concerning the well-being of a town, should be made together with all the locals. The digital era has simplified the entire public participation process, bringing the entire community closer and making it be more involved. Matters, such as Kommunalkredit / citizen credit, can be discussed with more ease, and people are able to bring ideas and solutions to the table. All major projects can be discussed and each person has the chance to vote or express a solution concerning finances.

A specially designed software can facilitate interaction between large groups of people, making public participation more accessible for people. The citizens can answer different questions, coming from the city hall for example, and express this way their opinions. In a large community it will be nearly impossible for every single person to make his opinions public. People tend to feel excluded if important changes are done in their town or neighborhood without their approval. Through a public participation program, everyone can vote certain projects, such as the building of a new mall, or the restoration of a street. Feeling that their opinions and beliefs are being listened will make the community be more satisfied with the government’s actions.

City or municipality leaders can identify the common citizen’s needs and make changes together with the population. A digital public participation project can help the city hall come up with better and innovating solutions; and perhaps crowd funding will help certain civil projects take place. The population needs to be involved in the decision making process, and with the help of technology this can easily happen. Keeping the citizens implicated in different civil programs will have benefits for the entire community. The residents of the city can have a say in what projects should be implemented with the public funds available. Each individual is able to express his opinion concerning the city’s priorities. Public participation will raise the trust people have in the governance. Matters from all areas can be addressed, such as environment, new buildings construction or city festivals. The people will not feel like passive spectators to the issues of their city, but active participants.

For more information about Bürgerdialog or Kommunalkredit please click on the links here!

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