So What Difference Does it Make? Mapping the Outcomes of Citizen Engagement.
Abstract
This paper is based on the work of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability, and presents the results from a meta-case study analysis of a non-randomised sample of 100 research studies of citizen engagement in 20 countries. The full report, and a 4-page Executive Summary, are attached. Key findings and practical implications from the study are outlined. The findings provide important and new evidence of the contributions that citizen engagement can make to development and state-building, filling an important gap in the literature. By mapping over 800 observable effects of citizen participation through a close reading of this pool of case studies, the authors create a typology of four democratic and developmental outcomes, including the:
• construction of citizenship;
• strengthening of practices of participation;
• strengthening of responsive and accountable states;
• development of inclusive and cohesive societies.
Citation
60 + 4 pp.