Challenges in the Public Participation and the Decision Making Process

The implementation of the public participation process is important for thedemocratisation of social values and better planning and fulfilment of public needs.The public participation process, however, is sometimes threatened by bureaucraticconstraints caused by the lack of a systematic approach and an inadequate publicadministration system, which contribute to the public exclusion from the process. Theexclusion is also caused by the lack of knowledge about public participation and lowlevels of education amongst the public. With this in view, this paper reviewed four approachesto public participation in four countries: Denmark, the Philippines, Canadaand the United Kingdom. The dimensions of public participation developed by Uphoffand Cohen were then used for data analysis, interpretation and conclusions drawn bydiscussing the grounds for public inclusion and exclusion from the decision-makingprocess.Implementacija procesa sudjelovanja javnosti u donošenju odluka važna je za demokratizacijudruštvenih vrijednosti te bolje planiranje i ostvarenje javnih potreba. Tom procesu, međutim,ponekad prijete birokratske prepreke uzrokovane nesistematskim pristupom i neadekvatnimadministrativnim sistemom što pridonosi isključenju javnosti iz procesa. Nedostatak znanja osudjelovanju javnosti u donošenju odluka te nizak stupanj obrazovanja te iste javnosti dodatnoutječe na njeno isključenje. Imajući sve to u vidu, ovaj rad razmatra četiri pristupa problemugrađanske participacije u četiri zemlje: Danskoj, Filipinima, Kanadi i Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu.Dimenzije participacije Uphoffa i Cohena korištene su za analizu i interpretaciju podataka kaoi zaključke o razlozima inkluzije i ekskluzije javnosti u procesu donošenja odluka