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Participatory democracy: drawing on C. West Churchman's thinking when making public policy
Author(s) -
McIntyre Janet J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/sres.577
Subject(s) - viewpoints , praxis , sociology , indigenous , participatory action research , corporate governance , systems thinking , practicum , public administration , citizen journalism , democracy , public relations , political science , management , pedagogy , politics , art , ecology , anthropology , law , economics , visual arts , biology
The purpose of the paper is to not to restate or comment on the work of C. West Churchman, but to celebrate his contribution by means of an example of the practical, praxis potential of his work. The celebration is of an ongoing ‘work in progress’ project to address governance challenges by means of applying theory to practice and ‘learning by doing’. Churchman believed in the need for open systems and multiple viewpoints, in order to achieve better social inquiry outcomes. Participatory democracy is based on active, creative participation in policy making, not merely on voting. This case study discusses being a ‘facilitator of facilitators’ who together are in the process of developing an integrated model for governance that is defined and owned by an Indigenous public housing association comprising groups of extended families (on 18 town camps) in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. The paper applies Churchman's thinking to participatory approaches to designing creative, systemic public policy. Flinders University and the Indigenous local‐level governance organization (a housing association) in Alice Springs are involved in addressing complex development challenges by working together in a community of practice that has been funded in part by a faculty grant and in part by the Centre of Remote Health, based at Flinders University and Northern Territory University. This systemic approach is based on iterative learning across disciplinary, cultural and organizational boundaries to strive for ‘good’ development and management outcomes. Dialectical thinking techniques are applied by members of a staff action group, called the TUT group, meaning both ‘a tutorial group’ in English and ‘working together’ in Arrernte. The praxis techniques applied include: ‘sweeping in’, ‘unfolding’, being mindful of values (‘religious, aesthetic, moral and political’, the so‐called ‘enemies within’) and their implications for the way we define and address problems. This group forms the community of practice. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.