CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2009
| Author | Skrbic, Mirna |
|---|---|
| Title | DOES PARTICIPATION MATTER? ASSESSING PARTICIPATORY APPROACHES TO LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING IN MUNICIPALITIES IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA |
| Summary | Motivated by theoretical debates on the effectiveness of participation in development and the emphasis of international donors in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on participatory approaches in development projects, this thesis has tried to assess whether citizen participation in the creation of local development strategies has been meaningful and has had an influence on local development policy-making, through in-depth case studies of three BiH municipalities - Petrovo, Maglaj, and Visoko. Findings are mixed: while all municipalities appeared to have defined the task of participatory planning well, provided adequate resources for planning, and ensured structured decision-making, transparency, and early involvement of participants in the process, adequate representation of all stakeholders in the process and its independence is doubtful. Furthermore, participants’ influence on policy-making cannot be assessed positively from an implementation point of view in two cases, while influence in regards to institutionalization of participation appears to be lacking in all three cases. Given these findings, the study points towards some prescriptions of how these obstacles on the road to more effective participation may be overcome. |
| Supervisor | Dimitrova-Grajzl, Valentina |
| Department | Public Policy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2009/skrbic_mirna.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University