Improving Accountability for Participatory Processes through Effective Evaluation

Carson L¹*, Twyford V²* and Meek T³*

1. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2. International Association for Public Participation, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
3. EPA Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The practice of public deliberation around decision-making is growing and its advocates claim effectiveness. Critics insist that participatory methods and their ability to achieve desired outcomes have been inadequately evaluated. This is gradually changing and some detailed indicators and advice are circulating in participatory circles.

It is timely to test these frameworks in local contexts to see how useful they actually are. The authors have reviewed the existing literature; developed evaluation tools and tested them in practical settings within the Australian context and have tested criteria that have been devised by others.

Participatory practices can become even more robust if valid and reliable evaluation methods are routinely employed. The authors wish to share this work with others and to extend their research through further collaboration with other practitioners.

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