Meaningful Participation for Democratic Urban Governance by Hermine Engel, Planact Prepared for: DAG National Conference October 2010: “Re-imagining the City: A New Urban Order” planact Making towns & cities work for people

“Participation can be viewed fundamentally as a basic right and a means by which people attain greater agency and self-determination through participating in the decision-making processes of their government or developing their own organisations or movements” (Synthesis Report, Planact, 2010) planact Making towns & cities work for people

Institutionalized Participation: SA legislation “A municipality must develop a culture of municipal governance that complements formal representative government with a system of participatory governance” (Municipal Systems Act, 2000, Ch4, 16.1) - Integrated Development Planning (IDP) - Budget preparation - Service delivery decisions - Performance Management System (PMS) - Capacity building and allocation of municipal resources - Elected ward committee structures (Municipal Structures Act, 1998, Part 4, s72.3) planact Making towns & cities work for people

Challenges cont… - Cooptation - “Being participated” - Political will vs compliance / avoidance - Capacity and resource limitations - Quantity vs Quality - Managing expectations - Intergovernmental relations - Competition – personal political aspirations - Limited power to influence decision-making - Limited recognition & repression of community-led organising planact Making towns & cities work for people

Reclaiming meaningful participation “Essentially a political process … to be based on mobilization and collective action at the grassroots level, sensibly supported by organised community structures, committed NGOs, academia, the media,…. [It] has to make demands of government institutions, engage with them and complement them” (Berner, ISS, 2010) Demand-driven participation: Re-emergence of community mobilising and organising Protest action; Litigation Capacity strengthening Partnerships Multiple strategies planact Making towns & cities work for people

Strategies of an urban development NGO  a resource for poor, marginalized communities  a learning organisation  application and transfer of skills o capacity building o project management - ‘testing / demonstrating practice’ o supporting advocacy / negotiations  reflecting on lessons learned  influencing policy  “working both sides of the equation” - communities & state Based on: respect; trust; self-conscious strategic planning &reflection; passion & commitment; participatory processes; application of skills for a political purpose planact Making towns & cities work for people

Examples from Orlando East / Noordgesig Enhancing community participation in development initiatives “Hybrid of invented & invited participation spaces / process” (CBOs; political parties; ward committees; CDWs; etc…) Social facilitation and capacity building for input into UDF and IDP Long-term engagement; cooperation; widening vs deepening participation; representation & political party dominance; organizational form; resources

Lessons learned  ‘Invited’ spaces are used to access information and resources, to gain skills and to contest what is offered and shape it  State structures and practices are fragmented and often contradictory - opportunity for influence  Platforms for power competition / for building constituencies  Continuous form of engagement based on learning  Danger of being trapped into educating rather than contributing towards autonomy and independence  Process facilitation is an often neglected, undervalued important skill planact Making towns & cities work for people

In conclusion…  Strategic use of ‘invited’ and ‘invented / claimed’ spaces  Capacity strengthening and inclusive facilitation  Demonstrating innovative progressive practices for learning and advocacy  Time investment and resources  Internal inclusive participatory democratic practices?  Challenging the dominant development paradigm – seeking alternatives? planact Making towns & cities work for people