Abstract

Research on mechanisms that lead to the successful involvement of citizens, particularly citizen advisory panels, in policy-making processes is limited. In this paper, we use unique longitudinal data to examine how power and information asymmetries within a citizen advisory group influence a policy-making process and its outcomes. We studied the case of a public hospital where the hospital management involved a citizen advisory panel (CAP) and the general public to help decide what hospital services should be cut. We found that female CAP members perceived more power asymmetry while male CAP members experienced more process satisfaction. Older CAP members perceived more information asymmetry. Our findings show that the policy-making management team’s commitment to the process can reduce skepticism by citizens regarding the value of their involvement and facilitate decision quality and process satisfaction. Policy makers were able to effectively share technical policy information with citizens in an easily digestible format over time and to achieve effective citizen participation in the policy-making process.

摘要

对导致公民，特别是公民咨询小组成功参与决策过程的机制的研究是有限的。在本文中，我们使用独特的纵向数据来研究公民咨询小组内的权力和信息不对称如何影响决策过程及其结果。我们研究了一家公立医院的案例，其中医院管理涉及公民咨询小组 (CAP) 和公众，以帮助决定应该削减哪些医院服务。我们发现女性 CAP 成员感知到更多的权力不对称，而男性 CAP 成员体验到更多的过程满意度。年长的 CAP 成员感知到更多的信息不对称。我们的研究结果表明，决策管理团队对流程的承诺可以减少公民对其参与价值的怀疑，并促进决策质量和流程满意度。随着时间的推移，政策制定者能够以易于理解的形式有效地与公民分享技术政策信息，并实现公民有效参与政策制定过程。