Recruiting Active Citizens

摘要

In an era of growing public distrust with government officials, local governments in western democratic societies around the world are seeking to regain community respect and support by encouraging higher levels of civic participation in decision-making processes. Efforts to encourage citizens to become more active in their communities will be more effective if there is a focus on those individuals who are already contemplating participation. This multimethod study explored motivators and barriers to participation amongst residents of a West Australian local government area, and identified potential strategies to increase participation levels among those already contemplating involvement. The findings suggest that local governments may increase participation by ensuring their citizens are aware of: (a) the major issues affecting the community, (b) the potential impact of these issues on individuals as well as the community in general, and (c) the processes involved in initiating participation. In addition, potential participants need to be assured of the value of their contributions and informed of final outcomes.View full textDownload full textKEYWORDScivic participation, transtheoretical model of change, barriers, motivators, governanceRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10495142.2010.483144