Desmond M. Connor

"Adapting Public Consultation
to Different Political Cultures"

Desmond M. Connor

Introduction

This paper began with the central question: How must public consultation be adapted to fit the very different philosophies and assumptions which underlie different political cultures? The paper sought to identify the assumptions underlying public consultation and some suggestions and recommendations for the practice of public consultation under different flags.

However, a number of field reports led to a re-evaluation of the core question:

• my work on a public consultation program in Costa Rica (1) in 1996 indicated that only the techniques needed to be adapted, not any underlying principles;

• a colleague in Chile, who wrote a thesis on public participation, later endorsed it (2) for use in Latin America; the Inter-American Development Bank held a conference on public participation before its AGM in March 1998 in Cartegena, Colombia;

• the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, requires a satisfactory program of public consultation to be designed and implemented as a condition for making loans to countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union; it has a manual on public participation (3). Its pre-conditions and techniques for public participation can be applied equally to North America. For more evidence, see the Regional Environment Centre, Budapest www.rec.org/

• a UK discussion paper on "participative rural appraisal" (4) traces the development of this speciality through a series of conferences and workshops in Latin America, Asia and Africa; it lists sources of training in this field in 17 countries around the world;

• delegates from the Peoples' Republic of China involved in the aviation and heavy steel industries declared at meetings in 1997 in Victoria, B.C., that public participation was needed in China, especially to gain understanding, acceptance and support for the reform programs now underway.

Perhaps there are some universal values which occur in all societies because our species is a social animal; these values may enable public participation to function everywhere, despite cultural and political differences. And there remains the challenge of public participation being introduced by nationals of another country and culture; outside specialists need to understand the similarities and differences of their basic values and those of their host country and culture. But first, an overview of public consultation is in order.

Public Consultation

A systematic process which provides an opportunity for citizens, planners, managers and elected representatives to share their experience, knowledge and goals and combine their energy to create a plan which is technically sound, economically attractive, generally understood and accepted by most of those affected by it and is thus politically viable. (7)

The objective of public consultation is to develop informed, visible, majority public understanding, acceptance and support for a valid proposal by a corporation or government agency. My overview developed in 1985 recognized that public consultation is required to prevent and resolve public controversy due to:

1. the changing social, political and economic climate. e.g. from relatively small, stable and homogeneous communities to larger, more rapidly changing and more heterogeneous ones.

2. citizens' resistance to change when they do not understand or accept the goals, methods, sponsors, timing or location of a proposal.

3. organizational ossification where companies or government agencies fail to adapt to the changing times so that the organizational culture is out of step with the people they should serve.

My basic strategy is based on the fact that in many cases, a relatively small proportion e.g. 5 - 10% of those affected by a proposal become involved with it - positively or negatively. My approach is to address the usually silent majority - understand them through a social profile, interest and inform them through a responsive publication and one or more open houses, and involve them by having them complete coupons in publications and open houses and register their views through a telephone survey.

Some core concepts identified include: the community, a mutual education process, the various publics for a proposal, the importance of generating informed public goodwill, paying attention to latent and secondary beneficiaries rather than just to the major stakeholders, the uses of conflict, the need to build trust, the importance of equity so that a fair solution is developed for all those involved, the use of organization development to stimulate a dormant agency, the value of issue management to prevent the rise of public controversy and the stages of the adoption process through which people accept new ideas and practices.

A typical public consultation program begins with the preparation of a social profile in order to obtain a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the people of a community or region. Next, a responsive publication is prepared and distributed, featuring an attractive question-and-answer format, a notice of a forthcoming open house and a tear-off coupon for readers to register their views on the proposal. A week later, an open house provides those interested with a convenient and informal opportunity to obtain more information, ask questions, make suggestions and register their views on an exit checklist. Two weeks later, the leaders of community organizations are invited to a day-long workshop to review the proposal, examine public response to it so far, identify remaining concerns about the proposal and outline the work needed to resolve these concerns. In a three-phase planning project, the publication, open house and planning workshop is repeated twice more. Through low-risk, low-energy ways, the usually silent majority can obtain information and express their views on how best to resolve community issues; their input can make a difference to subsequent decisions by companies and government agencies.

The Assumptions
Underlying the above model are some assumptions:

1. People live in communities which have particular structures and processes which enable their inhabitants to meet their needs. One needs to understand the community and its different publics in order to work effectively in it.

2. A mutual education process is required so that the community can teach the proponent about their community and the community can learn about the proponent and its proposal. e.g. a new policy, program or project.

3. Mutual trust amongst the various parties will be required and can be built.

4. Purposeful action is needed to develop informed, visible, majority public understanding, acceptance and support for a valid proposal.

5. Equity must be evident; most publics should win something from the proposal.

6. Conflict may develop and will then need to be resolved or managed.

7. The adoption process may be relevant - awareness of a need and that change is possible; interest in exploring alternative solutions; evaluation of alternatives; decision to take action; monitoring implementation.

Can these assumptions be supported universally?

Universal Values

In some form and to some degree, these values no doubt always play a role and political scientists, ancient and modern, have seen in them the elements of invariance which make a political science possible. (8; p. 56)

Similarly, Charles Morris, a philosopher, identified a number of preferred "ways of life" across a range of cultures. (9)

Are the foregoing assumptions subsumed under these universal values?

1. Community - not only necessary for human survival, efficiency and effectiveness, but supported by the high ranking given to Morris's Way #5: "to act and enjoy life through group participation."

2. Education - linked to Lasswell's value of "enlightenment".

3. Trust - associated with a combination of Lasswell's "respect" and "affection".

4. Purposeful action - subsumed under Lasswell's "power".

5. Equity - related to Lasswell's "rectitude".

6. Conflict management - reflected in Morris's highly rated Way #6: "to constantly master changing conditions" and Way #3: "to show sympathetic concern for others," which was also highly rated.

7. Adoption process - this combines education and purposeful action noted above.

While the foregoing rationale and references were derived from the writer's graduate theses in the early 1960s, more recent references to universal values have been identified. For example, Schwartz (10) notes:

". . .three universal requirements with which all individuals and societies must cope: needs of individuals as biological organisms, requisites of coordinated social interaction and requirements for the smooth functioning and survival of groups." (p. 21)

He then identifies 10 distinct types of values which include some relevant for public consultation. e.g.

"Benevolence: Preservation and enhancement of the welfare of people with whom one is in frequent personal contact. Conformity: Restraint of actions, inclinations and impulses likely to upset or harm others and violate social expectations or norms." (p. 22)

More recently, Bok (11) has addressed "common values" and formulated four propositions about them. e.g.

"1. Certain basic values necessary to collective survival have had to be formulated in every society. A minimalist set of such values can be recognized across societal and other boundaries." (p. 13)

After reviewing many sources, he concludes:

" . . . the great majority of views stress, first, duties of mutual support and loyalty and, second, a limited set of constraints on specific forms of violence and dishonesty; third, however different the methods worked out to deal with conflicts . . . procedural justice." (p. 57)

Public consultation seems to resonate with each of these points.

In summary, the widespread use of public consultation, despite its birth in the liberal, democratic political environment of North America, can be attributed to its being grounded in universal human values. Does this mean that public consultation can readily be introduced to countries where it is unknown?

Political Cultures

For our purposes, the following schema seems useful:

1. Mature liberal democracies e.g. Canada, U.S., U.K.

2. Recent liberal democracies e.g. Costa Rica

3. Illiberal democracies e.g. Pakistan, the Philippines, Peru, former Soviet Union countries

4. Command societies e.g. the People's Republic of China

Some of the characteristics and assumptions of each of the above are identified below:

1. Mature liberal democracies
   These feature (a) regular, free and fair elections, (b) a written constitution which emphasizes individual liberty including the rule of law, checks and balances on the different parts of government and the basic freedoms of speech, assembly, the press, religion and property ownership. Through generations of experience, these societies have built up traditions of liberal political practices which make major changes in them unlikely.

2. Recent liberal democracies
   In these cases, there is no tradition of liberal political practice; the army may be lurking in the background, ready to step in if the new democratic government falters. In some cases, a significant part of the population may be an indigenous people with a strong clan structure which may limit individual initiative.

   In a recent paper (13), applied sociologist Susan Joyce outlines the dynamic political situation in many Latin American countries where the leaders of recent liberal democracies introducing new legal reforms are caught between many conflicting pressures:

   • international standards for environmental and social reform, backed by other governments and international NGOs;

   • tiny but powerful traditional elites seeking to maintain their privileges, paternalism and rewards;

   • regional/provincial power structures which resist interference with their customary practices;

   • "alliances of local communities and indigenous movements with international forces such as environmental groups." (13, p. 3) Today these alliances are often aided by the Internet.

   In many cases, there is a lack of national integration between the national government, central business interests, regional/provincial powers and whole segments of indigenous rural people who have no meaningful participation in the life of the nation. As a result, a mining company in the field, for example, "must establish its credibility and develop its legitimacy, independent of the government's approbation of the activity, which is all too often seen as a rubber stamp." (13, p. 7)

3. Illiberal democracies
   As Kaplan's survey (12) shows, there seems to be a trend to illiberal democracies - governments which combine a substantial amount of democracy with a significant proportion of illiberalism e.g. limited civil rights, government by decree etc. In the Islamic world, the advent of democracy has enabled right-wing groups to take power, like the Taliban in Afghanistan. Peru's Alberto Fujimori has won two elections despite having disbanded the legislature and suspended the constitution. In Argentina, reformer Carlos Menem has passed nearly 300 presidential decrees in eight years (12).

4. Command societies
   Before the twentieth century most countries in western Europe were liberal autocracies which evolved into democracies. Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are currently liberal autocracies where citizens have considerable personal freedom, despite having no vote. Even in the Peoples' Republic of China, there is now more individual autonomy and economic freedom than previously. While the recent Communist party congress declared that there would be economic growth but no change in the political freedom, the former tends to bring developments in the latter.

Adapting Public Consultation

1. Prepare a national social profile, adapting the chapter heads and issues of the regular community profile (16), to obtain a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the culture and society. When outside the country, use written sources, former residents, websites and email as initial data sources to prepare a draft report; validate it on arrival.

2. Note occasions when proposals for change have led to public controversy, particularly proposals similar to yours. Prepare brief case studies of these with a standard format - situation, objective, chronology of activities, results, lessons learned and conclusion. Use this information in subsequent meetings.

3. Identify some key national politicians, relevant bureaucrats and other appropriate leaders and explain to them the nature of a program of public consultation and why it seems useful to undertake it in this situation. Make it clear that the process will be transparent and accessible. Remind them of previous cases (from #2 above) when the citizens were not informed and involved positively. Identify, explore and deal with any concerns which these politicians, bureaucrats and others may have.

4. If there is a significant regional/provincial government and bureaucracy, review the national social profile and revise it as needed to provide a systematic understanding of this system of governance. Identify and brief their leaders as in #3 above.

5. At the local level, prepare social profiles of each indigenous community and ensure that communication techniques selected are suitable for them. In identifying the various publics for your proposal, treat each separately. e.g. capital city leaders, religious leaders, international NGOs based in the capital city, regional/provincial leaders and the residents of regional towns and local communities.

6. Be prepared to work with indigenous groups in ways acceptable to their leadership, while still making information available to all residents and providing a means for individual response.

These steps are recommended to practitioners who are citizens of the country involved as well as for expatriate practitioners. Subcultural differences can escape the awareness of the former as well as the latter.

Cross-Cultural Effectiveness

One tool for cross-cultural understanding is the Value Orientation Method. (15) Anthropologist Florence R. Kluckhohn and others have developed and tested a comprehensive schema which enables us to identify and compare the similarities and differences in how people deal with five major issues which affect all of us. These value dimensions are our relationships with time, human relations, activity, nature and human nature. e.g. re Time, the value orientations are Past, Present and Future.

In addition to language training and improving our skills in intercultural interaction, an appreciation of our own basic values and those of a new country and culture can greatly improve our effectiveness in adapting public consultation.

Conclusion

References

1. Connor, Desmond M., "Participative Social Impact Assessment and Management: Cross-Cultural Application", Constructive Citizen Participation, Vol. 25, No. 1, June 1997.

2. Blanco, Hernan P., ¿Puede un enfoque desarrollado en Canadá ser útil en América Latina? in Connor, D.M., Participación Pública: Un Manual, Development Press, Victoria, B.C., 1997.

3. Environmental Resources Management, Manual on Public Participation, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, 1995.

4. Chambers, Robert, Rural Appraisal: Rapid, Relaxed and Participatory, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, 1992.

5. Arnstein, Sherry, "A Ladder of Citizen Participation", Journal of the American Institute of Planners, July 1969. pp. 216-224.

6. Creighton, Jim, Involving Citizens in Community Decision Making, Program for Community Problem Solving, Washington, D.C., 1993.

7. Connor, Desmond M., "From Partisans to Partners", Community Planning Review, 22, (1), 1972. See now in Connor, D.M., Public Participation: A Manual, Development Press, Victoria, B.C., 1997.

8. Lasswell, Harold D. and A. Kaplan, Power and Society: A Framework for Political Inquiry, Yale University Press, 1950.

9. Morris, Charles, Varieties of Human Value, University of Chicago Press, 1956.

10. Schwartz, S.S., "Are There Universal Aspects to the Structure and Contents of Human Values?" Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 50. No. 4, 1994, pp. 19 - 45.

11. Bok, Sissela, Common Values, University of Missouri Press, Columbia, MO, 1995.

12. Zakaria, Fareed, "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy", Foreign Affairs, November/December 1997, pp. 22-43.

13. Joyce, Susan A., "Looking Below the Surface: The Socio-Political Reality of Mineral Exploration in Latin America," paper at Prospectors and Developers Conference, Toronto, ON, March 1998.

14. Kaplan, Roger, ed., Freedom Around the World, 1997, Freedom House, New York, 1997.

15. Connor, Desmond M., "The Value Orientation Method: Another Tool for Understanding Communities", Constructive Citizen Participation, Vol. 25. No. 3 (Dec. 1998) p. 5-6. (Will fax on request to IAIA members.) Visit FRKValues@aol.com

16. For a detailed report outline and five methods to prepare a social profile, see my Manual noted in #7 above; for an outline of the report only, see the appendix of "Managing Airport-Community Relations" in the Library section of my website www.connor.bc.ca/connor

Acknowledgements

Des. Connor is an applied sociologist-anthropologist with an international practice in public consultation and participative social impact assessment and management and the president of Connor Development Services Ltd.

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