Community x-change: connecting citizens and scientists to policy makers (PLA 58)
Guest editors: Tom Wakeford and Jasber Singh. To read the full table of contents please click on ‘More information’ above.
In a new initiative in public participation, scientists participated in an engagement process as bona fide participants, without being called upon themselves to provide expert opinions. The community x-change project aims to strengthen links between the public, scientists and decision-makers. Using a ‘social inclusion strategy’, a diverse group of participants met in Norwich, UK, in 2006, to discuss and explore solutions to climate change. Through extensive deliberations, the group concluded that climate change could only be tackled if technical solutions were integrated with solutions to social challenges facing the community. For example, feelings of powerlessness and a lack of collective meeting places especially for women and young people, required urgent action. In this community co-inquiry model, people’s experiences and perspectives become valuable tools in shaping solutions.
Keywords: citizens juries, participatory budgeting, grassroots participation, gender, community activism.
Participatory Learning and Action (PLA, formerly PLA Notes) is the world's leading series on participatory learning and action approaches and methods. PLA publishes articles on participation aimed at practitioners, researchers, academics and activists. All articles are peer-reviewed by an international editorial board. See: www.planotes.org
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Available at https://www.iied.org/g02856