The Influence of Legal Mandates on Public Participation
Author | Jared Olsen,Mary K. Feeney |
DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221123105 |
Published date | 01 October 2022 |
Date | 01 October 2022 |
Subject Matter | Articles |
The Influence of Legal Mandates
on Public Participation
Jared Olsen and Mary K. Feeney
Abstract
Legal mandates are a common mechanism to stimulate government agencies to engage the public. Research shows managerial
efforts can also affect civic engagement. We first examine whether local government departments that are legally mandated to
engage the public have more public participation than departments that are not mandated to do so. We then explore the
relationship between manager perceptions of public participation and the frequency of public participation. Finally, we analyze
the interactive effect of legal mandates and managerial perceptions. To investigate our research questions, we use regression
models on data from a 2018 nationally representative survey of 527 local government managers in the United States. The
results indicate legal mandates are not significantly related to public participation, but managerial perceptions are a key factor.
These findings support pursuing a managerial approach to advance public participation in local government.
Keywords
public administration, citizen participation, local and urban public administration/governance, e-government
Modern democracies are premised on the belief that the will
of the people empowers government and that public organi-
zations have a responsibility to involve citizens in public
decision-making. Public participation, defined as the pro-
cesses by which citizens seek to influence government
decision-making (Nabatchi & Leighninger, 2015), aims to
democratize bureaucratic institutions. The positive view of
public participation suggests that governments can engage
the public to develop more lasting, appropriate, and effective
public services that embody the will of the people
(Moynihan, 2003; Wang, 2001). The negative view of
public participation in government posits that involving the
general public in bureaucratic processes can slow or hinder
important organizational performance considerations such
as organizational efficiency and effectiveness (Burke &
Clarey, 1989). Some argue governments that engage the
public minimize the role of expertise in favor of majority
rule and popularity (Cleveland, 1985; Moynihan, 2003;
Predmore et al., 2011).
Research has shown that public participation in govern-
ment—which takes many forms including goal setting,
policy making, oversight, and decision making—can lead
public organizations to be more democratic (Wang, 2001).
A national study of city governments in the United States
(US) found that public participation led to a greater consen-
sus among citizens and accountability in local government
(Wang & Wart, 2007). Public participation enables govern-
ments to identify community needs that were previously
unrecognized (Wang, 2001). For example, when there is
widespread community dissatisfaction citizens get directly
involved in improving public services (Vigoda, 2002).
Research, in general, indicates that the public can make gov-
ernment decisions more reflective of the public will and
improve government accountability and transparency.
Legal mandates are a common mechanism used to stimu-
late public participation in government (Brody et al., 2003;
Chess, 2000; Duram & Brown, 1999; Mitton et al., 2009).
Legal mandates refer to laws passed by federal, state, and
local legislatures that require government agencies, depart-
ments, and organizations to involve the public in policy
and decision-making processes (Brody et al., 2003; Bryson
et al., 2013; Godschalk et al., 2003). These mandates
require government actors to engage the public through activ-
ities such as public hearings (Berner, 2001; Ringholm et al.,
2018), citizen interviews (Ghose, 2005), or public notices
(Brody et al., 2003). Legal mandates are used in many coun-
tries. For example, the European Union has mandated public
involvement in natural resource planning (Newig & Koontz,
2014; van der Heijden & ten Heuvelhof, 2013) and, in the
2000s, the Chinese government mandated the development
of public participation programs in environmental policy-
making (Johnson, 2010). The widespread use of legal
Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Corresponding Author:
Jared Olsen, Arizona State University, 411 N Central Ave Suite 450,
Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
Email: jolsen14@asu.edu
Article
American Review of Public Administration
2022, Vol. 52(7) 486–497
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/02750740221123105
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