IV ISA Forum of Sociology (February 23-28, 2021)

121

Governance, Participation and Evaluation for Public Policy Development and People Empowerment

Abstract Submissions Closed

RC10 Participation, Organizational Democracy and Self-Management (host committee)

Language: English

Session Type: Oral

Good governance is in discussion worldwide. Questions related to good governance are changing methods of good governance; connecting professionalization with the workforce; and different forms of ownership-democracy. The form of actors’ participation in governance (advisory boards, owners-assemblies, individuals intervention opportunities) and regulations as well modern legal frameworks can guarantee good governance.  Transparency and participation in decision-making can lead to good results and engagement of clients in process realization and change management activities. In this frame, evaluation plays an important role for governance and guarantees the legitimation of decision-making through accountability and organizational improvement. This suggests a result-based approach, co-responsibility and subsidiarity instead of a legalistic-performance-oriented logic, involving stakeholders of a programme or policy in the evaluation process at different stages and with different grades of participation. Some of the advantages of undertaking participation in evaluation are: opening up to stakeholders the process of naming and framing; satisfying the double hermeneutic circle; empowering participants by managing conflicts; promoting individual and/or collective capabilities; supporting organisational learning and development.

In the session empirical studies, national and local experiences, new theoretical approaches, evaluation methods and criteria of good governance shall be discussed. We invite papers that describe results from empirical research or reflect on theoretical standpoints related to:

• the relationship between governance, participation and evaluation;
• the involvement of stakeholders in governance;
• the use of participatory evaluation: when what, how and why;
• challenges of participatory processes for governance and evaluation;
• impact of governance and participatory evaluation on reducing inequalities.