Abstract

Research shows that public participation in decision-making processes has substantive, normative and instrumental benefits. However, when organized in a top-down logic, at the initiative of governments or other official entities, they can have various problems and limitations. In Portugal and other countries, many of these processes have been used for the mere public legitimization of action plans, without creating the conditions for broad debate and participation. Involving citizens in climate action processes favors the joint design of measures and strategies that benefit society as a whole. However, the conditions for the success of community initiatives for public participation are still understudied, and knowledge is scattered throughout the social/environmental psychology literature, the literature on citizen co-production and the literature on climate change governance. There is therefore a need for a more systematic and comprehensive understanding of public/citizen participation processes and the development of evaluation approaches tailored to different situations. This evaluation proposal aims to understand the impact and reach of 11 projects funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. It is intended that the evaluation will be a useful tool for the Sustainability Program team, in order to identify best practices, new opportunities for intervention and strategic recommendations.

Team