EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Pluses and Minuses, citizen participation

Pluses and Minuses, citizen participation - Breda, the Netherlands

Introduction

Objective of the project is to increase the involvement of residents in improving the quality of life in their own neighbourhoods and districts. As part of the experiment the council aims to achieve this by giving district residents their own budget for realising their own wishes and ideas.

Problem

How can residents be more involved in tackling quality-of-life problems in the short term, and is it possible to lay down the foundations for involvement in the longer term?

Objective if the project is to increase the involvement of residents in improving the quality of life in their own neighbourhoods and districts. As part of the experiment the council aims to achieve this by giving district residents their own budget for realising their own wishes and ideas. These 'pluses' are, however, coupled to certain 'minuses' or burdens, viz. a high self-help content. The project is a collaborative venture between council, housing associations and a residents organisation.

Description

The project is a collaborative venture between council, housing associations and a residents organisation.

Practical involvement on the part of the residents is an important principle in this project. Residents work together in task groups which act as the client in the implementation phase. If need be, they can call in the support of a project designer and outside experts. A number of outside experts were found willing to work on the projects free of charge.

Approach

Task groups carry out jobs according to the following pattern:

Take the views of residents as the starting-point for your actions. Taking residents' views, experience and ideas as the starting-point for your actions automatically helps create 'new trust'.
Always look for ways of hooking into 'vital flows' and continue to do so during the project. Part of the 'working together on the quality of life' project is an ongoing search for ways of linking policy intentions, ambitions and preferences.
Invest in new ways of working rather than new organisation. Investing in new methods seems to deliver greater benefits than adding new parts to the organisation.
Present your plans openly and in a way that allows them to be changed. The 'working together on quality of life' project is not a matter of letting citizens express their views on plans drafted by officials, it is a matter of plans being devised together through all sides working in concert.
Give unorthodox self-selecting leaders adequate backing. At crucial moments those who act as links between the various actors must know that they have the backing and support of the official and political leadership.

Results

Implementation of the eighteen ideas selected commenced at the beginning of 2001 and they have now been partially implemented. Establishing a district budget has had the effect of increasing the engagement of both council and housing associations with the district. The existing structures of resident participation are undergoing a shift in roles with the rise of the residents as clients. People are becoming more involved in the process than in the substance. The new system means that municipal services are forced to collaborate better with other parties, including the housing associations.

Other results include:

Maintaining the enthusiasm of residents by achieving minor successes was important during the period in which talks were conducted about the vision for the district.
While the approach has proved a success, the number of residents directly and substantively involved should not be exaggerated. A total of eighteen ideas represents the input of several tens of residents.
Getting young people and members of ethnic minorities involved is more difficult.
The role of the residents as client is one to which both the council and its social partners have yet to become accustomed.
Official reticence regarding the substance is important for keeping residents motivated in the implementation.
Where residents are to act as clients it is important for them to have good guidance.
The speed with which the council responds to queries in this project is seen as one of its positive aspects.
The project constitutes a good start with resident involvement, but must be continued in order to ensure the benefits are not lost.
Ongoing investment in new working methods is necessary. Familiarity causes existing methods to become less effective.

Resources used

The city, annually, makes EUR 225,000 available, for the five neighbourhoods.

Contact info

City of Breda, Samenwerken aan leefbaarheid (Partnership for livibility in Breda Notheast)
Anja van Leeuwen

Project start date

01/01/2000

Links

City of Breda

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Community development

Keywords

Citizens' participation