Archon Fung

Embedded Deliberation: Transformations in Local Democracy will examine governance in several communities that have incorporated, or embedded , regular processes of citizen participation and deliberation in their process of public decision-making. Embedded deliberation contrasts with most intentional efforts to create public deliberation that convening one-off events or processes. Attempts at embedded deliberation aim to shift the character of decision-making in part of a local community permanently to a more participatory and deliberative mode, and thus displace or supplement other, perhaps professionally-driven, insulated, or hierarchical modes of decision. Its central question is whether, and how, such embeddedness alters the character of civic interaction, political power, and policy-making. In particular, when, and how, does deliberation operate to bring new interests and perspectives to bear on public issues? Or, do ostensibly deliberative practices reinforce pre-existing arrangements and inequalities? Does embedding public participation alter policy outcomes? Finally, what are the costs, in terms of time, excess conflict, or inefficiency, of embedded deliberation?

This study will examine three cases of embedded deliberation. The first is a shift to neighborhood planning under the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program. That program allocates $400 million over twenty years to projects developed by neighborhood associations in the city. The second case examines an approach that does not decentralize discussions to the level of neighborhoods, but rather attempts to create community-wide discussions that involve local elites, policymakers, and average citizens from diverse quarters of particular communities under the “Study Circles” model of small group deliberations on particular issues that occur over a period of several months. Moving upward in scale one degree, the third case will examine methods of public deliberation that have been used to address problems afflicting regions of states that encompass multiple municipalities. In West Virginia and Arkansas , for example, organizations have used deliberative methods developed by the National Issues Forums (NIF) and Study Circles to address problems of regional public health, growth management, and state education.