Does stakeholder participation improve environmental governance? Evidence from a meta-analysis of 305 case studies.

ABSTRACT: Participation and collaboration of citizens and organized stakeholders in public decision-making is widely believed to improve environmental governance outputs. However, empirical evidence on the benefits of participatory governance is largely scattered across small-N case studies. To synthesize the available case-based evidence, we conducted a broad case-based meta-analysis across 22 Western democracies, including 305 individual cases of public environmental decision-making. We asked: How do 'more' participatory decision-making processes compare against 'less' participatory ones in fostering - or hindering - strong environmental governance outputs, (i.e. environmental provisions in plans, agreements or permits)? Which design features make a difference? What role does the decision-making c

SUBMITTER: Newig J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10565671 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature