Participatory Governance (PG)

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Category: PG Exchange

Democratic and inclusive governance is seen as key for fighting poverty, achieving sustainable development and social justice. There is now growing consensus that such a system of democratic governance has to involve ample opportunities for citizens and their organisations to engage with government – what is usually termed ‘participatory governance’. Changes generated through these processes can be quite profound because citizens and government officials are interacting with each other in new ways, generating new forms of political engagement while new networks and relationships are being forged.

However, in reality, such opportunities remain rare and citizens in both the North and the South express growing disillusionment with their governments – citing problems of lack of transparency, responsiveness and accountability. Human and citizen rights are not fully acknowledged or respected and, as a result, ordinary citizens are largely excluded from governance processes and the making of decisions that directly affect their lives.

Since the launch of the Participatory Governance (PG) Project in 2006, CIVICUS seeks to contribute to inclusive governance processes with a combined focus on capacity-building, networking and knowledge sharing involving not only participatory governance practitioners but also civil society, governments and other sectors.

In addition to promoting reflection, dialogue and mutual learning through a global community of practice, with the PG Exchange Project and, more recently, the New Social contract project, CIVICUS has provided direct support, methodological guidance  and networking opportunities to a limited number of exceptionally innovative initiatives (developed and implemented jointly by government, civil society  and other sectors)

• To access our vast production of tools and articles on participatory governance and multi-stakeholder engagement, visit the Resource section of our website
• To learn more about the New Social Contract project and view selected case studies click here..
• For more information on the CIVICUS work on Participatory Governance e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.