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Building the Knowledge Base of Nonprofit Management:
A Searchable Database
From the Top Down: Government Promoted Citizen Participation
Abstract
The compatibility & effectiveness of government
institutionalization with voluntarism are assessed in a detailed
examination of city decentralization in Bologna, Italy. The evolution
of neighborhood councils beginning in 1963 & the expansion of
participatory mechanisms in 1974 are reviewed. Data from personal
interviews conducted with 192 citizens & council members in 1974
are analyzed to assess the responsiveness of these innovations to
neighborhood needs. The vital role of the working commissions in
increasing direct citizen participation in individual issue planning
is stressed. The 1976 national legislation formalizing council
planning for cities with populations of 40,000+ is cited as evidence
of the success & impact of the Bologna experience & of its
multipartisan support. Implications for US policy are considered,
noting three principal conditions: (1) perception of decentralization
advantages by the power structure; (2) ideological support; & (3)
likelihood of internal consolidation for exportable decentralization
gains. 4 Tables. Modified HA.
Journal
(1980)
vol9
no1-4
pages149-164
Categories
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Financing and Evaluting NGOs
