Knowledge
Participation process
A participation process is the structured way an administration involves residents in a decision or plan.
Participation processes range from pure information through consultation, meaning gathering opinions, to cooperation, meaning deciding together. A distinction is made between formal processes required by law — for example in land-use planning — and informal processes a municipality offers voluntarily.
A good process is early, transparent and binding: participants know what they can influence and what happens to their input. Paper notices often fail exactly here — digital processes make the response visible.
Typical phases
- Information: disclose the goal, scope and room for manoeuvre
- Consultation: gather ideas and feedback
- Consideration: evaluate and weight contributions
- Accountability: report the outcome and the reasoning
MyIdeas supports informal participation processes from idea collection to a public roadmap — without a cookie banner and on any device.
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