The challenges of informed citizen participation in change

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5,1Thechallengesofinformedcitizenparticipationinchange

MarkHughes

BrightonBusinessSchool,UniversityofBrighton,Brighton,UK

Abstract

Purpose–Thepaperanalysesdiscussionaboutpublicserviceorganisationalinnovationandchangeinstrategicplansasapotentialsourceofinformationinformingcitizenparticipation.

Design/methodology/approach–Thestrategicplansof24differentUKpublicserviceorganisationswereanalysedusingNVivo.

Findings–Thestrategicplansdidnotprovidecomprehensiveinformationaboutorganisationalinnovationsandchangestakingplace.However,therationalesforwhypublicserviceorganisationswerechangingwereevident.

Researchlimitations/implications–Theresearchwasbaseduponasmallsampleandonlyasinglecommunicationchannel(thestrategicplans)wasanalysed.

Originality/value–Thepaperhighlightsthechallengesofinformingcitizensaboutforthcomingorganisationalinnovationandchangeinpublicserviceorganisationsandsuggestswaysforward.KeywordsCitizenparticipation,Organizationalchange,UnitedKingdom

PapertypeResearchpaper68

Downloaded by SHANGHAI MARITIME UNIVERSITY At 05:56 10 April 2015 (PT)IntroductionParticipationhasbeenarecurrentthemeintheorganisationalchangeliteratureformanydecades(CochandFrench,1948;KotterandSchlesinger,1979;Mumford,1981).Inparallel,informationandcommunicationtechnologiesdevelopmentsofferthepotentialforfargreatercitizenparticipationinthegovernanceofpublicserviceorganisations.Inparticular,“effectiveinformationprovisionisoftenseenasacorollaryofeffectiveengagementandempowerment”(MacintoshandWhyte,2008,p.17).IntheUK,governmenthassoughttostimulatethetransformationofpublicservicesinordertodeliveref?cientservicesdesignedaroundtheneedsofcitizensandbusinesses(KolsakerandLee-Kelley,2008).Theidealcurrentlyexistsforcitizenstoparticipateinpublicserviceorganisationalchange.Thisidealisthesubjectofongoingdebateandresearch.Theaimofthispaperisfarmoremodestinseekingtoanswertheresearchquestion:

RQ1.Howinformativearediscussionsaboutorganisationalinnovationandchange

intheplansofUKpublicserviceorganisations?

Publicserviceorganisationsproduceforward-lookingplanswhichseektoinformadiverserangeofdifferentstakeholders,rangingfromcitizensthroughtofundingbodies.Inseekingtosimultaneouslyinformadiverserangeofstakeholders,thepreparationoftheseplansmayberegardedaspolitical,aswellas,technicalaspublicmanagersseekbothformallegitimacyandsubstantiveresults(Ashworthetal.,2007).InansweringtheRQ1,theintentionistoinvestigatethepotentialoftheseplansasasourceofinformationforcitizensaboutorganisationalinnovationandchangeinpublicservices.

IntheUK,FreedomofInformationAct(2000)legislationsince2005hasrequiredpublicserviceorganisationstopublicisetheirforward-lookingstrategiclevel

TransformingGovernment:People,ProcessandPolicyVol.5No.1,2011pp.68-80qEmeraldGroupPublishingLimited1750-6166

DOI10.1108/17506161111114662

Downloaded by SHANGHAI MARITIME UNIVERSITY At 05:56 10 April 2015 (PT)plansthroughpublicationschemes.Sevencategoriesofpublicauthorityareidenti?edintheAct(TableI).Thisresearchfocusesuponthediscussionoforganisationalinnovationandchangeinthecorporate/strategicplans(subsequentlyreferredtoasplans)of24differentpublicserviceorganisations,drawnfromNHSfoundationtrusthospitals,ambulanceservices,policeservices,?reandrescueservices,citycouncilsanduniversities.Adiverseselectionofpublicserviceorganisationswasdeliberatelychosenre?ectingtheexploratorynatureofthisstudy(theappendixcontainsfurtherdetailsabouttheplansofeachpublicserviceorganisation).Lee(2005,p.15)highlightedthepotentialoftheFreedomofInformationAct(2000)forsocialscienceresearch.Thelegislationextendstherangeofresourcesavailabletosocialscientistsandtheexperienceofresearchersinothercountriessuggeststhat“[...]itwillbecapableofprovidingaviablesourceofdataforsocialresearch”.Thenextsectionofthepaperreviewsliteratureaboutunderstandingpublicserviceorganisationalinnovationandchange.Thedocumentaryresearchdesignisintroducedandjusti?ed,beforepresenting?ndingsrelatingtotheanalysisoforganisationalinnovationandchangecontainedinthepublicserviceorganisationplans.Thediscussionsectionreviewsthe?ndingsintermsoftheirimplicationsforinformingcitizensaboutorganisationalchangestakingplaceinpublicserviceorganisations.ConclusionsaredrawnintermsoftheRQ1withspeci?cemphasisuponfurtherresearchandpolicyimplications.Literaturereview–understandingpublicserviceorganisationalinnovationandchangeGovernmentsandpublicserviceorganisationshavesoughtfundamentalchangesingovernance,designanddeliveryofpublicservices(Ferlieetal.,2003).However,aconsensusisunlikelytoeverexistaboutthemosteffectiveformsoforganisationalchangeinpublicservices.Thewiderchallengeisthatunliketheprivatesectorthereisarequirementtomakepublicplannedchangestoadiverserangeofstakeholders.ThisnotionofmakingpublicmaybetracedbacktotheLatin“Publicare”meaningto“makepublicproperty”.Whilst,theFreedomofInformationAct(2000)legallyobligespublicserviceorganisationstomakepublictheirplans,otherin?uencesareatwork.IntheUK,theCabinetOf?cesetoutanagendafortransformationalgovernment.Intermsofcitizenandbusinesscentredservices,thereportstated:Systematicallyengagewithcitizens,businessandfrontlinepublicservicestounderstandandthenspecifythetransformationalchangeswhichserviceprovidersneedtomeet–learning

fromthebestpracticealreadywithinthepublicsector,fromothergovernmentsandfromtheprivatesector(CabinetOf?ce,2005,http://wendang.chazidian.comrmedcitizenparticipation69

Part

Part

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PartIIIIIIIVVVIVIIGeneral(centralgovernment)LocalgovernmentTheNationalHealthServiceMaintainedschoolsandothereducationalinstitutionsThepoliceOtherpublicbodiesandof?ces:EnglandandWalesOtherpublicbodiesandof?ces:NorthernIrelandTableI.TheFreedomofInformationAct(2000)categoriesofpublicauthority

TG5,170ThisUKtransformationalchangeinitiativemayberegardedasaformofe-government.MarcheandMcNiven(2003,p.75)havede?nede-governmentas“[...]theprovisionofroutinegovernmentinformationandtransactionsusingelectronicmeansmostnotablythoseusinginternettechnologies”.Theydifferentiatee-governmentfrome-governancewhichtheyde?neas“[...]atechnology-mediatedrelationshipbetweencitizensandtheirgovernmentsfromtheperspectiveofpotentialelectronicdeliberationovercivic

communication,overpolicyevolutionandindemocraticexpressionsofcitizenwill”.Whilst,intheUKe-governmentisbeingadopted,e-governanceatpresentappearstobemoreofanaspiration.Themovementfromorganisation-centrictocitizen-centricgovernancepresentsmanychallenges,particularlyintermsofcitizenparticipation,de?nedas“[...]participationintheplanningandadministrativeprocessesofgovernment.Itistheinteractionbetweencitizensandadministratorsthatfocusesonpolicyissuesandservicedelivery”(Callahan,2007,p.1181).Argumentsexistforandagainstcitizenparticipation(Callahan,2007),however,inbeginningtorealisecitizenparticipationasde?nedbyCallahanissuesoftransparencyappearpertinent.Inthiscontext,MarcheandMcNiven(2003)highlightdifferentnotionsoftransparencywithregardstopublicadministrationincludingunderstandabilityandaccountability.ForTaylorandLips(2008,p.150),theideathate-governmentleadstoanewcitizencentricitymustbeproblematised:

The“e”precedessomuchincontemporaryWesternthinking;yetitisnotthe“e”butthe“i”forinformationthatiscrucialtounderstandingthetruemeaningforthepolitycharacterisedbyinformationintensivegovernment.

Ifcitizensaregoingtoparticipateinplanningandadministrativeprocessesofgovernment,informationiscentraltosuchparticipativeprocesses.Inparticipatinginmanagingorganisationalchange,informedcitizenswillhavetoresolvetheconundrumsthatthestudyofmanagingchangeraisesforchangescholars.Fourconundrumswhichcontinuetochallengescholarsarediscussedhere;de?nitional,manageability,evaluatingsuccess/failureandpredictingthefuture.

Instudyingmanagingchange,itisnecessarytode?nekeyterms,thede?nitionconundrumrelatestoalackofanysharedde?nitionofmanagingchange.Forexample,Armstrong(2009,p.424)de?neschangemanagementas“[...]theprocessofachievingthesmoothimplementationofchangebyplanningandintroducingitsystematically,takingintoaccountthelikelihoodofitbeingresisted”.Thisde?nitionsuggestsaplannedapproachtochangeandthatchangewillinevitablyberesisted.Itisapparentthatthechoiceofde?nitionbeginstoshapethinkingaboutmanagingchange.Theterminologyofchangeisneverneutralandeventheterm“changemanagement”maybechallenged(CleggandWalsh,2004).Changetakesmanyguises“transformation,development,metamorphosis,transmutation,evolution,regeneration,innovation,revolutionandtransitiontolistbutafew”(Stickland,1998,p.14).Transformationrhetoricimplyingarevolutionmaybequestioned;Burke(2008)suggeststhatmorethan95percentoforganisationalchangesareevolutionary.

Themanageabilityconundrumre?ectsdivergentbeliefsaboutiforganisationalchangecanbemanaged.Burnes(1996)tracedtheoriginsofchangemanagementasaformalsubjectforstudyandapplication;tosome50yearsagoutilisingwhathasbecomeknownastheplannedmodelofchange.Plannedmodelsofchangeremainpersuasiveformanyandtheyareevidentinchangeprogrammessuchastotalqualitymanagement,Downloaded by SHANGHAI MARITIME UNIVERSITY At 05:56 10 April 2015 (PT)

businessprocessreengineeringandleanmanufacturing.However,inrecentdecades,anotherin?uentialschoolofthoughthasemphasisedtheemergentnatureoforganisationalchange(Weick,2000).Inasimilarmanner,Leybourne(2006)highlightedtheroleofimprovisationinplanningorganisationalchangeprojects.Burnes(1996,p.16)concludedhisreviewofplannedandemergentapproachestochangewriting:

[...]ratherthanseeingtheargumentbetweentheplannedandemergentapproachestochangeasaclashoftwofundamentallyopposingsystemsofideas,theycanbebetterviewedasapproacheswhichseektoaddressdifferentsituationalvariables(http://wendang.chazidian.comrmedcitizenparticipation71

Downloaded by SHANGHAI MARITIME UNIVERSITY At 05:56 10 April 2015 (PT)Thesuccess/failureconundrumrelatestothetendencyfororganisationalchangeinitiativestofail(Kotter,1995;DeCaluweandVermaak,2004;Burke,2008).Thismaybecontrastedwithmuchofthemanagingchangeliteraturebeing“[...]rootedinasearchforkeyingredientsof‘success’inordertosustaincompetitiveadvantage”(Dawson,2003,p.178).Despitetherhetoricoflearningorganisations,thereappearstobeasocietalbiastowardshope,ratherthandespair(Nesse,1999).Thefuturologyconundrumrelatestothecentralmysterythatwhilstmanagingchangeisgroundedinthepastandthepresentthefocusisuponthefuture.BeckhardandHarris(1987,p.687)explainorganisationalchangeintermsof:[...]thefuturestate,wheretheleadershipwantstheorganisationtogetto;thepresentstate,wheretheorganisationcurrentlyis;andthetransitionstate,thesetofconditionsandactivitiesthattheorganisationmustgothroughtomovefromthepresenttothefuture.Presentedinthisway,theorganisationalchangeprocessappearsrationalandthegoalappearseminentlyachievable.However,asDawson(2003,p.11)notes“[...]changeinvolvesamovementtosomefuturestatethatcomprisesacontextandtimethatremainunknown”.MethodandmethodologyThelegalimperativesoftheFreedomofInformationAct(2000)maybecontrastedwithamoretraditionalcultureofsecrecyinpublicservices(Lee,2005).Thequalitativeresearchdesignengageswiththisapparentnewcultureoftransparency,viewingplansaspotentialsourcesofinformation.Theplansusedarangeofdifferentlabelsincluding;“corporateplan”,“strategicplan”,“serviceplan”and“strategicdirection”.Theirformatsre?ectednormsamongstpublicserviceorganisationsdeterminedbyearlierlegislationandspeci?cpolicyguidance.Thereportingformatwasnotcompletelystandardisedevenamongstthesamecategoriesofpublicserviceorganisations.TheplanswereanalysedusingNVivo(version8)qualitativedataanalysissoftwarewhichwas

highlycompatiblewiththePDFformatoftheplans.ThePDFsweredownloadedfromthewebsitesofthepublicserviceorganisationsonacommoncensusdate21November2008.

Intermsofjustifyingthemethodologicalchoices,thestrengthswerethatthedocumentsofferedaccesstorealplans.Second,documentshavebecomeanintegralelementoforganisationsandsociety(Zuboff,1988;Silverman,1993).Third,asthesedocumentsareinthepublicdomain,theymaybeaccessedbyothersseekingtogaugechangeovertimeandre-evaluatethepublicclaimsmadeintheseplans.Potentiallimitationsoftheresearchdesignwerethattheresearchwasselectiveinthatonlyarelativelysmallsampleofplanswereanalysedandonlyasinglecommunicationchannelwasanalysed.