Early Citizen Involvement: Assessing Design and Impact in Local Policy Development

Citizen participation can improve the effectiveness of public policies, but it often occurs late in the policy development process, limiting its influence and compromising potential benefits. This study explores a participatory process initiated and designed by a local government. It involved citizens in developing a policy addressing the societal challenge of young people classified as Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) in a Norwegian municipality. A qualitative in-depth study was conducted, analysing 22 informant interviews and 8 internal case documents. The participatory design prioritised ‘expert citizens’ due to their perceived legitimacy, while limiting the involvement of the NEET group. This resulted in a selective process that enhanced perceived effectiveness but raised concerns regarding democratic legitimacy. The study concludes that early participatory designs may involve inherent tensions and trade-offs that must be addressed to enable more genuinely interactive forms of governance.