Sirianni, Carmen. 2009. Investing in Democracy: Engaging Citizens in Collaborative Governance. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press (978-0815703129).
Occasionally, a book is so well written and of such importance that it really catches your attention. Such is the case for me with a recently published book, Investing in Democracy: Engaging Citizens in Collaborative Governance, by Carmen Sirianni (Brookings Institution Press, 2009). This book provides some real substance on why there is a special role for government – local, state, and federal – in making greater civic engagement happen, and what these governments can (and should) do to play this role. In chapter 1, Sirianni provides a very convincing argument for the government role, or what he calls “Government as Enabler.” Here he suggests that the social costs of engagement and participation have increased, and that in the absence of public investment in the capacity for people to participate, participation will continue to decline. Perhaps equally important, Sirianni accepts the premise that peoples’ ability to govern themselves – the very fabric of democracy in the U.S. – is at stake.
In chapter 2, the discussion generalizes the role of government into elaboration of eight core principles of collaborative governance and the design of public policies to support collaborative governance – core principles that are derived from a wide array of studies and thought. These core principles include: co-production of public goods, where public policy should encourage and enable the work of citizens in co-producing public services; mobilization of community access, where policy should take advantage of existing community assets, skills, and talents to address problems; sharing of professional expertise to mobilize professional expertise in order to ensure that regular citizens learn from that expertise; enabling public deliberation to ensure public discussion and reasoning; promoting sustainable partnerships among various relevant stakeholders in decision making; building fields and governance networks that support the civic organizations and infrastructure that undergirds civil society; transforming local institutional cultures to become “learning organizations” focused on problem-solving; and ensuring “reciprocal accountability” to maximize responsiveness to local problems.
With these core principles articulated, Sirianni proceeds to examine three excellent case studies. The first of these, in chapter 3, focuses on neighborhood empowerment and planning in Seattle, WA.
Of course, Seattle has a long history of neighborhood organizations and engagement, and has produced some of the most forward-looking sustainability policies of any city in the U.S. Sirianni provides abundant evidence that the Seattle city government worked comprehensively with the very rich array of neighborhood and civic organizations to produce an engagement profile that contributes to all eight core principles.
The second case study, in chapter 4, focuses on a truly exceptional youth engagement program in Hampton, VA. Common wisdom suggests that America’s youth are disengaged and will continue to be so, and perhaps even applauds this idea. Sirianni, however, provides documentation to show that engaging young people in Hampton has helped to transform the political and civic culture there. Bolstered by a federal grant, this effort tackled some of the most difficult and pressing problems facing urban youth, including drug abuse, teen pregnancy, and many others. The effort draws upon the resources of government and civic organizations in a coordinated way to address these problems by treating youth as stakeholders and engaging them in a variety of processes and decisions.
The third case study, in chapter 5, examines the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in promoting collaborative and participatory approaches to environmental protection. Much of the focus is on local collaborative watershed management, which is important for at least two reasons. First, focuses on an issue area – water management – that is both contentious and scientifically highly complex. Second, it raises the question of whether a major federal agency can develop ways of dealing with such complex and contentious issues through mechanisms other than command and control regulation. Sirianni provides great insight into how the EPA has successfully achieved enduring solutions to environmental problems while building civic capacity in the process.
The book ends with a chapter that discusses the role of federal and national policies to promote civic engagement consistent with the eight core principles. With a central focus on what the President and White House can do, Sirianni makes a series of recommendations, presumably directed at the Obama administration, concerning establishing a White House Office of Collaborative Governance. This Office, Sirianni argues, should adopt a number of specific policies designed to promote the eight core principles. Most of these prescriptions focus on what existing federal agencies can and should do to promote these principles, including ensuring that each agency develop a civic mission statement, making investments in local civic capacity to leverage federal funds, and many others.
Taken as a whole, this is a very impressive work. Aside from highlighting the specific cases as examples of programs that work, this book makes a convincing case that it is possible to overcome the powerful influences undermining civic engagement and collaborative governance. It also makes clear that accomplishing this is no small feat. It requires coordination and cooperation from many stakeholders. Yet the results are so impressive that tackling these challenges seems well worth the effort.
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