“To rebuild people’s trust, local government must demonstrate its trustworthiness…”
Extracts:
...Democratic participation depends on a certain level of mutual trust between citizens and their government representatives. Although mistrust of a politician or political party
can motivate citizens to vote and participate in public consultations, perceptions of systemic mistrust – in politics or political institutions as a whole – can lead to a severe decline in democratic participation and increased feelings of apathy and powerlessness.
...Whether you stand on the left or the right, ‘local’ has become almost synonymous with virtue.
...Local government representatives need to move beyond mechanistic thinking of ways to ‘build’ or manufacture trust, toward providing the opportunity and space where they can
demonstrate their trustworthiness. This requires councils to put relationships at the heart of the equation.
...A number of key points emerged about the quality and process of engagement. Trust was a matter of power sharing: the public’s trust was dependent on the council demonstrating that it was willing to trust the public. The involvement of community members in strategic decisions, throughout the phases of the project but particularly at the outset, was crucial for maintaining a trusting relationship
...The point of involvement in decision making processes proved crucial to demonstrating trustworthiness with the public. In general, involvement of the public occurred too late in
community level decisions. Where the public did not feel able to influence the decisions, the view of the council became overwhelmingly negative. Consultations proved to worsen
frustration, as it appeared the council was not listening to citizens’ concerns. Without the space to change or adapt in response to people’s views, public interactions could potentially damage the perception of the council.
The opportunity to contribute to decisions did not in and of itself appear to increase trust. What was important was the ability to contribute to strategic decisions.
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