| Abstract [eng] |
The master's thesis analyzes the implementation of participatory governance in Šiauliai city municipality. Local government is a key entity in the effective development process, focused on meeting the needs of residents and improving the quality of life. Through participatory governance, this government promotes democracy and civil society trust, providing citizens with the opportunity to actively participate in the processes of public policy development and decision-making. Participatory governance emerges as a response to the challenges of democracy and seeks to solve social problems more effectively, especially in municipalities, where public involvement is extremely significant. The involvement of communities and organizations in governance processes is a key factor in promoting democracy and improving governance efficiency. Municipalities must promote a culture of participatory governance, which complements representative democracy, but limited community participation can hinder effective governance and inhibit the development of democratic processes. In this regard, the main problematic question arises: what are the opportunities and challenges of implementing participatory governance in Šiauliai city municipality? Considering the problematic question, the implementation of participatory governance was chosen as the object of this work. The aim of the work is to reveal the possibilities and challenges of implementing participatory governance in Šiauliai city municipality. To achieve the aim, the research tasks have been formulated. The first task aims to reveal the definition, forms, and significance of participatory governance at the local self-government level. The second task aims to examine the legal regulation and implementation specifics of participatory governance. The third task aims to examine the possibilities and challenges of implementing participatory governance in Šiauliai city municipality. The work consists of three main parts. The first part presents theoretical insights into participatory governance: the conceptualization of participatory governance, forms of participatory governance, entities, practices, tools, and factors that encourage and limit participatory governance are presented. Based on the results of scientific literature, this part forms a theoretical model of implementing participatory governance in local self-government. The second part of the work forms an empirical research methodology, presents the research design, justification of the selected research methods, research organization, and ethics. The third part presents the research results of implementing participatory governance in Šiauliai city municipality, which are summarized in a discussion. The work used theoretical and empirical methods. The theoretical part used theoretical analysis, and the empirical part used document analysis and partially structured interviews, during which six civil servants holding positions in the Šiauliai city municipality and related to the implementation of participatory governance were selected. The qualitative content analysis method was chosen to analyze the research data. Document analysis revealed that participatory governance is an essential tool for strengthening democracy, inclusiveness and the rule of law, requiring a legal framework that creates opportunities for public participation in public affairs processes. International, national and local level documents emphasize the right of citizens to participate in decision-making, encouraging active involvement. Aspects of participatory governance are also highlighted in the strategic documents of the city of Šiauliai, however, it is necessary to improve the application of these principles in order to ensure better participation of communities and strengthening democracy. |
