Assessing institutional participation: the ‘temperature’ of deliberation and its consequences

Abstract

Changes recently occurred in contemporary societies are transforming the forms of citizens’ participation in the public sphere, challenging institutional participation initiatives promoted by various governments over the past decade. It is quite necessary to evaluate these initiatives to ensure its functionality in this new scenario. In this context, this article proposes different criteria and participation assessment instruments in order to apply them into a concrete experience: the participatory process on forest management carried out in Muntanya de Sant Miquel in Setcases (Cataluña). At the same time, the article reflects on what are the best ways and conditions to promote effective participation, focusing its attention on the debate on the ‘temperature’ of deliberation. We conclude that it is extremely difficult to combine hot and cold deliberation. However, this may be the best solution when the participatory topic addresses high conflict of interests between stakeholders and, at the same time, requires to be addressed from the logic of collective interest because it affects the whole community.