ABSTRACT
Introduction. No one denies the importance and necessity of public participation in the management of municipalities, since such participation increases the effectiveness of governance by taking into account the interests of the population, makes it democratic, and helps to overcome corruption. Currently, most authors estimate civic engagement scale as low and give this fact a negative assessment. However, the level of civic engagement depends on many internal and external factors and changes over time. The purpose of the study is to estimate the scale of civic engagement in municipal governance processes using the Sverdlovsk Region case.
Methods. In the sample of research objects, the territorial and spatial principle of dividing the territory into administrative districts was applied, the center of which are cities of different population. The analysis included cities of a wide range: from small to large, that made it possible to obtain a holistic picture of the phenomenon under the study. The empirical basis of the study is formed by the statistical data and the reports on public participation in management decision-making activities published on the official websites of municipalities in the region. These include public hearings on the budget adoption, the municipality Charter, population involvement in the strategies development, proactive budgeting, and voting on landscaping. Totally, these activities form the foundation for the municipalities functioning and development.
Results. It has been established that for all forms of participation in municipal governance at the decision-making stage, the civic involvement of the population should be assessed as low.
Conclusions. It is necessary to overcome the negative connotation of assessing the low participation of the population in the management of municipal education and acknowledge the fact that the scale of civic involvement is typical in modern conditions.
For some management measures, high activity of the population is needed, for other ones, mass participation is undesirable and can interfere with the work of the management staff. The authorities should contribute to the formation of civic involvement and create conditions for the dosed co-opting of the population in the current management process.
KEYWORDS
Civic involvement, municipal government, public hearings, strategic planning