Public participation is the practice of engaging the public during decision-making, drawing on their diverse ideas, views, and concerns to make better, more durable decisions.
Bringing the public into the decisions that affect them
Public participation, often shortened to P2, means engaging with the public throughout a decision-making process, rather than only announcing a decision once it has already been made. It draws on the diverse ideas, views, and concerns of the people affected, and uses that input to make better decisions.
Done well, P2 makes the resulting decisions easier to communicate, easier to implement, and easier for communities to understand and stand behind, because the people affected had a genuine hand in shaping them.
Who is involved in P2?
P2 practitioners are a diverse community of professionals, citizens, academics, and decision-makers committed to involving the public in decisions that affect them. Beyond formal practitioners, P2 includes everyone with a stake in the outcome: individuals, governments, communities, interest groups, organizations, and other entities affecting public interest in nations around the world.
The Impact
Why is P2 important?
Decisions that impact the public shouldn't be made in isolation. Meaningful public participation delivers real, lasting benefits for communities and decision-makers alike.
✓
Broader, More Inclusive Input
Increases engagement and inclusion for all people, including racialized groups, Indigenous peoples, and other groups who are more often overlooked, surfacing a wider range of ideas, views, and concerns.
✓
Better, More Durable Decisions
Leads to decision-making that reflects the public's interests and values, making it easier to communicate, implement, and understand the process, the decision, and its impact.
✓
Stronger, Long-Term Trust
Builds capacity for collaborative decision-making over the long term by strengthening relationships and increasing trust between decision-makers and the public.
The Framework
The IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation
The IAP2 Spectrum is a framework designed to enhance collaboration and transparency throughout the decision-making process, increasing the public's impact on the decision. Meaningful P2 and engagement moves across five levels:
1
Inform
Communicating issues, options, and solutions with clear, balanced, objective information.
2
Consult
Getting continuous input and feedback from the public.
3
Involve
Ensuring the public's diverse views and concerns are understood and considered throughout.
4
Collaborate
Partnering with the public at each stage, asking for advice and identifying preferred solutions.
5
Empower
Placing final decision-making in the public's hands and implementing what they decide.
Ultimately, P2 helps decision-makers apply what they've learned from the public in meaningful ways to address real-life problems. The IAP2 Canada Core Values Awards celebrate outstanding efforts by individuals, organizations, and projects that embody these values in practice.
IAP2 has set the bar for public participation with practical tools and methodologies that transcend national and cultural boundaries. As part of our mission, we're at the cutting edge of P2 training worldwide.
Upcoming Events & Training
Browse our full course calendar for upcoming Fundamentals of P2, Applying Methods, CP3 certification courses, and more, delivered in person and online across Canada.
Not sure where to start? Our Learning Pathway maps out the courses and credentials that take you from introductory concepts through to CP3 certification.