Creating Spaces of Engagement: Policy Justice and the Practical Craft of Deliberative Democracy

by Leah R.E. Levac (Editor), Sarah Marie Wiebe (Editor)

Overview

There is a growing need for public buy-in if democratic processes are to run smoothly. But who exactly is "the public"? What does their engagement in policy-making processes look like? How can our understanding of "the public" be expanded to include – or be led by – diverse voices and experiences, particularly of those who have been historically marginalized? And what does this expansion mean not only for public policies and their development, but for how we teach policy? Drawing upon public engagement case studies, sites of inquiry, and vignettes, this volume raises and responds to these and other questions while advancing policy justice as a framework for public engagement and public policy.

Stretching the boundaries of deliberative democracy in theory and practice, Creating Spaces of Engagement offers critical reflections on how diverse publics are engaged in policy processes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487523251
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	11/22/2020
Pages:	472
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Leah R. E. Levac is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph.
Sarah Marie Wiebe is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Hawai'i, Mānoa.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Why Create Spaces of Engagement? Connecting Theory, Policy, and Practice
Leah R.E. Levac, University of Guelph and Sarah Marie Wiebe, University of Hawai’i, Manoa

Part One: Across Disciplines and Beyond the Academy: Stretching Deliberative Democratic Theory

1. Revelatory Protest, Deliberative Exclusion, and the B.C. Missing Women Commission of Inquiry: Bridging the Micro/Macro Divide
Genevieve Fuji Johnson, Simon Fraser University

2. The Alberta Energy Futures Lab: A Case Study in Socio-Cultural Transition Through Public Engagement
Stephen Williams, Energy Futures Lab

3. Deliberative Democracy and Collective Impact: Seeing and Believing Shared Outcomes and Shared Participation
Ellen Szarleta, Indiana University Northwest

4. Northern Women’s Conceptualizations of Wellbeing: Engaging in the "Right" Policy Conversations
Leah R.E. Levac, University of Guelph and Jacqueline Gillis, University of Guelph

5. Unsettled Democracy: The Case of the Grandview-Woodlands Citizen Assembly
Rachel Magnusson, City of Vancouver

6. Opening to the Possible: Girls and Women with Disabilities Engaging in Vietnam
Deborah Stienstra, University of Guelph and Xuan Thuy Nguyen, Carleton University

Part Two: Centring Voices from the Margins: Expanding and Evaluating Engagement Practices

7. How OpenMedia.ca Has Used Social Media to Engage Thousands in "Policy Hacking" for Regulatory Reforms at the CRTC and Other Government Bodies
Tara Mahoney, Simon Fraser University

8. An Experiment in Engaging the "Heart and Mind": Building Community Capacity on Post-Secondary Campuses
Catriona Remocker, University of Victoria, Tim Dyck, University of Victoria, and Dan Reist, University of Victoria

9. Art-Full Methods of Democratic Participation: Listening, Engagement, and Connection
Joanna Ashworth, Simon Fraser University

10. Power, Privilege, and Policy-Making: Reflections on "Changing Public Engagement from the Ground Up"
Alana Cattapan, University of Waterloo, April Mandrona, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Tammy Findlay, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Alexandra Dobrowolsky, Saint Mary’s University

11. Engaging with Women in Low-Income: Implications for Government-Convened Public Engagement Initiatives and Deliberative Democracy
Leah R.E. Levac, University of Guelph

Part Three: Effective and Affective Spaces of Deliberation

12. The heART of Engagement: Experiences of a Community-Created Mobile Art Gallery in Brazil
Bruno de Oliviera Jayme, Royal Roads University

13. Temporary Labour Migrants’ Engagement and (Dis)engagement with the Policy Process
Ethel Tungohan, York University

14. Storytelling as Engagement: Learning from Youth Voices in Attawapiskat
Sarah Marie Wiebe, University of Hawai’i, Manoa

15. Making Spaces for Truth: Exploring the Lived Meanings of Deliberating Reconciliation in Higher Education
Derek Tannis, Saskatchewan Polytechnic

16. Global Development Agendas with Local Relevance? "Glocal" Approaches, Tensions, and Lessons on Measuring Aid Effectiveness
Astrid Pérez Piñán, University of Victoria

Conclusion: Concluding Reflections on Policy Justice Deliberative Democracy, Citizen Participation, and the Future of Policy-Making
Leah R.E. Levac, University of Guelph and Sarah Marie Wiebe, University of Hawai’i, Manoa

What People are Saying About This

Bettina von Lieres

"Creating Spaces of Engagement makes a compelling, convincing, and pressing argument for relational and collaborative approaches to policy making in today's increasingly exclusionary politics. This collection has immense relevance for scholars, practitioners, teachers, and activists engaging in citizen-centric approaches to policy making."

Catherine Etmanski

"In this current era where a vast majority of the global population is excluded from typical democratic and policy-creation practices, lifting up the voices of those who are otherwise marginalized through neoliberal, capitalist, androcentric, heterosexist, ableist, industrial-rationalist processes is essential. Through a range of Canadian and global cases, sites, and stories, Creating Spaces of Engagement not only documents but also celebrates participatory, anti-oppressive, and creative approaches to democracy."

Editorial Reviews

" Creating Spaces of Engagement makes a compelling, convincing, and pressing argument for relational and collaborative approaches to policy making in today’s increasingly exclusionary politics. This collection has immense relevance for scholars, practitioners, teachers, and activists engaging in citizen-centric approaches to policy making."

—Bettina von Lieres, Centre for Critical Development Studies, University of Toronto Scarborough

"In this current era where a vast majority of the global population is excluded from typical democratic and policy-creation practices, lifting up the voices of those who are otherwise marginalized through neoliberal, capitalist, androcentric, heterosexist, ableist, industrial-rationalist processes is essential. Through a range of Canadian and global cases, sites, and stories, Creating Spaces of Engagement not only documents but also celebrates participatory, anti-oppressive, and creative approaches to democracy."

—Catherine Etmanski, Professor of Leadership Studies, Royal Roads University

From the Publisher