Description
The project will develop and test a new method of transferring public participation skills to local officials based on learning by doing. First, officials and non-governmental leaders in Rejowiec Fabryczny will receive guidance from the Dialogue Field Foundation to conduct a consensus conference on a subject selected by community members. The public meeting in Rejowiec Fabryczny will be observed by 3 other communities. Then, one of them will be selected to repeat the process. The key goals of the project are: 1) effective transfer of skills of managing complex civic participation processes to local officials; 2) encourage community members to take part in consensus conferences and similar processes in the future. In terms of long term impact, the project will lead to the formulation of Dialogue Codes in local communities, which will provide for public meetings as one of the forms of civic participation. The project results will be disseminated by the Foundation and the project partner, Municipal Office of Rejowiec Fabryczny.
Summary of project results
The aim of the project was to test the method of teaching through experience in civil participation, in order to strengthen municipalities in conducting social consultations. This is a rarely used, but the most effective method of teaching adults. However, in municipal offices usually less effective trainings are organised that give no space for practical implementation of acquired skills and competencies. In Rejowiec Fabryczny and Opole Lubelskie, specially formed, interdisciplinary teams for organisation of conferences, with the support from the Foundation Space for Dialogue, conducted two civil conferences on important local matters (the future of the old railway station in Rejowiec Fabryczny and an attractive town centre in Opole Lubelskie). The members of the teams acquired skills in conducting meetings and organising participatory processes. Participation in the project left the inhabitants and town officers with the experience of good dialogue. Four trainings were conducted for 48 persons (representatives of institutions, offices and organisations from Rejowiec Fabryczny and Opole Lubelskie). The meetings to prepare both conferences gathered 130 persons. In Rejowiec Fabryczny, the questionnaires on selecting the subject of the conference were filled by 286 persons. In each of the municipalities, in a series of four conference meetings, a group of about 20 inhabitants developed social recommendations. Two public hearings were organised and gathered 210 persons. A publication (in paper and electronic versions) and a multimedia presentation were prepared. The project benefited the teams organising the conferences (town officers, workers of local institutions and NGOs), inhabitants participating in the conference meetings and in the hearings, representatives of local authorities. The partner, the Town Hall in Rejowiec Fabryczny delegated their workers to the project which rooted the project in the town hall and helped to create the first team to organise the conference, supported contacts with other municipalities, and promoted the civil conferences (the Union of Small Polish Towns).
Summary of bilateral results