The impact of trust (or lack thereof) on citizen involvement

As citizens evolve from passive consumers of government services to active shapers of policies and projects, their expectations of government have changed. They generally expect to be given information well in advance of any action that might affect them and frequently expect to be asked for input or to be involved in shaping decisions. This trend also creates the potential for influencing the level of trust that citizens have or don't have in their government, as they are kept informed and invited to participate in decisions or not. When citizens are included as partners with government in decision making, other issues often arise that can affect the outcome. For example, even though government is bound to consider the interests of the entire community, whether it is a municipality, township, county, and so on, citizens are frequently most concerned with their own individual, neighborhood, or special group interests. Similarly, governments tend to plan with a relatively long time horizon in mind where citizens may tend to think in a shorter time increment. Here, Morris-Jones reports some events that illustrates some of the ways in which even the best-mentioned and well-planned efforts to invite citizens into decision-making processes that can fall short of expectations.