The relationship between transparent and participative government: A study of local governments in the United States

Abstract

The relationship between transparency and participation of government is not well articulated in the literature. Transparency provides stakeholders with knowledge about the processes, structures and products of government. Participation refers to the quantity, quality and diversity of input of stakeholders into government decision-making. Greater transparency and participation are often considered to operate side by side. However, in the Internet age the change in the magnitude of information disclosure may outweigh the change in the level of participative government. This article uses data from a 2010 national survey of five US local government agencies to test hypotheses about the relationship between transparency and participation and the factors that affect them. Findings show that participation is positively associated with transparency, but transparency does not lead to participation. In addition, organizations that are under stronger influence from external stakeholders report higher levels of participation but in some cases higher levels of external influence dampen transparency. Points for practitioners For practitioners, the article provides a framework for understanding the relationship between transparency and participation as two dimensions of open government. While in some departments these two dimensions are present at similar levels, in others they are not. For example, among five departments, police report the lowest overall participation and transparency levels, while parks and recreation and the mayor’s office report the highest transparency and participation levels, respectively. In addition, police departments report significantly higher transparency than participation, while the reverse is true for community development departments. The article provides public administrators with greater insight into causes of and relationships between transparency and participation.