Citizen Engagement in development research Essay

Citizen Engagement in development research - Essay Example Its purpose is to contribute in meaningful ways to specific public policy decisions in a transparent and accountable manner". (Phillips, 2002) Around the period centering 1970s, the different governments, especially of the Western nations, more profoundly thought of extending the responsibilities of the citizens and gradually increased and spread the application of the plans in various arenas primarily including the social and infrastructural bodies to address more deeply the quintessential aspects of education and health. Citizens were encouraged to intensively participate and monitor in many small developmental projects and related campaigns in their respective community areas.  Lack of substantial civilian involvement at that period prompted many theories to be developed and scrutinized at this very context. There have been several approaches and detailed theoretical study and discussion regarding literature of public involvement in developmental affairs of the governance. Many such views were studied exhaustively and dissected minutely to frame administrative policies across the nations of the world. One such view to understand the role of civilians in attaining developmental goals was the neo-liberal market approach. The main argument of the neo-liberal market approach is a continually sustained moderation of the government authority through a proper mix of privatization and decentralization policies (Gaventa, 2007). In this particular framework, the main critic is the civilians are mechanically.