Local civil servants and democratic innovations: do role conceptions matter for the assessment of participatory decision-making instruments?
基于比利时佛兰德地区高级公务员的调查数据，研究了他们对不同参与式决策工具的偏好及其角色观念，发现传统角色观念偏好传统工具，而新角色观念与创新工具相关。
Leading civil servants are pivotal in policy-making systems that increasingly integrate participatory decision-making instruments. This study offers empirical insights into local civil servants’ preferences for various instruments, their conceptions of participatory roles, and their relationships. It uses data from a survey among leading civil servants in Flanders (Belgium). First, civil servants perceive consultative instruments as most preferable. Second, they conceive a wide range of participatory roles as positive. We identify two complementary role components, reflecting older and newer administrative paradigms. Finally, traditional role conceptions are associated with preferences for traditional instruments, whereas newer role conceptions correspond with innovative instruments.