The Ethics of Participatory Processes: Dynamic Flux, Open Questions - Earth Stewardship: Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice - page 325

Durable

• Guided by skillful facilitators, collaborators can become invested in the plans,

policy, and ongoing collaborations that emerge from the research (Stanfi eld
2002 , p. 17ff).

Developing capacities

• Collaborators develop skills and dispositions for collaboration in various set-
tings, as warranted by the rise of citizen participation and of new institutions
of “civil society” (Burbidge 1997 ; Taylor 2005 , p. 204ff).

Appendix 2: A Case of Participatory Community Planning
in Northern Ontario

(Drawn from Taylor 2005 )
As described in Stanfi eld ( 2002 ), the workshops of the Institute of Cultural
Affairs (ICA) elicit participation in a way that brings insights to the surface and
ensures the full range of participants are invested in collaborating to bring the result-
ing plans or actions to fruition. Such investment was evident, for example, after a
community-wide planning process in the West Nipissing region of Ontario, 300 km
north of Toronto. In 1992, when the regional Economic Development Corporation
(EDC) enlisted ICA to facilitate this process, industry closings had increased the
traditionally high unemployment to crisis levels. The EDC wanted specifi c plans,
but it also sought signifi cant involvement from community residents. Twenty
meetings with over 400 participants moved through the fi rst three phases—vision,
obstacles, and directions. The results were synthesized by a steering committee into
common statements of the vision, challenges, and strategic directions. A day-long
workshop attended by 150 community residents was then held to identify specifi c
projects and action plans, and to engage various groups in carrying out projects
relevant to them. A follow-up evaluation fi ve years later found that it was not pos-
sible simply to check off plans that had been realized because the initial projects had
spawned many others. Indeed, the EDC had been able to shift from the role of initi-
ating projects to that of supporting them. It made more sense, therefore, to assemble
the accomplishments under the headings listed in the original vision and strategy
documents. Over 150 specifi c developments were cited, which demonstrated a
stronger and more diversifi ed economic base, and a diminished dependence on
provincial and national government social welfare programs. What is especially
noteworthy about this example is that the community came to see itself as respon-
sible for these initiatives and developments, eclipsing the initial catalytic role of the
EDC-ICA planning process. The EDC saw beyond their catalytic role and came to
appreciate the importance of the emergent process and initiated a new round of
facilitated community planning in 1999 (West Nipissing Economic Development
Corporation 1993 , 1999 ).