International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) 2006 Conference “Decision Montreal”

The 300 plus Montreal conference participants included federal public servants from across the spectrum of departments and agencies, a good mix of provincial and municipal government officials, practitioners, academics, youth, artists, and writers interested in public participation. [...] The conference theme was “Decision,” and provided an opportunity for participants to expand their understanding of the value and benefit of involving citizens at every level of the decision-making process, that is, before, during and after decisions are made. [...] The conference program explored decision-making through a variety of lenses: community- based; national and international public policy decisions; representative democracy and public participation; the role of the media and advocacy in public participation; defining good decisions; and why decision-makers should consider public participation. [...] Highlights of his workshop dealt with: • the importance of contextual factors in public participation processes; • the importance of the purpose in the design of an evaluation framework; and • the different evaluation perspectives and what makes a good process (managing expectations). [...] Canadian Policy Research Networks 3 The breakout session The Truth About Youth: Making Services Better for Youth in Halton (Tanja Schlabitz, Social and Community Services Department, and Nancy Field, Strategic Planning and Policy Division, Halton Region, Ontario) told the story of a public engagement strategy used to develop a Youth Services Plan to address the growing needs of youth in Halton.