Overview: Local governments - potentially the most important day to day real-world users of innovative participatory approaches (PLA 44)

This paper poses the question of why local governments, whose main role is to represent their constituents, have been so slow in the uptake of participatory techniques? Drawing on examples from the other articles in this special edition, the authors provide an excellent introduction to the key issues in both developed and lesser-developed countries.

Participatory Learning and Action (PLA, formerly PLA Notes) is the world's leading series on participatory learning and action approaches and methods. PLA publishes articles on participation aimed at practitioners, researchers, academics and activists. All articles are peer-reviewed by an international editorial board. See: www.planotes.org

This article was published in PLA 44: Local Government and Participation (June 2002). ~Click on ‘More information’ to visit: www.planotes.org~Click on 'Additional information' to download individual articles for this issue of PLA.