Social Councils – Meaningful or Meaningless Actor in Local Decision Making?

Social councils/committees are local collegial actors anchored in various social groups (e.g. senior citizens, youth, people with disabilities), milieus (e.g. artists, academics, athletes), as well as organizations (NGOs). They are formally created by local authorities to consult decisions on different policy issues and to speak for the particular social group. The main objective of the paper is to determine social councils’ potential to affect local decisions and the means they use to exert pressure on local authorities. The authors have formulated hypothesis on the passive role of social councils in local policy-making and their low potential to influence municipal authorities. The paper is based on the results of the questionnaire research held in 65 Polish cities. The research was addressed to the members of eight different social councils, which all or some are present in those cities (over 1400 questionnaires have been gathered). Furthermore, in 16 cities selected according to the number of residents and location, have been selected for review research. About 150 reviews were conducted. Preliminary analysis of the research results indicate that members of social councils primarily care about being heard by local authorities, and having some voice in shaping municipal decisions. They are satisfied with the range of influence granted to them and basically accept their present role in decision-making.