A Critical Examination of Community Planning in Scotland

Scholars of participatory democracy have recently turned their attention to a global wave of experimentation in democratic practice that attempts to address the deficits brought on by representative models of democracy. The following study proposes to examine an equally fascinating democratic innovation in the context of Scottish Community Planning (CP). CP operates in all 32 local authorities areas across Scotland and seeks to engage citizens and communities in local level decision-making. Community Planning is an umbrella term for a range of local government projects supported by the Scottish Executive, most notably community councils, the lowest tier of representative governance in Scotland. Despite the significance of community planning initiatives to Scottish democracy, however, the scheme remains noticeably absent from the literature on democratic innovations. While CP has been in place since the mid-1970s, state sponsorship is relatively nascent and has only gained full statutory support and recognition in 2003. As active utilization of the scheme is generally new, quantitative data is difficult to come by and more historical information, such as the context under which the project emerged, is needed. Can CP address the challenges brought on by representative models of democracy? I propose to evaluate the scheme’s potential to act as a genuine innovation in democratic practice and to determine whether it can deliver the democratic goods participatory theorists would expect of enhanced participation. Supported by qualitative data collected whilst investigating community councils in the North East region of Scotland, I propose to examine the historical emergence of community planning in Scotland and assess its contemporary relevance, not only within the UK but the wider European context. I plan to utilize a quantitative research design that identifies the key determinants and patterns of participation in the scheme as well as investigate the overall political efficacy of community planning at large.