The article “From consultation to collective choice: decision-oriented participation and territorial policy capacity in place-based governance” written by Acerra Francesca (ILS LEDA), Canzanelli Giancarlo (ILSLEDA), Marino Alfonso (Vanvitelli University) and Pariso Paolo (Vanvitelli University) has been published on the Emerald Publishing Limited review.
This paper addresses a recurring paradox in participatory place-based governance: despite the widespread institutionalisation of participatory mechanisms in contemporary public policy, many participatory processes generate extensive inputs but limited strategic coherence and implementation capacity.
The paper develops a conceptual framework distinguishing consultative participation from decision-oriented participation, through applying the ILS LEDA RESCO (Adding Value to Resources for Competitive Sustainability) methodology and approach, and illustrating how participatory governance can embed decision-making mechanisms, rather than provide an empirical evaluation of policy outcomes.
The analysis shows that consultative participation, while inclusive, tends to accumulate territorial knowledge without converting it into binding strategic choices. In contrast, decision-oriented participation embeds mechanisms of prioritisation, aggregation and strategic simplification, enabling collective strategic action.
The findings imply a shift in policy design from consultation-oriented formats towards participation structures explicitly linked to decision-making and long-term strategic commitment. These mechanisms include structured prioritisation procedures, transparent aggregation rules and institutional arrangements that link participatory deliberation to binding strategic choices.
It, finally, reconceptualises territorial knowledge as a governance challenge rather than a data deficit and introduces territorial policy capacity as a novel criterion for evaluating participatory place-based policies. This perspective moves beyond normative accounts of participation and provides a decision-centred lens for analysing participatory governance.
To know more, visit Emerald Insight: https://doi.org/10.1108/TG-01-2026-0046
