Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

specific policy areas where it is thought desirable to draw on the expertise of a cross-partycommittee of Members of the Legislative Assembly. Indeed, it is in this form that thecollaborative committees referred to in the Parliamentary Agreement and discussed abovemight prove most practical.The CLEAR FrameworkThe expressed view that the ACTPS’s performance in undertaking community engagementprocesses has been variable is a fair assessment, driven in part perhaps by a need for moresophisticated understanding of the forms of engagement and methodologies that underpinsuccessful participatory processes.In seeking to improve its performance in this sphere in the future, the ACTPS should makeuse of the CLEAR tool which:develops from the theoretical and empirical insights of a large body of research intoparticipation. It argues that participation is most effective where citizens:• Can do – that is, have the resources and knowledge to participate;• Like to – that is, have a sense of attachment that reinforces participation;• Enabled to – that is, are provided with the opportunity for participation;• Asked to – that is, are mobilised by official bodies or voluntary groups;• Responded to – that is, see evidence that their views have been considered. 86The CLEAR model is set out in Figure 11 below.Figure 11 - The CLEAR Tool 8786 Lowndes, V., Pratchett, L. and Stoker, G. (2006), 'Diagnosing and remedying the failings of official participation schemes: theCLEAR framework' Social Policy and Society, 5, 2 pp. 281-291, p.286.87 Lowndes, V., Pratchett, L. and Stoker, G. (2006).Governing the City State: 69