Community Participation: Serving the public good or benefiting personal gain?

Poster

 Speaker:
Marlene K. Rebori
775-784-4848
reborim@unce.unr.edu
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
Citizen participation is at the backbone of American democracy; however past research has empirically established democratic participation in America is neither equitable nor representative of the broad interests in our society. Although participation of citizens in their community has a range of benefits, citizen participation can also be skewed to advance one's self-interest. A survey was administered in early 2004 to help explain what motivates a citizen to participate in community. The survey was administered to over 700 citizens in one community. Two groups were examined, randomly selected registered voters and community board members. Results demonstrate a clear delineation between each group. As community educators it is important for us to understand what motivates one to participate in community. Increasing our understanding will help to equalize the spectrum of voices as we develop community programs and work with our fellow citizens.

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For more information about the conference, contact the conference co-chairs: Cindy Bigger, cbigger@umn.edu, (888) 241-0843, or Rick Maurer, richard.maurer@uky.edu, (859) 257-7582.

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