Encounters with the organisation: how local civil servants experience and handle tensions in public engagement

Abstract

Civil servants in local governments across the globe are increasingly expected to engage the public. Engagement processes lead to tensions between the rising expectation to engage the public on the one hand, and the bureaucratic and managerial expectations, which still largely characterise municipal organisations, on the other. Based on focus groups totalling 73 frontline civil servants in ten Dutch municipalities, this article explores what tensions arise and through what practices civil servants handle them. We contribute to the recent debates on public engagement, showing that civil servants do not just use their discretion to deal with the tensions surrounding rules and policies, departmentalisation and performance management. They negotiate with colleagues and align people, structures and resources inside and outside their organisation to make public engagement work. In addition, the findings suggest that tensions mostly surface in interactions between civil servants. A real challenge in engagement, therefore, lies in developing shared resolutions with one’s colleagues.