정부의 신뢰 향상과 의미있는 시민참여를 위한 공무원의 태도

How Can Public Administrators’ Attitudes Improve Trust in Government and Enable Meaningful Citizen Participation: Case Evidence from the Water Resources Agency in Taiwan

(Purpose) This research deeply explores the views and attitudes of public administrators toward citizen participation (CP), as well as how they can influence trust in government among citizens and the quality of citizen participation, which can in turn affect policy outcomes. (Design/methodology/approach) The research used a six-month CP project conducted by a water resource agency in Taiwan as the case study to provide explanatory evidence proving that public administrators’ attitudes toward CP can improve trust in their relationships with citizens and can also help to achieve policy objectives. The case study utilized a narrative methodology through interviews to seek information and in-depth explanations from 31 participants to examine the propositions of this research. (Findings) In the research, the data showed that the favorable and positive attitude to adopt CP action is the primary reason to improve the relationships between government and people, which finally supported the administration’s pursuit of the policy objectives and the evidence responding to the assumption of previous studies. Strong leadership also played a significant role in exercising effective CP and guided the direction of the operation. (Research implications or Originality) The case indicated that a sincere attitude toward the citizens, gaining trust and friendship, proved to be the best way for the administrator to start a new environmental plan in the regions where severe anti-government sentiment exists.