Based on my assessment of historical social changes and current trends in management, public administration, culture, economy, and the nonprofit sector, I believe we are seeing a generalized and growing call for the participation of stakeholders in all manner of decision-making processes throughout these key sectors of society. I further believe that, because of accelerated economic, technological, and social changes and a concomitant increasing usage of participatory processes, we are on the threshold of a significant era of social change. Participatory decision-making is fast becoming the ideal, and in many areas may soon become the norm.

Through a series of academic- and practitioner-oriented articles, one of my first aims is to study in-depth the full ramifications of this transformation to a more participatory era. At the same time, I am interested in examining which forms of participatory decision-making processes are most effective in general as well as in specific types of public, private, and nonprofit sector organizations. Accordingly, I'll also be collecting, classifiying, and writing on best practices in participatory management and summarizing the results on this site.

What will you find here? This web site is intended to be a resource for anyone who is as interested in this topic as I am. In addition to my own writing on participatory decision-making processes, you'll find links to individual researchers and research institutions who are also working in this burgeoning area. You'll find a growing list of examples, best practices, and bibliographical resources. And you'll find several "blogs" that I've created that highlight interesting examples of participatory phenomena in the areas of business, culture, politics, government, and the nonprofit sector.