Comments: What are some ways public servants can encourage citizen participation? (Add 5) Response one-PADM-08 Rather than the old ‘New Public Management’ theory that focused on citizens as clients that receive service from the government, the ‘New Public Service’ focusses on making active participants in governance, policy formulation, and implementation. This theory makes much sense because it is based on human behavior attributes like trust, dignity, empathy, citizenship and service, and it calls for the perfection of equity, fairness, empowerment and responsiveness since they are as important as effectiveness and efficiency (Schwalbe, 2016).  Therefore, the NPS is realistic though it is challenging to achieve. Since the NPS is a system of governance that is based on involving citizens in governance, engaging them should be the greatest thing to consider. How shall the government know how citizens want things to be done if they don’t engage them and get feedback? Whenever NPS has been implemented the major theme has been, “to try to find new and innovative ways to improve citizen engagement and build communities around a framework of shared values and democratic dialogue” (Denhardt & Denhardt, 2007). Citizen involvement can be largely improved through active engagement of citizens in meaningful and interactive dialogue by politicians and other public service officers. The forums of engagement that have been there are mere jokes. This is because they have been used to collect feedback and opinion from the citizens but the citizens never get any feedback from the other end. For instance, the local governments have tried to get the input of citizens but communication is always one-way (Schwalbe, 2016). The government should also diversify the channels it uses to reach out to the citizens. They should not stick to online platforms only because very few people use these channels (Schwalbe, 2016) Citizen engagement levels can also be boosted by the positive response to their response, not through letters and memos of acknowledgement but through actual implementation and evident changes in service delivery. If a clear way of contributing to service with the public interest at heart and the building of active citizenship, it will not only change the attitude of citizens about work but also their level of engagement in public forums (Denhardt & Denhardt, 2007). Communication, prompt and accurate response to feedback, and evident policy implementation will boost the levels of citizen involvement of local politics. The government should formulate ways of making citizens know that all the civic affairs concern them. The mentality on citizens that they should only engage in public issues or even engage the national leaders they elected when issues with negative impact to then affect them (Schwalbe, 2016) should be discouraged strongly. It is the responsibility of the leaders to fully embrace and implement the servant leadership that is advocated for in ...

1. Comments: What are some ways public servants can encourage
citizen participation? (Add 5)
Response one-PADM-08
Rather than the old ‘New Public Management’ theory that
focused on citizens as clients that receive service from the
government, the ‘New Public Service’ focusses on making
active participants in governance, policy formulation, and
implementation. This theory makes much sense because it is
based on human behavior attributes like trust, dignity, empathy,
citizenship and service, and it calls for the perfection of equity,
fairness, empowerment and responsiveness since they are as
important as effectiveness and efficiency (Schwalbe, 2016).
Therefore, the NPS is realistic though it is challenging to
achieve.
Since the NPS is a system of governance that is based on
involving citizens in governance, engaging them should be the
greatest thing to consider. How shall the government know how
citizens want things to be done if they don’t engage them and
get feedback? Whenever NPS has been implemented the major
theme has been, “to try to find new and innovative ways to
improve citizen engagement and build communities around a
framework of shared values and democratic dialogue” (Denhardt
& Denhardt, 2007).
Citizen involvement can be largely improved through active
engagement of citizens in meaningful and interactive dialogue
by politicians and other public service officers. The forums of
engagement that have been there are mere jokes. This is because
they have been used to collect feedback and opinion from the
citizens but the citizens never get any feedback from the other
end. For instance, the local governments have tried to get the
input of citizens but communication is always one-
way (Schwalbe, 2016). The government should also diversify
the channels it uses to reach out to the citizens. They should not
stick to online platforms only because very few people use these

2. channels (Schwalbe, 2016) Citizen engagement levels can also
be boosted by the positive response to their response, not
through letters and memos of acknowledgement but through
actual implementation and evident changes in service delivery.
If a clear way of contributing to service with the public interest
at heart and the building of active citizenship, it will not only
change the attitude of citizens about work but also their level of
engagement in public forums (Denhardt & Denhardt, 2007).
Communication, prompt and accurate response to feedback, and
evident policy implementation will boost the levels of citizen
involvement of local politics.
The government should formulate ways of making citizens know
that all the civic affairs concern them. The mentality on citizens
that they should only engage in public issues or even engage the
national leaders they elected when issues with negative impact
to then affect them (Schwalbe, 2016) should be discouraged
strongly. It is the responsibility of the leaders to fully embrace
and implement the servant leadership that is advocated for in
NPS and fully engage the citizens in public issues. It is only
when citizens will feel that their input is needed when they will
rise to the occasion and take their rightful place in national
public issues.
My active participation on politics and issues of governance
can only be aroused by active engagement by public officers
and politicians. The available forums should be actively used
and complemented with more channels that will necessitate
healthy dialogue with the public officers. This should be
complemented with proper response and practical
implementation of the agreed upon issues, which will translate
to improved public service delivery.
Part 2:
The part two of this assignment I had no idea what I wanted to
do but I know I want to do something that was going to matter. I
feel like most officials get thousands of letters a day and
honestly I don't even feel like they're the ones that read them.
So I decided to attend the meeting/workshop. I heard of this

3. program in Philadelphia called the black Women's Health
Alliance. They teach parenting classes, healthy living and
relationship classes. They were doing a session on healthy
relationships so I decided to attend. So many young girls don't
understand the definition of real love so they are willing to deal
with anything. The purpose of this workshop was to teach young
girls and men how to have healthy relationships to know what
the warning signs are for domestic violence and understand that
they don't have to deal with that to be loved. I myself learned a
lot from this workshop. I feel like I'm a little bit more prepared
to deal with some of the conversations that needed you have
with some of my case load. I plan to look into more Workshop
like this the game was skills.
References
Denhardt, J. V., & Denhardt, R. B. (2007). The New Public
Service: Serving, Not Steering. M.E. Sharpe.
Schwalbe, S. (December 19, 2016). Why Aren't Citizens More
Interested in Local Government? Retrieved from In Homeland
Security: https://inhomelandsecurity.com/why-arent-citizens-
more-interested-in-local-government/
Response two-PADM
New public service is not realistic in ideology but has a realsitc
foundation of ideas. Denhardt details that using public, private,
and non profit organizations to achieve policy objectives
through coalitions instead of using existing agencies or
incentivizing private and non profit agencies,is the new way of
handling public service. This model relies heavily on the
collaboration between public, private, and non profit agencies
using various approaches to serve the shared values of citizens
(Denhardt, 2015). These core values are realistic but low civic
engagement will make it difficult to have a productive dialogue
about the shared values of citizens. Even when using the most
viable resources for civic engagement, social media, politicians
generaly do not respond to citizens and citizens have low
turnout at city council meetings (Schwalbe, 2016).

4. Citizen engagement is critical to the dialogue on public interest
and the role of the government to serve the community through
community shared values. Citizens and the community as a
whole are important to public service because they are who is
being served. For government to be useful, and to effectively do
it role, the citizens must be active and politicans have to make
it a priority to participate in the mediums that citizens use to
communicate their interests, needs, and values.
What variables affect the level of citizen involvement in local
politics?
There is a growing youth and young voter population that does
not use traditional methods of communications and the
demographics of politicians is not reflective of the voter
demographics. The newer age voters mobilize and communicate
heavily through social media, with two of the largest social
mobilizations in the last ten years being organized online
(Kahne, et. al 2016). Politicians can use these social media
outlets to genuinely engage with citizens. Some social media
platforms allows users to post
I would be more interested in becoming active in local politics
if I felt that legislators cared deeply about things that I value or
that they were interested in making a difference in a meaningful
way. I find that politicians are not easily accessible in the way
that you can speak to the manager of a store upon request and
that deters myself and those I know from bothering to try. I
understand that they wont know my name or even know my
neighborhood by name but I do believe greater efforts could be
made to connect with constituents outside of timed social media
posts.
As a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated , a
sorority rooted in service, I spend a lot of time planning and
participating in public service initiatives. Every February, the

5. sorority acknowledges “Go Red for Women”, a movement by
the American Heart Association that highlights and promotes an
end to heart disease and stroke in women. This past Saturday an
alumnae chapter hosted its annual Go Red initiative that had
zuumba instructors, blood pressure tests, a chef showing healthy
meal recipes, and information on preventative measures that can
be taken to reduce the risk of incidence of heart disease. I had
the pleasure of attending and interacting with different women
about their health interests and personal concerns. It gave me a
chance to connect with different people of all ages, as young as
seven years old, and listen to what they thought of our event
and what other things they would like to see done.
References
Denhardt, J. V., & Denhardt, R. B. (2015). The new public
service: serving, not steering. New York: Routledge/Taylor &
Francis Group.
Kahne, J., Hodgin, E., & Eidman-Aadahl, E. (2016).
Redesigning Civic Education for the Digital Age: Participatory
Politics and the Pursuit of Democratic Engagement. Theory &
Research in Social Education, 44(1), 1-35.
doi:10.1080/00933104.2015.1132646
Schwalbe, S. (2016, December 20). Why Aren't Citizens More
Interested in Local Government? Retrieved February 21, 2018,
from https://inhomelandsecurity.com/why-arent-citizens-more-
interested-in-local-government/
Response three PADM-08
I believe that New Public Service is an idealistic goal to
obtain, however, not every citizen will want to participate in
their local government and play a part in the decision-making
process. In addition to increasing citizen engagement, the public
will also have to be willing to collaborate, not only together,
but with their public administrators as well. A few solutions
that Denhardt and Denhardt (2015) suggest are utilizing citizen
surveys, sharing information with small groups, utilizing social
media as an interactive tool, engaging existing homeowners and

6. neighborhood associations, and creating more organizations that
facilitate collaboration and participation. The implementation of
such changes does make New Public Service a realistic option,
although, much would have to change in order for it to be
successful.
As previously stated, citizen engagement is a current
issue that we should be paying attention to in our local
governments. As Dr. Schwalbe (2016) stated, most citizens have
great difficulty finding the time to dedicate towards their local
governments, especially if topics are being addressed that they
have little to no interest in. The increase use of online web
pages and social media accounts were established in order to
create more a convenient means for citizens to communicate
with their governments, however, this means of communication
has mostly been found to be ineffective. Unfortunately, the
citizens who use these tools to voice questions and concerns,
generally go unacknowledged. This is a major issue that public
administrators should be addressing at the local level
(Schwalbe, 2016).
Current technological advancements, and the
introduction of smart phones, is one variable that certainly
affects citizen involvement in local government. An increase in
the utilization of the internet, and social media, has the ability
to increase citizen engagement. We can do everything with our
smart phones, from paying bills, to answering emails, so why
not include the ability to participate in local government as
well? This ties into the convenience variable as well. An
increase in convenience for all citizens to engage in their local
government has the ability to increase participation immensely.
This can be improved with the increased use of online forums
and local neighborhood organizations. By allowing citizens to
participate in the decision-making process from the comfort of
their own homes, or local neighborhoods, the government has a
better chance of increasing engagement due to the lack of
inconvenience it will cause their participants. Lastly, citizens
need to feel that they are being heard by their local

7. governments. Participants will quickly get discouraged if they
feel that the time and effort they are putting into their local
government is going unnoticed. Public administrators must
address the concerns of the public if they are to hope for more
citizen engagement in the future (Denhardt & Denhardt, 2015).
Unfortunately, I have not been as active in local
government, as I had been in the past, for a few reasons, such as
long hours at work, and more recently, moving overseas. Up
until a few years ago I tried my best to remain actively involved
in governmental processes, voted as often as I could, and called
city hall with concerns that I had about various local issues.
When I was still living in the states I definitely began to feel
unmotivated to participate in local issues. I felt that my voice
was no really being heard, and with the increase in my work
responsibilities, I justified not being as active in my local
government as I used to be. To me, an increase in
communication, and more acknowledgment from my local
government, would have made a huge difference in keeping me
actively participating.
As I am technically still a New York State resident, I
have chosen to reach out to New York’s senior senator, Chuck
Schumer, about the recent opioid crisis that has been plaguing
communities, such as Westchester county, which is where I am
originally from. Senator Schumer recently visited Westchester
county earlier this year, to discuss how he plans to secure more
funds to aid in the fight against this epidemic. I emailed the
Senator via his website, at www.schumer.senate.gov, asking
how he plans to access these additional funds for Westchester
county. I should hear back from the Senator, or one of his staff,
but have yet to hear back yet (U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of
New York).
References
Denhardt, J. V., & Denhardt, R. B. (2015). The new public
service: serving, not steering. New York: Routledge/Taylor &
Francis Group.

8. Schwalbe, Dr. S. (2016, December 20). Why Aren't Citizens
More Interested in Local Government? Retrieved February 20,
2018, from https://inhomelandsecurity.com/why-arent-citizens-
more-interested-in-local-government/
“U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York.” Home | U.S.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York,
www.schumer.senate.gov/
Response four-PADM-08
It seems that over the past decade or so, public administration
has veered away from NPM toward New Public Value (NPV) or
Service (NPS). NPS advocates that fairness, equity,
responsiveness, and empowerment are as important as efficiency
and effectiveness when making public policy. The key ideas of
NPS include serving citizens and not customers; valuing
citizenship over entrepreneurship; serving rather than steering;
and, valuing people and not just their productivity.
The New Public Service approach is a positive movement
because it aims to enhance public value and strengthen
American democracy. It aims for citizens to be co-creators of
public value by encouraging the public to play a significant role
in policy development and decision-making process (Dahl &
Soss, 2014, p.497). It allows citizens, elected officials and the
public servants a platform to working together to enhance their
relationship, make better policies and decision-making toward
the best interest of the public.
Public servants actions on expanding their boundaries can have
tremendous benefits for citizens. Public servants can be very
efficient at solving problems and improve the relationship
between them and the citizens. Public servants also need to
know they are citizens first and public servants second. By
being citizens first public servants can serve their communities
better because they will know that it is an obligation to do
everything possible to benefit the citizens and not themselves.
Public servants voted into particular positions are expected to
uphold the duties they have been entrusted to uphold and it is
their obligation to help lead a community.

9. Government is about people. In a simple form, government is
really the agreement by people to come together for the sake of
a common good. They join resources in order to better manage
their affairs as a community – and that community is scalable
from the smallest towns to the largest nations. According to
Slingerland (2015) it has been long understood by some that
true power and value does not come from trying steer matters in
the direction of their choosing rather, “one should opt to be
open-minded to the world, and that will help dictate the way
they need to choose”. Denhardt and Denhardt (2015) propose an
interesting concept in the regard that “public servants have an
ethical obligation to extend the boundaries of public
participation in the political process in whatever way they can”
(Denhardt, 2015, p. 57). To extend the boundaries of public
participation, first, the public servant first has a responsibility
to reach out to citizens to encourage willful participation.
In my opinion I do agree with Denhardt and Denhardt that any
public servant has an ethical obligation to expand their limit of
public participation. I currently volunteer at my local VA clinic
in Bakersfield, CA as driver to transport veterans to their
appointments in Los Angeles, CA because some are not able to
drive or cannot afford to drive themselves to the main clinic. As
a veteran I feel obligated to serve to my fellow veterans and
serve my community. Volunteering allows me to enhance my
relationship with veterans and at the same time creates an
additional platform to enhance the interest of the public to non-
profit organizations. I also have volunteered in Army
communities as soccer and baseball coach for their youth sports
programs.
Without a doubt public service is an extension of citizenship.
Public servants should be motivated and have a desire to make a
difference. Public servants should be motivated to improve the
lives of others. Public servants should be motivated to do
something meaningful with their own lives, and lastly public
servants should be motivated to do something significant.
References:

10. Dahl, A., & Soss, J. (2014). Neoliberalism for the common
good? Public value governance and the downsizing of
democracy. Public Administration Review, 74(4), 496-504. Doi:
10.1111/puar.12191
Denhardt, J. & Denhardt, R. (2015). The New Public Service:
Serving, not Steering (4th ed). New York: Routledge.
Slingerland, E. (2015). Trying not to Try: Ancient China,
modern science, and the power of Spontaneity. Broadway
Books: New York
Alex Zavala