专家参与还是公众参与?——对政府购买社会服务评估主体的一项经验研究

Experts Publication or Public Publication: a Case Study of Evaluation Agencies of Social Service Purchased by Government

本研究借鉴新治理理论和公民参与相关理论,从实践出发反思评估主体形成过程及各问责主体之间的关系。本文基于笔者所参与的H市社会服务评估经验,比较专家参与与公众参与的动力、渠道及规则或相关约束、效用等方面的差异,来研究政府购买社会服务的评估主体。首先,从专家参与评估机制来看,分析专家身份获得、立场、个人与工作价值宣称与利益关联等。其次,将公众参与区分为有组织的公众参与与无组织的公众参与。本文认为公众参与的难题在于公众意见的差异性和公众责任扩散性。再次,从参与程度高低将专家和公众共同参与评估分为四种理想类型。最后,政府选择哪一种参与类型,需要考虑评估所处的社会服务发展水平、问责所需的专业知识水平、公众的认可度及接受度等情况。如果要超越政府购买社会服务这一治理工具的局限性,积极的专家参与与公众参与对促进社会服务发展乃至公民治理都有重要的意义。

This study discussed the relationships of stakeholders during social service evaluation,in perspective of new governance and citizen participation.This article compared experts participation with public participation motivation,based on social service evaluation in City H.Firstly,the paper analyzed the acquiring process of expert status.Second,public participation was divided into organized public participation and unorganized public participation.The paper argued that the difficulty of public participation lied on the difference of public opinion and the diffusion of public responsibility.Once again,there were four ideal types for evaluating the degree of participation of experts and those of the public.In the end,the government selected which type of participation,which should consider the level of social service development,the level of professional knowledge required for accountability,and of acceptance of the public.In order to exceed the limitations of government purchasing social services,active expert participation and public participation were of great significance to promote social service development and civil governance.