Advanced Diploma in Participatory Perspectives and Methodologies for Democratic Deepening

CLASS 1: PRODUCING KNOWLEDGE “FROM BELOW” AND OTHER POLICIES FROM LATIN AMERICA 

Teacher: Alfonso Torres Carrillo

Conceptual summary of the class

In Latin America, various knowledge production practices have been developed in conjunction with emancipatory social and cultural struggles, some of which employ participatory methodologies. This session aims to recognize the contributions of some of these research practices to the decolonization of thought and the generation of epistemic and political alternatives to the capitalist, colonial, and patriarchal system of domination. The session's objective is to highlight and evaluate the contributions that have been made.

CLASS 2: THE MANAGEMENT OF ANTAGONISM: BETWEEN DELIBERATION AND AGONISTIC PROTEST

Teacher: Mario Zubiaga

Conceptual summary of the class

The insurmountable tension between conflict and community, the foundation of politics, is managed according to different models: warlike, agonistic, deliberative, and representative. The process of democratization advances in the intermediate space where citizens, individually and collectively, can "be a part" and "take part," even if that "part is not given to them." Or perhaps precisely because of that. And all of this occurs within a permanent state of exception that combines warlike and representative management with the aim of guaranteeing the stability of the systemic foundations.

CLASS 3: PARTICIPATION, DEMOCRATIC ROOTS AND EMERGENCE

Teacher: Igor Ahedo

Conceptual summary of the class

This session aims to present the various typologies of participation, ordered according to their underlying critiques of democracy. After defining mini-publics, referendums, and participatory budgets as respective expressions of deliberative, direct, and participatory critique, we will focus on identifying the characteristics of collaborative governance regimes. Particular attention will be paid to those that emerge from the grassroots to further the reflection on the relationship between, on the one hand, contestation and disruption, and on the other, democratic deepening. The class concludes by differentiating between the processes of institutionalization and the capacity of these mechanisms to become embedded and take root in democratic cultures.

CLASS 1: INSTITUTIONALIZED PARTICIPATION. INTRODUCTION TO SOME MECHANISMS

Teachers: Rosa Alacio, Gisela Signorelli and Mariano Suárez

Conceptual summary of the class 

In 1988, the first participatory budget was implemented in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre. Since then, thousands of institutionalized participatory processes have spread worldwide, not only allowing citizens to influence budgets but also other public policy developments. Numerous instruments of institutionalized participation exist: community plans, participatory planning, citizen councils, citizen juries, innovation labs, and more. These democratic innovation initiatives improve the quality of democracy by assigning a more active role to citizens in both defining social problems and seeking solutions. We speak of institutionalized participation when it involves spaces regulated by public authorities and their administrations, who solicit citizens' opinions to make decisions or undertake actions regarding a specific initiative. Among the most current and recognized examples are those we will explore in this class: Participatory Budgeting (PB) and innovation labs.

CLASS 2: DELIBERATIVE GOVERNANCE: LESSONS AND HORIZONS IN LATIN AMERICA

Teacher: Azucena Morán

Conceptual summary of the class 

This course explores the Latin American deliberative turn and the rise of new deliberative mechanisms such as assemblies and citizen forums, which in the last decade have been considered the preferred mechanism for addressing the shortcomings of representative democracies in the West. Its objective is to critically analyze the opportunities, limitations, and challenges involved in implementing and replicating these forms of collaborative governance, drawing on regional experiences and histories. We will examine current deliberative trends in relation to institutionalized participatory experiences in contexts of democratic erosion and state repression in Latin America. We will delve into cases of state repression and co-optation of participatory and deliberative institutions in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Furthermore, we will discuss autonomous deliberative processes in defense of territory in Honduras and Guatemala. Based on this, students will develop the skills to situate different narratives of deliberative governance in the region within their social, historical, and political contexts.

CLASS 3: MECHANISMS OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY

Teacher: Yanina Welp

Conceptual summary of the class  

The activation of referendums is not a new phenomenon in Latin America or the world, nor is it exclusive to democratic regimes, as they are used in democratic, hybrid, and even authoritarian systems. However, in recent decades, qualitative and quantitative changes have occurred that explain their greater prevalence, both in law and in practice. In 1970, only one country in the region regulated the activation of referendums by citizens (Uruguay, 1967 Constitution). By 2023, a dozen countries included them in their constitutions, and several others regulated mandatory referendums, while the majority granted the power to call them to the authorities. After a brief review of global trends and the Swiss and North American experiences, the class will analyze the different contexts and experiences of recent constitutional reform and the introduction of referendums in Latin America.

CLASS 1: COMMUNITY, PARTICIPATION AND COMMUNITY WORK

Teacher: Leonel Del Prado

Conceptual summary of the class 

Community: definitions, uses, and applications from the social sciences; Community work: histories, objectives, and current perspectives; The current context of community work: neoliberalism, social exclusion, and community work. Community work: dimensions (awareness-raising, mobilization, and organization). The difference between community work and other practices. Possible tasks. Classic texts on working with communities. Methodologies: what not to do. Tips for working.

CLASS 2: COMMUNITIES IN MOTION: TOOLS FOR UNDERSTANDING PARTICIPATORY EXPERIENCES

Teacher: Víctor Fernández González

Conceptual summary of the class

An analytical review is made of some specific experiences of community participation, examining how community participation relates to the expansion of democracy and social transformation.

In this sense, and taking into account the time constraints of the course, the aim is to account for a diversity of experiences that encompass participation with institutions and associations (Fung, 2003a; Ganuza & Francés, 2008), the impact of citizen participation on public policies or the political process (Eberhardt, 2015; Espinoza, 2004; Garrido-Vergara et al., 2016), focusing on processes of citizen participation or mechanisms of direct democracy (Lissidini, 2011; Schneider & Welp, 2015), or on the different ways in which groups, movements, collectives, and grassroots groups organize, plan, and make decisions (Red CIMAS, 2015; Svampa, 2010), incorporating, albeit more tangentially, approaches that articulate research, systematization of experiences, and promotion of participatory processes, such as Participatory Action Research or Sociopraxis (Falck & Paño, 2011; Fals Borda, 1999; Fung & Wright, 2003; Jara, 2018; Salazar, 2015; Vargas et al., 1984; Zibechi, 2007).

The way to address this broad range of issues will be by relating the experiences to two axes: on the one hand, to the theoretical discussion on participatory democracy (Balderacchi, 2016; Lissidini, 2015; Schneider & Welp, 2015; Fung & Wright, 2003; Villasante, 2017), and on the other hand, to a scale of participation (CIMAS Network, 2015) that links the types of participation with planning approaches, thereby breaking down the usual distinction between processes where participation can be promoted “from above”—that is, by state powers implementing mechanisms of citizen participation or direct democracy—or “from below”—that is, promoted by the citizens themselves, with social movements, grassroots organizations, and activist networks playing a leading role. What is important, however, is to emphasize how the participation of actors relates to the context of local political institutions.

It is expected, then, that students will learn about experiences and have the tools to understand and improve them.

CLASS 3: COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION: PROCESSES OF POLITICAL SUBJECTIVATION AND TERRITORIAL TRANSFORMATION

Teacher: Mercedes Oraison

Conceptual summary of the class: 

When we talk about community participation, we are referring to those processes of organization, mobilization, and management promoted by grassroots organizations and social leaders located, generally, in working-class neighborhoods. 

According to Maritza Montero (2003, p. 72) within the framework of such processes, the members of a community "jointly develop capacities and resources to control their life situation, acting in a committed, conscious and critical manner, to achieve the transformation of their environment according to their needs and aspirations, transforming themselves at the same time."

What distinguishes community participation from other forms of participation is the involvement of local actors who maintain cooperative relationships in pursuit of a common goal. Discussions surrounding community participation, among other issues, are linked to the capacity of the protagonists to generate real transformations through their influence on local political agendas. Within this framework, we can ask: To what extent are self-managed processes functional to the displacement of the State or can they contribute to building citizenship? Can community participation be understood as a way to consolidate, expand, or deepen a “proximity democracy”? (Annunziata, 2008; Schnapper, 2004). The indefinite use of the concept, which turns it into a kind of umbrella under which multiple forms of social convergence are sheltered, has led to the distinction of different degrees of participation (Arnstein, 1969; Hart, 1992; Novella and Trillas, 2001). The class is therefore oriented towards the discussion of the limits and potentialities of community participation based on the analysis of a participatory management experience in a community center in a popular neighborhood of Argentina. 

CLASS 1: DEMOCRACIES AND PARTICIPATORY METHODOLOGIES

Teacher: Tomás Rodríguez Villasante

Conceptual summary of the class 

Participation is a word with many different meanings, and many of them misleading. It gives rise to misunderstandings, and especially in politics, it ends up lacking credibility, even though all actors tend to use it, or perhaps precisely because of that. Experiences that teach us more about not believing in participation due to successive disappointments and the failure to keep agreements are often overlooked. Participation is discussed from electoral perspectives, but steps are not taken toward other forms of "political engagement" that are more deliberative, stemming from grassroots initiatives. Movements, on the other hand, produce mobilizations but do not usually maintain a stable methodology that captures people's evolving aspirations. Although there are also some practical "commons-based" examples, with more genuine grassroots participation systems, mostly focused on specific, local issues, and some that reach thousands or even millions of people. Based on these experiences, it makes sense to argue about the "political nature" of participatory methodologies. And this contributes to giving a sense of real democracy to what is being built. Fifteen movements and approaches are presented that converge in applied social sciences, which are more operational than the dominant academic disciplines, regarding democracies and methodologies. The “mediations” in communication are highlighted, and the “driving groups” of movements and mobilizations are posited as the basis for social change through “action sets.” A creative framework or matrix serves as a guide to exploring participatory methodologies, which we have been practicing for decades, as pathways to working with popular sectors. “Socio-praxis” accompanies cooperative, neighborhood, peasant, women's, environmental, and labor movements, and proposes the construction of strategies and operational proposals. “Participatory democracies” ultimately emerge as the fundamental conclusion of these applied social science proposals, distancing themselves from elite politics and moving forward with “transductions” toward “pro-commons creativity” and the “political nature” of public-social agreements.

CLASS 2: PHASES OF A PARTICIPATORY PROCESS WITH SOCIOPRAXIS. STRATEGIC MAPPING WITH ACTOR NETWORKS 

Teacher: Gisela Signorelli and Mariano Suárez

Conceptual summary of the class 

The stages that characterize a participatory process methodologically oriented from a sociopractical perspective will be presented. This will allow for an understanding of the concept of a participatory process, rather than isolated techniques. There is an initial negotiation with the parties involved regarding the content of the stages and the possible timelines, but the framework is flexible, with different phases ranging from self-diagnosis (with creative feedback) to the execution and monitoring of the planned actions. 

In the second part of the class, the sociogram technique, or strategic mapping of actors and networks, is presented, addressing its usefulness in the context of the self-diagnosis phase. Through a practical example, its characteristics and operational conditions for application are explained, emphasizing its strategic nature for the process and the possibilities generated by working with action sets.  

CLASS 3: PARTICIPATORY TECHNIQUES

Teacher: Izaro Gorostidi

Conceptual summary of the class

After understanding and situating participatory methodologies, processes, and their organization, this session proposes learning about the various techniques that can be implemented in each phase of the participatory process. To this end, we will identify the different dimensions from which the research tools used in developing participatory and community processes are applied. We will then delve into the analysis of diverse techniques to understand their scope and limitations in each phase of a participatory process. Specifically, we will differentiate between two key moments in any participatory process. Firstly, in the diagnostic phase, defining the opening techniques for outlining the discourses, problems, and actors involved in a given phenomenon will be crucial. Secondly, the closing phase is structured through the development of the Comprehensive Action Plan. From this perspective, we will present tools for both opening the analysis and closing it in the form of agreements. These tools include techniques such as sociograms, transects, time maps, discourse trees, future workshops, flowcharts, and more.

CLASS 1: GENDER, FEMINISMS AND PARTICIPATORY METHODOLOGIES FOR SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

Teacher: Fernanda Palacios

Conceptual summary of the class  

The leading role of women in community life has a long history and a path of accumulated experience, learning, and knowledge, ranging from self-managed initiatives by social and territorial organizations and grassroots activism within women's and feminist organizations to initiatives developed by organizations, foundations, academic centers, and other civil society organizations and local institutions. This breadth of experiences and contexts presents common challenges that require ongoing conceptual and methodological updates.

The focus of this seminar is to draw on experience working with a gender perspective at the community level, updating conceptual and methodological frameworks to improve the effectiveness and impact of these experiences at the local and community levels. The intersection of a gender perspective, feminist epistemologies, and critical methodological approaches based on participatory methodologies seeks to generate collective knowledge oriented toward transformative praxis and the integration of academic and community knowledge to promote more just, safe, and free territories for the women and girls who live in them.

CLASS 2: THE NEOLIBERAL PARTICIPATORY TURN: THE BUREAUCRATIZATION OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION AS A THREAT TO BUILDING PARTICIPATION FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Teacher: Jone Martínez-Palacios

Conceptual summary of the class  

The class begins by questioning the type of participation we are institutionalizing as a response to the crisis of democracy. This question allows for an approach to participatory reality characterized as the neoliberal participatory turn, based on a bureaucratization of participation that becomes a real threat to advancing participatory strategies that guarantee social change. To argue for this turn, three movements will be identified. First, the naturalization of a circular topos regarding the crisis of democracy, such that it starts from the assumption that democracy is in crisis, but participatory strategies do not question its causes.

Secondly and thirdly, we are witnessing a bureaucratization of participation and a privatization of participatory democracy, leading us to the diagnosis of a neoliberal shift. The class concludes with critiques from feminist theories of justice regarding the way in which participation is being institutionalized.

CLASS 3: FACILITATORS IN TERRITORIAL PROCESSES FOR CAPACITY BUILDING. SUPPORT FROM IADT FOR THE DIALOGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF TERRITORIES

Teachers: Romina Rébola and Pablo Costamagna

Conceptual summary of the class  

From a territorial development perspective, support processes based on action research for territorial development are experiences of dialogue, facilitation, and participation that enable the building of intangible individual and collective capacities for territorial transformation. Through training processes and institutional political dialogue at the territorial level, stakeholders develop capacities for the sustainability of meeting spaces that allow them to address territorial problems and co-create collective solutions, deepening the democratization of territories through dialogue and participation. In this context, the roles of facilitators stimulate and connect the territorial process, generating dynamics of action that empower territorial stakeholders to make decisions. 

From the perspective of Territorial Development, it is vital to facilitate processes that can be carried out by various individuals or teams for the transformation and sustainability of social, political, cultural, and environmental processes in the territory.

This seminar aims to highlight the role of facilitators in local communities, within the methodological framework of our experience in action research-based support for territorial development. It proposes to share local experiences and reflections on these practices, as well as the importance of certain individual and collective capacities for the democratization of local processes.

To participate, you must register using the online form by clicking here. Registration will be open from May 8 to August 20, 2023.

Upon completion of the registration process, you will receive a confirmation in your email.

Classes will begin in August and will conclude in December 2023.

All registered participants will receive the necessary instructions to access the classes, bibliography and discussion forums through the CLACSO Virtual Training Space.

Accessing and navigating the Virtual Learning Environment is very simple and user-friendly. In any case, a technical and academic support team will always be available to you.

Exceptional criteria: In exceptional cases, and within the first month of the start of the Advanced Diploma program, students may request to withdraw from the cohort and rejoin the following year. In all cases, the reasons for the request must be submitted in writing. After that period of time has elapsed since the start of the course, no requests will be accepted.

Money paid will only be refunded in cases where the organizing institutions decide to cancel the activity. 

Payment can be made in one installment by credit card, bank deposit, or bank transfer. We also offer the option of paying in 3 installments.

Yes. There will be discounts for students belonging to CLACSO Member Centers and CLACSO Associated Centers, for CLACSO Associate Researchers, and for all those who pay within the discount period.