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Participatory GISa matter of cultural and

institutional embedded-ness

Erik de Man

ITC

(Adapted version of presentation for P-GIS Workshop at GISDECO 2004, Johor Bahru, Malaysia)

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In the following slides I will …

provide some perspectives of Participatory GIS: “what is P-GIS?”

suggest that P-GIS is a social practice rather than a thing

suggest that P-GIS is embedded in cultural and institutional contexts

propose “institutionalization of P-GIS” as unifying concept

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A few questions

What is P-GIS? Is itanother fancy term to hide

inherent weaknesses of technology (techno-centric)?

convenient niche for ambitious academics?

still a hidden “technology” push?…?

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What is specific for P-GIS?

what would a non-participatory GIS look like?

is information without participation thinkable?

could there be too much or too little “P-GIS”?

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What is P-GIS?

It is aboutparticipationsocietysocial capital / societal learninggovernancecultural and institutional

embedded-ness

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culture and institutions

spatial

problem

solving

participation

use access

GIS

and

GI

“P-GIS”

other information sources

Cultural and institutional context of P-GIS

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What is participation?

being involved in conducting one’s affairs in society (or group)

is culturally embedded hence: cultural differencese.g.: active – passive (Etzioni) four-dimensions (Hofstede) ways of life (Douglas)

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Cultural differences

For example: Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (1997):

Power DistanceCollective or IndividualisticFeminine or MasculineUncertainty Avoidance

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Cultural differences and P-GIS

Access to, use of, participation in GI and P-GIS

Is it governed bysmall Power Distance ?Feminine rather than Masculine ?strong Uncertainty Avoidance ?

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Regional typologiesPD, Fem/Masc, UA, based on Hofstede (1997)

Nordic countries & NetherlandsMediterranean countries Great Britain & USASE Asian countries

small PD & Fem & weak UAlarge PD & Masc & strong UAsmall PD & Masc & weak UALarge PD & Masc & weak UA

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Access to, use of, participation in GIsmall PD & Fem & strong UA (?)

Nordic countries & NetherlandsMediterranean countries Great Britain & USASE Asian countries

small PD & Fem & weak UAlarge PD & Masc & strong UAsmall PD & Masc & weak UALarge PD & Masc & weak UA

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What is P-GIS?

socially constructeda practice; not a “thing”about geo-spatial information;

not restricted to dataaccess to and ownership of dataabout geo-spatial problem

solving

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Social Practice

Specific for a Field (or ‘arena’) – F an Agent (or ‘actor’) – A a Cultural disposition ( “habitus”) – H available Capital (or ‘resources’;

economic, cultural, social, symbolic) – C

For each A : (HA * CA) + FA = SPA

Pierre Bourdieu

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What is P-GIS?

socially constructed never-ending process emerges out of negotiations between

many heterogeneous actors (ANT or “sociology of translation”)

social practice a “verb” rather than a “noun” community of practice social capital / social learning

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What is P-GIS?

of course, it should matter and be effective

develops around a common need facilitates joint learning contributes to joint/collaborative

geospatial problem-solving

has impact on behavior

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Geo-spatial problem solving

emotional and social bonds are inversely correlated with geographic distance

For example: nearby: issues are integrated and

clustered; NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard)

remote: issues are specialized/compartmentalized

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Geo-spatial problem solving

problem-solving behavior

what conditions behavior?informationcultureinstitutions

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culture and institutions

spatial

problem

solving

participation

use access

GIS

and

GI

“P-GIS”

other information sources

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Geo-spatial problem solving

problem-solving behavior must be embedded within existing institutional framework

P-GIS must be embedded within existing institutional framework

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How then to practice P-GIS?

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How to practice P-GIS?

addresses a common needbe valued and effectivedifferent cultures require

different practices of P-GISreciprocity and mutual re-

enforcement between existing institutional framework and application of GIS-technology

…?

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How to practice P-GIS?

institutionalization of P-GIS as unifying concept?

institutions are part of social aspect of reality (“real world”)

institutions are both stabilizing and dynamic

institutionalization draws P-GIS into reality

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How to practice P-GIS?

P-GIS practice itself becomes institutionalised around a common/social need being effective and valued feed-back (“does it work” –

joint learning-by-doing)

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References (1)

W.H.Erik de Man (2000). Institutionalization of Geographic Information Technologies: Unifying Concept? Cartography and GIS, Vol. 27 (2).

W.H. Erik de Man (2003). Cultural and Institutional Conditions for Using Geographic Information; Access and Participation, URISA Journal, Vol. 15 (2).

W.H.Erik de Man and Willem H. van den Toorn (2002). Culture and the adoption and use of GIS within organisations. IJAG, Vol. 4.

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References (2)

A. Etzioni (1968). The active society. (The Free Press.)

G. Hofstede (1997), Cultures and organizations; software of the mind. (McGraw-Hill.)

E. L. Lesser and J. Storck (2001), Communities of Practice; Communities of practice and organizational performance. IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 40 (4)

Derek Reeve and James Petch (1999), GIS, organisations and people; a socio-technical approach. (Taylor&Francis.)

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References (3)

M. Tompson, R. Ellis and A. Wildavsky (1990). Cultural Theory. (Westview.)