Public participation in the decision-making process at the level of territorial communities

The purpose of the article is to generalize the theoretical foundations and justify the feasibility of using innovative tools to involve citizens in the decision-making process at the level of territorial communities, spread the practices of participatory budgeting, which will contribute to the formation of an active civil society. The following methods were used to implement the tasks: abstract-logical; monographic and comparative; graphic; sociological survey method. The expediency of using the participatory budgeting mechanism for territorial communities is justified, which will contribute to the establishment of social dialogue between local self-government bodies and residents of the territorial community. A sociological survey was conducted to identify the realities of increasing public involvement in the decision-making process at the territorial community level. It was found that the respondents are equally concerned about urban and personal problems of planning the socio-economic development of the territory. Innovative mechanisms of public participation (consensus conference, consultative survey, guided visualization, world cafe, workshop, imagination, public development of alternatives) are proposed, which will contribute to the formation of an active civil society and increase the level of civic education. Public space is another innovative tool for the participation of community residents in the decision-making process. The conducted research contributed to solving the task and justifying the expediency of using innovative tools of public participation in the decision-making process, spreading the practices of participatory budgeting, which will contribute to the formation of an active civil society. The formulated author's conclusions and recommendations are characterized by a positive impact on the involvement of the public in the decision-making process, since the creation of a higher culture of decision-making and the activation of civil society at the level of the territorial community can contribute to receiving better services and improving the quality of life of the population