Participatory agenda setting as a process - of people, ambassadors and translation

This paper presents a case study of a participatory agenda setting process in rural areas, with the aim of establishing at which points participation was achieved and via which channels and processes the results of said participation were introduced into local and overarching policy agendas. We argue that participatory agenda setting involves two central challenges, namely the development of dialogue formats and procedures that enable members of the public to take part in the process, and the selection and use of the appropriate channels for conveying their input to the relevant decision-makers. Agenda setting is thus a process during which concepts and issues are collaboratively uncovered or developed and then integrated, via networks, into policy and research strategy. Accordingly, this process encompasses the actors involved in the agenda setting process, the procedures that make participation possible, and the channels via which the results are then transferred.