Public Consultations As A Participatory Component Of The Project Management Cycle In The Activities Of Local Government Authorities

Abstract

The article provides a scientific justification for the need to use public consultations as a participatory component in the implementation of the project management cycle in the activities of local government authorities. The main advantages of applying the project approach in the process of decision-making by local government authorities are identified, namely: systematization of the process (forming a structured basis for planning, analysis, and evaluation of results; efficient and timely execution of tasks; optimization and rational use of financial, economic, technological, and human resources), transparency of implementation (increasing citizens' trust in local government officials, conducting objective monitoring, analysis, and evaluation of their activities; providing the public with a clear understanding of goal achievement, resource use, and results), and compliance with regulatory acts (ensuring compliance with normative requirements; ensuring lawful activities of implementers; successful implementation of legislative initiatives). The article systematizes and generalizes the description of the characteristics of the stages (phases) of the project management life cycle in the activities of local government authorities, considering the participatory component of public consultations, specifically at the initiation stage — defining the problem, formulating goals and tasks, creating a stakeholder group from among the residents of territorial communities; at the planning stage — forecasting the impact of internal and external factors considering public opinion, particularly from various local government entities; at the implementation stage — using modern team management methods and tools for digital participation; at the monitoring, control, and evaluation stage (of intermediate and final results) — collecting and processing information through public consultations (providing feedback with the population, organizations, enterprises, stakeholders) to determine the level of satisfaction with the results of project implementation; at the completion stage — identifying mistake and shortcomings based on public opinion surveys. It is proven that the use of public consultations at all stages of the project management cycle in the activities of local government authorities contributes to the timely correction of plans and the adaptation of community and territorial development strategies according to changes in the external and internal environment, thereby increasing the effectiveness of management decisions.