Governance, participation, and development: local power’s perspective in Portugal

This paper examines the local governance model in Portugal, focusing on its characteristics, evolution, and the valuation of local agents’ participation, involvement, and capacity building. Using an online questionnaire distributed to politicians and technicians, the study reveals that the Portuguese governance system is widely perceived as inadequate for addressing complex and accelerating socio-economic dynamics. Centralist and bureaucratic structures, coupled with limited resources, institutional capacity, unsustainable policies, and weak evaluation mechanisms, are identified as key barriers to effectiveness. Despite these shortcomings, the governance model receives positive evaluations in areas such as legitimacy, representation, and communication, with respondents recognizing the democratic legitimacy of decision-making processes. The study concludes that promoting decentralization, reducing bureaucratic complexity, and enhancing transparency and accountability are essential for fostering citizen participation and improving governance outcomes. These findings provide a basis for understanding the gaps in the Portuguese governance model and offer insights for future research and policymaking.