Create and activate neighborhood committees for effective local participatory democracy (MAAGD0003)

Commitment ID

MAAGD0003

Commitment Title

Create and activate neighborhood committees for effective local participatory democracy.

Problem

Citizen participation in Agadir remains heterogeneous despite existing dialogue channels. Current mechanisms do not always allow for a systematic and structured feedback of neighborhood concerns, leading to a perceived disconnect between residents and municipal decisions. This results in a lack of ownership of local projects and difficulty for the administration to precisely target interventions, limiting the effectiveness of local public policies.

Status quo

The Municipality of Agadir has already implemented ad hoc consultation frameworks for specific projects and digital platforms for grievances. The Communal Action Plan 2022-2027 emphasized the importance of strengthening participation. However, the absence of permanent and formalized structures at the neighborhood level means that participation often remains at the individual or associative initiative, without ensuring equitable representation and systematic integration of citizen opinions into the municipal decision-making process.

Action

This commitment involves creating and fully operationalizing neighborhood committees, based on the participatory democracy model and the Agadir PAC diagnosis. Awareness campaigns will be conducted to mobilize residents, with a particular focus on representing youth, women, and marginalized groups. Training will be offered to members to strengthen their dialogue and proposal capacities, and a dedicated digital platform will facilitate communication and information feedback.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

Establishing neighborhood committees will provide a direct and structured communication channel between citizens and the administration. This will lead to a better understanding of local needs and the integration of neighborhood priorities into communal decisions, resulting in more relevant public policies. The committees will facilitate project co-construction, strengthening residents' sense of belonging and responsibility. Expected results include an increase in concrete citizen proposals integrated into action plans, improved citizen satisfaction regarding their concerns being heard, and a revitalization of local associative networks through these regular exchange platforms.

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

This commitment directly contributes to our long-term strategic objective of "Making Agadir a city where local governance is resolutely open, inclusive, and participatory, allowing every inhabitant to actively contribute to improving their living environment and the harmonious development of the city, thereby strengthening social cohesion and the legitimacy of communal actions."

Primary Policy Area

Civic Space, Public Procurement

Primary Sector

Citizenship & Immigration, Land & Spatial Planning

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?