Processes for and outcomes of people’s participation: analysis of participatory planning in the Galapagos Islands

This case study from the Galapagos Islands discusses the results of the analysis of people’s contributions to a regional government citizen participatory development planning process. Collaborative discussions took place in an online environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, facilitating a detailed analysis of recordings from participatory workshops. Results show that while participants were successfully able to influence resultant planning documents, discourse was often restricted within predefined parameters. In addition, an analysis of data according to gender highlights new challenges for the inclusion of the most vulnerable citizens when conducting participatory sessions in a virtual environment.