LIST OF PANELS

Over the past few decades, interest has grown in the decentralisation of health governance as well as in related fields such as education and justice (Atkinson, Medeiros, Oliveira, & de Almeida, 2000; Morgan, 2005; Stenson, 2005).  This shift has been enacted through a reduction in rigid hierarchical structures, increasing partnerships with civil society and the involvement of an increased variety of non-governmental actors.  Such expansion of decision-making processes inevitably brings with it the possibility of conflict and necessitates the management of such.  Potvin (2007) thus envisages participatory approaches in health as an interconnected network of negotiations where actors strive to recruit others to their perspectives, which may be fundamentally mutually incompatible.  Health policy development and priority setting involve a series of reactions to this complexity to either minimise, deny, or productively engage with this conflict.  Inappropriate responses to conflict may lead to entrenched resistance or stakeholder disengagement; increased understanding of effective ways of managing heterogenous viewpoints, on the other hand, can lead to increased acceptance and legitimacy of the final product.

This panel seeks to explore approaches that incorporate the perspectives of non-governmental stakeholders throughout the process of setting health policy agendas and developing responses to identified priorities.  As such, the panel will feature papers that advance understanding of interactions between civil society, state agents, the private sector, researchers/evaluators and other stakeholders.  We are particularly interested in exploring how competing agendas are managed throughout the process of establishing health policy and therefore invite considerations of governance mechanisms to manage negotiations between these actors.  Questions regarding the evaluation of participatory approaches that actively engage with the complexities of balancing diverse perspectives will be considered.  Papers from a variety of disciplines and methodological approaches are welcomed.