The Pentagon of Participation

Participation in NbS planning and management is often organized around individual project phases and isolated engagement activities, with limited connection between phases and across projects. This can make it harder to build the relationships, trust and continuity needed for ongoing collaboration, and to coordinate participation, municipal roles and expertise across the NbS lifecycle and between projects.

The Pentagon of Participation is a practical and interactive tool that helps policymakers reflect on five key aspects of participation in long-term NbS planning and management:

Context – Understand the local context, the wider impacts of the initiative, and its connections to other initiatives, relevant plans and networks. Use this understanding to inform and shape participation.
Coordination – Identify and coordinate the municipal roles and expertise needed to support participation in NbS initiatives, with clearly defined and shared responsibilities, sufficient support, and opportunities for mutual learning.
Inclusion – Identify who may be underrepresented or excluded, and design participation to address barriers to their involvement.
Influence – Clarify what participants can influence, enable them to engage with the issues, and address differences in power and knowledge that affect whose perspectives carry weight.
Continuity – Design participation to evolve across the lifecycle of an NbS initiative and beyond formal participation activities, enabling continued engagement and longer-term community involvement.

Use the online Pentagon tool together with the 15-question checklist on this page to reflect on the five dimensions of participation. Answer each question by indicating whether the issue has been adequately, partly, or not yet considered. As you answer, the Pentagon will change shape to reflect your responses; click the ⓘ icon next to each question for further guidance and possible actions, and use the resulting profile to identify areas that may need further discussion or follow-up.