Public Administrators’ Attitudes toward Citizen Participation: Case Evidence from the Water Resources Agency in Taiwan by Yinglee Tseng A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Public Administration School of Public and International Affairs College of Public Affairs University of Baltimore April 24, 2018 Copyright© 2018 by Yinglee Tseng All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It has been 12 years since withdrawing from studying a Ph.D program for two years at George Mason University (GMU) in 2006. I am so thankful for finally receiving the doctoral degree in Public Administration (DPA) at the University of Baltimore (UB), which was my goal for returning to the United States. I had received much inspiration, encouragement, and assistance during the journey. First, I would like to thank the honorable faculty members of my dissertation committee, Dr. Lenneal Henderson, the chair, Dr. Ed Gibson, and Dr. Arron Wachhaus who had intellectually guided me through the process. Without the approval of the research project by the Chair, Dr. Henderson, regarding the citizen participation (CP) project which occurred in Taiwan, I would not have been able to complete my project smoothly. The detailed reviews of context and the helpful suggestions received from Dr. Wachhaus and Dr. Gibson also enriched the structure and the content of the dissertation. I cannot express enough appreciation for the time and voluntary assistance provided by my committee. I always remember the excitement I felt when Dr. Henderson called me “Scholar Tseng” from the beginning which reminded me of becoming a professional scholar to honor my degree and UB where I have had my dream came true. I would also like to thank Dr. Patria Julnes, the former director of the DPA, who accepted me to the program, helping me to return to the track of my dream pursuit. In addition, I am grateful for the recommendation to enroll to UB from Dr. Roger Stough, my former chair of the Ph.D. iii committee at GMU and Dr. Ting Zhang from UB. I want to thank my husband who gave me the final push to join the DPA program in 2013. I would also like to express my gratitude to the other faculty members and administrators for all the academic training, enlightenment, and assistance from UB. I have learned so much from the program that enriched my life, and I believe it will be reflected in my future career. I will always remember the excitement and inspiration from the first class regarding “The Theory of Public Administration” which convinced me that I had made the right choice in returning to the campus and turning down an excellent job offer in Taiwan, even though I might have had an easier path there. Thanks to those voices who reminded me of the value of pursuing the doctoral degree as a life-long achievement that can never be lost. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Lai, the respectful administrator I worked with to complete the case project in my dissertation. Dr. Lai inspired me to have faith in the integrity and morality of public servants in Taiwan. Without his confidence in me back then, I would not have been able to complete the CP project that helped me to choose my final dissertation topic and smoothly finish the time-consuming interviews. I wish to share the joy of my achievement with Dr. Lai and the colleagues from the agency he led in Taiwan. Many thanks to all the interviewees who responded to the questions which helped document the case. It is my honor to introduce the meaningful CP case from Taiwan to the world. I also want to thank Dr. Soyoung Park, my colleague and cohort working together through the DPA program and Dr. HsienHo Chang who assisted me in conducting qualitative research. Additionally, I mostly thank Mrs. Maryteresa Bressler who provided iv the professional proofreading on the dissertation to conclude the final step of the process. I would like to share the pleasure with my friends both in the US and Taiwan who continually provided inspiration and support. Finally, I want to share my experience with those who still have unfulfilled goals in their life because it is never too late to actualize your dream. Be brave and pursue yours!! “Jiayou !!” (Keep Fighting in Mandarin) v vi DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my father, Zhao-Yen Tseng. He passed away in June of 2003, 15 years ago when I was working on the Ph.D. program in Public Policy. I once lost the incentives of continuing the Ph. D program in 2004 since my father can never come to attend the commencement ceremony. However, it must be still my father’s inspiration that I resumed the doctoral study with the University of Baltimore in 2013, and I hope my father can still witness the moment when I walk at the commencement in May of 2018. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ x LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xi ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... xii 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Problem Statement ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Rationale for Research ........................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Case Background and Facts ................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Overview of Study ............................................................................................................... 27 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................... 31 2.1 Trust and Public Administration .......................................................................................... 32 2.2 Citizen Participation in Public Administration .................................................................... 35 2.3 Employing CP from the Normative Standpoints (External Influence) ................................ 39 2.4 Favoring CP from Instrumental Perspective (Internal Inspiration) ...................................... 44 2.5 Summary & Conceptual Framework ................................................................................... 53 3. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................. 57 3.1 Research Design-Case Study ............................................................................................... 58 3.2 Participants ........................................................................................................................... 60 3.3 Data Collection Plan ............................................................................................................ 62 3.4 Data Validation .................................................................................................................... 68 3.5 Data Analysis Plan ............................................................................................................... 71 3.6 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 75 4. RESEARCH FINDINGS & ANALYSIS ............................................................... 77 4.1. Case Briefs .......................................................................................................................... 77 4.2 Personal Experiences ........................................................................................................... 79 4.3 Direct Observation ............................................................................................................... 84 4.4 Findings of Online Record Review ...................................................................................... 87 4.5 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 94 viii 5. INTERVIEWS RESULTS & ANALYSIS .............................................................. 100 5.1 Theme 1-Regarding CP ...................................................................................................... 102 5.2 Theme 2-Regarding the Distrust & CP .............................................................................. 133 5.3 Theme 3-Why Exercised CP? ............................................................................................ 152 5.4 Theme 4-Regarding the Public Servants ............................................................................ 179 5.5 Supplemental Findings ....................................................................................................... 206 5.6 CP Logic Model for SRWRO ............................................................................................ 219 5.7 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 225 6. LIMITATION, IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICES ............................................ 238 6.1 Limitation of Research ....................................................................................................... 238 6.2 Implication of Practice ......................................................................................................