The importance of participation in the strategic planning process in municipalities: The case of Süleymanpasa Municipality

Strategic planning has become an important concept with the transition process from the management process to the governance process. The transformation that started in management has increased the necessity of developing new practices and methods in public administration over the principles of efficiency and productivity. This process of change, which started after 1980, paved the way for new discussions on economic development and the necessity of strengthening the local network of development. In this direction, the strategic planning process provides a roadmap and serves as a guide in terms of how the service capacity of local governments should be in the coming years. At this stage, local governments have been focusing on strategies of sustainable policies in terms of developing dynamics where they could be self-sufficient along with the efficient use of the limited local facilities. In addition, in the transformation process of the public administration, strategic planning processes with the new public administration approach have been made compulsory by legal regulations, and it has served the public administration to reach a more dynamic, transparent, participatory and accountable understanding. In this direction, the study aims to examine the strategic planning process, especially on participation, through the example of Tekirdağ Süleymanpasa Municipality 2020-2024 Strategic Plan in terms of both conceptual and strategic planning; and in this context, various evaluations are made and suggestions are given for the inclusion of the issue of participation in strategic plans.