The role of non-governmental organizations in the local public policy formation process: The case of Hatay

Public policy, aimed at meeting the expectations of society by governments; It is the art of determining and implementing the policy to be followed and then trying to persuade the public with the policies it implements. The target audience in public policies varies internationally, nationally and locally. Local public policy is part of public policy. Local public policy differs from national and international public policy in that its target audience relates to the "local population of a particular region". Local governments are the most authoritative administrative bodies capable of implementing local public policies. However, many actors influence local public policies. The sound creation of a multi-actor structure in policy making processes is seen as a part of democracy. Developing participation and increasing more accountable practices are important factors that pave the way for policies to be developed for the benefit of society. In this context, it has been seen that Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are an important bridge between society and the state. It is known that it plays an important role in communicating the wishes of the public to policy makers. In the study, which includes a qualitative research method, the role of NGOs in local public policy according to their field of activity over the province of Hatay has been examined and revealed. In the fieldwork part, by separating the NGOs across Hatay according to their fields of activity; In-depth interviews were conducted with the help of some questions to measure their role in local public policies, the factors that hinder and facilitate their participation, how much they are taken into account by local governments, and their financial adequacy. Keywords: Public Policy, Local Public Policy, Local Administrations, Non-Governmental Organizations