Introduction: Public Participation 1 What is Public Participation? Public participation can be any process that directly engages the public in decision-making and gives full consideration to public input in making that decision. 2 Public Participation vs. Public Relations Public relations Does not include the opportunity for the public to influence the decision or outcome Public participation Must include the opportunity for the public to influence the decision or the outcome. 3 What is EPA’s Public Participation Guide? www.epa.gov/international/public-participation-guide • Launched in March 2012 to over 700 individuals/organizations • Purpose: Shares important considerations in the design, planning and implementation of a meaningful public participation program • Designed for government agencies for decision-making processes, but can be useful for others as well 4 Time to Participate! World Café • A world café is a meeting process featuring a series of simultaneous conversations in response to predetermined questions. • Participants change tables during the process and focus on identifying common ground in response to each question. 5 World Café Instructions 1. Designate one person at your table as the host. This person will stay at the table and record the discussion. 2. Discuss the question at your table for 5-10 minutes. The host records the key points of the discussion. 3. When the facilitator indicates, move to a new table. - Try to meet new people! - Don’t visit the same color table twice. - The host at each table does not move. 4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until the end of the exercise. 5. Each host reports the main ideas from their table. 6 What are the benefits of public participation? Sponsor Agencies: • Better and more easily implementable decisions that reflect public interests and values • Better understood by the public Communities: • Develop long-term capacity to solve and manage challenging social issues, often overcoming longstanding differences and misunderstandings. 7 What are the necessary skills to promote public participation? Transparency Respect Openness Reliability Flexibility Honesty Humility Resiliency 8 What other skills are critical? Project Management Stakeholder communication – Situation Assessment – Effective writing – Goal-setting – Translating complex information into understandable formats – Planning – Presenting information in public – Process Management settings – Meeting and Event – Interpersonal skills Management – Active listening – Evaluation 9 What do you need for effective public participation? 10