How To Overcome
Barriers to
Public Involvement
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Goal
To identify best practices that avoid, neutralize or overcome
common barriers to effective public involvement.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its Public
Involvement Policy in June 2003. The Policy provides guidance to
EPA managers and staff on how to involve (he public in the
Agency's decision making. Its overall goal is for excellent public
involvement to become an integral part of EPA's culture, thus
supporting more effective Agency actions.
This brochure (one in a series), suggests ways to avoid, neutralize
or help overcome common barriers to effective public involvement
activities and processes.
Assess before you act
Are you sure of your project and public involvement goats, your
internal support and capabilities? Do you know the needs of the
potential participants?
Are you really ready to go, or do you need to:
• Ask others who have succeeded in similar situations what
worked?
• Help key EPA staff and managers see how effective public
involvement can help the Agency reach a better decision?
• Mentor staff or seek process design advice yourself?
• Provide more information to potential participants before they can
meaningfully participate (based on community/issue/conflict
assessment)?
• Simplify dense technical language Into plain English?
• Translate information into other languages?
• Find technical or financial assistance for the participants or make
some other accommodations to include different people?
• Develop local partnerships to reach those whose customs.
cultures, education or economic circumstances limit their
involvement?
• Develop collaborative relationships (being mindful of the
limitations imposed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act) with
local officials, organizations, media, faith-based groups,
businesses and more so you can identify and interest their
members?
• Build mutual trust?
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Provide transparency and access
If Ihe project is complex or controversial, then any decision may
be difficult for a lay person to understand. In such instances it's
especially important to have a transparent decision process and
provide easy access to clear information.
Staff and managers should each be able to clearly state the
goals, roles and steps in the decision process. Find and work
to use as many Information access forums and places suitable
lo those you seek to involve - from door-to-door conversations
to web sites.
Transparent process and easy access allow staff to more
effectively reach out to the potentially affected public. This is
the basis for building awareness and understanding of the
issues and process. It enables the public to generate useful
information and options that can influence environmental
outcomes. Access and transparency can also build public trust
and belief in the fairness of decisions.
Avoid being an add-on
Be an advocate for public involvement to ensure it's included
from the beginning in project planning. Be ready to
demonstrate that results are more sustainable when public
involvement is an integral part of planning for decisions.
Collect and tell stories of how listening to stakeholders
provides Ihe Agency with a wider variety of ideas, new
information and alternative choices that improved
environmental outcomes.
Leverage staff and money
Based on your assessment of what EPA and the public need
estimate the budget and staff you should have to hold the
number and types of events you have identified, to provide
information to Ihe public and develop access lo pertinent project
information. If you are not familiar with the best ways to
support and conduct public involvement activities, talk to your
colleagues. EPA has a network of experienced public
involvement specialists whose job is to work with external
groups and individuals. Look to them for advice. They can
provide creative and practical ideas that will fit.
If your budget is tight, consult with coworkers about ways to
stretch your budget. For example, in addition to holding your
own meetings, try making presentations to community groups at
their regularly scheduled meetings. Find help and leverage
through other organizations' outlets such as web sites.
newsletters and flyers.
This type of partnering can help you reach your intended
audience more effectively. Working with partners also can help
you build trust. (See the brochure for Step #1, "How to Plan
and Budget for Public Involvement.')
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Find people to involve
If your project is site-specific and involves a single neighborhood
or town, there are easy ways to do outreach and invite
participation. If your project is multi-state, region-wide or national
consider working with national or regional organizations to reach
their members.
Municipal governments, civic groups, business, youth.
environmental and religious organizations can help you make
contact with the public. Consider partnering with non-traditional
organizations such as trade and neighborhood block groups to
reach people. Local media can also help.
EPA's Office of Public Affairs and regional counterparts have
news media and public liaison specialists who are experienced in
reaching media outlets and national groups. Staff from the Office of
Congressional & Intergovernmental Relations and corresponding
regional organizations can help you reach national, state and local
officials as well as their associations. (See the brochure for Step
#2. "How to Identify People to Involve.")
Build capacity for involvement
Doing effective public involvement work takes real skills. If you
need to. and there's a little time to prepare yourself, find ask for
and take suitable training.
A community, organization or individual may need your help to build
their capacity for effective involvement. They may need suitable
resources to navigate complex technical and legal Issues.
Consider providing technical or financial assistance, holding
workshops, using conference calls, hot lines or drop-in centers.
By making involvement easier, clearer and more meaningful for
participants, EPA can benefit from unique, firsthand knowledge and
improve the quality of Agency decisions. Check with EPA
colleagues to find out how they help the potentially interested and
affected public participate. Ask them about resources that may be
available and creative ways that EPA, its partners or technology
can provide:
• access to information
• understanding of decision making processes
• additional time for reviewing data
• public knowledge of science and its methods
• providing feedback on public input on issues
A good public involvement process can improve:
• respect for accommodation of cultural differences
• trust of public officials
(See the brochure for Step #3. "How to Provide Technical and
Financial Assistance for Public Involvement" or contact EPA's public
involvement staff.)
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Get the right information to the right people at the right time
Base the amount of information you provide on the complexity of
your project and on the expressed needs of the communily. These
vary for each situation, so do your homework! Making accurate
material available to the public in a timely manner increases the
prospects for effective public involvement.
• Make information accessible as early as possible. This
enables people to make informed and productive
contributions. Most people need at least 30 days notice
about public involvement activities; more lime if the issue
is complex or there is a lot of material to review. They may
appreciate a reminder two weeks after the first notice.
• Explain the basis for EPA's actions, when and how the
public's ideas can be considered and how the decision
process works. This makes it easier for them to participate
and builds credibility.
• Depending on your audience, you may want to use public
settings (churches, civic groups, libraries, malls, banks,
government buildings, schools) as places where you post
your notices. Place print materials in a central location, or
in several locations to increase access for those without
computers.
• If an urgent situation arises affecting a local area, consider
going dqor-to-door to talk to residents and distribute printed
information. If you do this, your staff or contractors should
be ready to provide answers to residents questions.
• Telephone hotlines can be useful support for some decision
processes. Staffed or pre-recorded hotlines can help people who
want brief updates. This method is especially helpfulfor people
who do not have Internet access and who may have problems
getting out to meetings. If you use phone hotlines, you should
provide a TTY choice for hearing-impaired callers. (See the
brochure for steps, "How to Provide Information and Conduct
Outreach for Public Involvement.")
". . .because of lack of access to computers, many grassroots
groups who might be stakeholders in EPA rules, processes and
procedures are not participating."
Julio Burgess
DiBlogiiQ on Public Involvement in EPA Dadsron Making
Use the public's ideas in making decisions
Giving people feedback shows that EPA takes their ideas seriously.
By telling people what EPA did with their comments you can build a
resilient relationship between the Agency and stakeholders,
encouraging their participation in decision-making processes and
building trust.
If you do not clearly explain why you did or did not use their input,
people may become frustrated and may not participate the next lime
they have an opportunity. If this happens, the Agency loses out on
potentially helpful information and ideas. (See the brochure for Step
#6, "How to Review and Use Public Input and Provide Feedback ")
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Evaluate public involvement activities
If you don't know how well your process worked, how will you
make it better? If you don't specifically ask about the public
involvement aspects of your project, you may waste time and
money.
If you choose not to evaluate, you may repeat the same mistakes.
Future efforts can benefit from specific information on how well
and why certain public involvement activities worked or did not.
You may identify additional input that helps you make effective
decisions when you make evaluation of your public involvement
activities part of your early project plan. You should conduct
formal and informal evaluations throughout your process to obtain
such input.
Evaluation helps you to define, measure and continually improve the
public involvement process. When you listen to what stakeholders
say about one set of events, you can improve your chances for
productive dialogue during the next set. (See the brochure for Step
#7, "How to Evaluate Public Involvement.")
"No self-respecting person can do public participation unless they
are witling to lose control."
Bl/ss Browne
200« InlamslnrelAssodaOori lor Public Parteipaaon (MP2) Conference
Sharing public involvement process decisions
To consult, collaborate and provide meaningful public involvement, it
helps to be flexible and ready to share the decisions about public
Involvement processes when possible.
EPA conducts public involvement processes directly when it makes
many of its environmental decisions. Often, however, EPA can
collaborate with others in their environmental decision processes.
In all cases, sharing the work of effective public involvement means:
• Making no assumptions about the potentially affected publics or
communities
• Treating people respectfully as partners
• Listening to their suggestions for improving anything related to
the decision-making process
• Using their ideas when possible
• Making sure people know how you applied their contributions
Your research and assessment can be the basis for defining the
public involvement process that's best for your specific project.
Whether it's local and modest in scope or national and complex
your process is likely to lead to a better outcome when participants
have a say in:
Setting specific public involvement goals
Identifying members of the public who should be involved
Designing processes that best fit stakeholder and EPA needs
Suggesting who needs access to pertinent project information
Determining which process information is available,where it's
housed or how it is developed, distributed and presented
• Planning where, how and when specific public involvement
activities happen and if they use neutral facilitators
• Developing alternative choices, and more
Consulting early with representatives of various stakeholder
groups makes it easier to gain pro-activity support. These leaders
can help you prepare suitable materials for each phase of the
project. They know how best to publicize the overall process and
specific activities for their respective communities.
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If you don't feel ready lo lead such processes, you might take
training, ask more experienced staff for help or do some reading
and research to resolve your concerns and become more
comfortable working with communities, stakeholders and the
public.
Your own skills and dedication to making collaborative processes
work can only go so far if other people have erected barriers. Use
any opportunity you find to help others become more comfortable
about collaboration processes. Share good examples of when
collaboration produced better environmental decisions.
Before collaborating with groups that include non-federal
stakeholders, determine whether the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (FACA) applies. If FACA may apply to your group, consult with
the Office of Cooperative Environmental Management for
assistance on setting up your group. (See the brochure for
Step #5. "How to Consult with and Involve the Public.")
"Foremost in my mind are the issues of access and power . . .
and this is not just about computers. Other barriers to access
abound: language, location, education, culture, economics, etc
Without access there can be no participation. Period."
Enrique Veld/via
Onlino Dialogue on PtibHc Involvftmenl tn EPA Decision Making
Consult with those who traditionally don't
participate
It's important for EPA to reach and hear from those who are likely
to be affected yet may be unaware of the decision processes or
whose participation may be limited. Make special efforts to reach
out to low-income, environmental justice and non-English-speaking
communities.
If standard practices don't engage certain groups or individuals.
consider listening sessions, availabilities (staff is on hand to
respond to project questions and posted materials), information
workshops, presentations at community group meetings, visiting
religious and civic leaders, doing open-line radio or cable TV
interviews or taking part in fairs and festivals as alternatives.
You can promote the participation of people who may not be
familiar with EPA programs by:
• Asking the community leaders (elected officials.
business, church and civic leaders) what you can do to
reach more local citizens
• Translating materials into languages used by the populations
you want to participate
• Asking for feedback about each event from a wide variety of
people and showing them how you made adjustments
Work with your community partners and local media to publicize
your activities, meet and listen to your stakeholders and ensure
fairness at each step. The newest participants may
be the most enthusiastic or demanding. To keep —^ -^—
them engaged, build relationships and build trust in
EPA's decisions, welcome their ideas and
suggestions. (See the brochure "How to Involve
EJ Communities,") <
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Additional Resources
"Engaging Affected Communities - Barriers and Obstacles" US
EPA Community Involvement Conference. Keynote address July
23, 2003. Larry Charles. One/ CHANE, Inc., Hartford, CT
http://epancic.org/2003/ proceedings.cfm
[Providing links to a non-EPA Web site does not constitute an
endorsement by EPA or any of its employees of the sponsors of
the site or the information or products presented on the site.]
Institutional Barriers to Integrating Public Involvement.
Transportation Research Board. Committee on Public Involvement
in Transportation, 2003. http:Wtrb-pi.hshassoccom/
researchtopics/instbarr.pdf
Other EPA Public Involvement Brochures
Introducing EPA's Public Involvement Policy
How to Plan and Budget for Public Involvement
How to Identify People to Involve
How to Provide Technical and Financial Assistance for
Public Involvement
How to Do Outreach for Public Involvement
How to Consult with and Involve the Public
How to Review and Use Public Inpul and Provide Feedback
How to Evaluate Public Involvement
How to Improve Public Meetings and Hearings
How to Improve Working with Tribes
How to Involve Environmental Justice Communities
"Involvement brings the pieces together" artwork is the creation
of Erica Ann Turner, who contributed the work through an
agreement between the Art Institute of Washington and EPA.
More Information about the Policy
Copies of the Policy and the Framework for implementing it are
available at hJloJAvww_.epo.cLQyLpublicinvolvement/policy2003.pdf
and hUpj//_vyyywi§pai_gov/publicinvolvement/policy2003/
framework.pdf
The Website for the Internet Dialogue on Public Involvement in EPA
Decisions is hllp://www.network-democracv,Qrg/eoa/eoa-Dip
EPA' s Response to Comments on the Draft 2000 Public
Involvement Policy is available at hltp://www.eoa.gov/
publicinvolvement/policy2003/rasponse.pdf
United States Environmental Protection Agency
National Center for Environmental Innovation
Public Involvement Staff
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW1807T
Washington, DC 20460
EPA 233-F-03-015
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