Democracy in Practice: Public Participation in Environmental Decisions

Description

In spite of the expanding role of public participation in environmental decisionmaking, there has been little systematic examination of whether it has, to date, contributed toward better environmental management. Neither have there been extensive empirical studies to examine how participation processes can be made more effective. Democracy in Practice brings together, for the first time, the collected experience of 30 years of public involvement in environmental decisionmaking. Using data from 239 cases, the authors evaluate the success of public participation and the contextual and procedural factors that lead to it. Thomas Beierle and Jerry Cayford demonstrate that public participation has not only improved environmental policy, but it has also played an important educational role and has helped resolve the conflict and mistrust that often plague environmental issues. Among the authors' findings are that intensive 'problem-solving' processes are most effective for achieving a broad set of social goals, and participant motivation and agency responsiveness are key factors for success. Democracy in Practice will be useful for a broad range of interests. For researchers, it assembles the most comprehensive data set on the practice of public participation, and presents a systematic typology and evaluation framework. For policymakers, political leaders, and citizens, it provides concrete advice about what to expect from public participation, and how it can be made more effective. Democracy in Practice concludes with a systematic guide for use by government agencies in their efforts to design successful public participation efforts. Contents Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Introduction A Brief History of Public Participation in Environmental Decisionmaking What Society Expects from Public Participation What Is Public Participation? Evaluating Public Participation: Overview Chapter 2 Conceptual Framework and Methodology Conceptual Model of Public Participation Evaluation Framework Methodology Chapter 3 The Social Goals of Public Participation Goal 1: Incorporating Public Values into Decisions Goal 2: Improving the Substantive Quality of Decisions Goal 3: Resolving Conflict among Competing Interests Goal 4: Building Trust in Institutions Goal 5: Educating and Informing the Public Developing an Overall Measure of Success Interpreting Success Chapter 4 The Context of Public Participation Types of Issues Preexisting Relationships Institutional Context Context and Success Chapter 5 The Process of Public Participation Participatory Mechanisms Variable Process Features The Importance of Process Chapter 6 Public Participation and Implementation What Do We Mean by “Implementation”? Linking Participation and Implementation Forces Acting on Implementation Chapter 7 Designing Public Participation Processes Step 1: Determine the Need for Public Participation Step 2: Identify the Goals of the Process Step 3: Answer Design Questions Step 4: Select and Modify a Process Step 5: Evaluate the Process Chapter 8 Conclusions and Areas for Further Research Areas for Further Research Appendices Appendix A Case Survey Methodology Case Study Selection Case Coding Intercoder Reliability Appendix B Details on Data and Aggregation Aggregation of Context Attributes Aggregation of Process Attributes Aggregation of Social Goals Appendix C Technical Analysis Bivariate Correlations Multivariate Data Analysis Appendix D Examination of Potential Bias General Discussion of Bias Possible Sources of Bias Quantitative Analysis of Bias Appendix E Citations for Cases in the Final Data Set Facility Siting Cases Hazardous Waste Cases Permitting/Operating Cases Policy Development Cases Regulation and Standard-Setting Cases Resource Planning and Management Cases References Index About the Authors