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Public Involvement: What is it really? HDR Alaska 2525 C Street, Suite 305 Anchorage, AK 99503

1 DOT Quarterly Design Presentation 9/19/06 HDR Public Involvement Team

Public involvement, what is it really?

Welcome:

Good morning everyone. I would like to welcome you to “Public Involvement: What is it really?” We will be discussing the basics of how to plan for public involvement in your

• projects. We will introduce tools and ideas today that will make your life easier and

promote good will amongst project team stakeholders. We want to help make your job easier--we have a way that will help you get your projects done more quickly because there won't be as much controversy. We would like to point out that the majority of our formal training and this presentation is “borrowed” from the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2). IAP2 is the global authority on public participation processes and tools. We have an Alaskan Chapter that has formed locally and would love to have new members joins us. Please let us know if you are interested.

Introduction:

Kelly Brown. I am a lifelong Alaskan, have a BS degree in Aviation Management, with a history of public service and more than five years of Public Involvement experience. I received a Certificate in Public Participation in 2006. Julie Jessen. I am originally from Chicago. I have spent the last six years in Alaska, working primarily with conservation community and non-profit organizational

• development. I hold a MS in Historic Preservation.

Rosetta Alcantra. I am a lifelong Alaskan, Athabascan/Aleut and my public involvement experience has been primarily with the non-profit sector as well as working with the Alaska State Legislature.

What is PI?

To get the ball rolling, I’d like to have you answer this question for me: “What is public involvement?” The adapted definition that HDR uses is:

“Public involvement is a systematic process used to collect, understand, and incorporate meaningful public input so that project decisions reflect both technical requirements and public concerns. Public involvement results in improved decisions, public support, and streamlined projects.”

When planning a public involvement program there are three main ideas to keep in mind:

• Determine the values and issues for the project and the community
• Determine the specific decisions to be made

Public Involvement: What is it really? HDR Alaska 2525 C Street, Suite 305 Anchorage, AK 99503

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• Use this information to determine the right role for the public in your
• project. Ie. Choose your stakeholders and level on the spectrum.

Case Study:

Please take 2 minutes and read the case study before you and then fill out the possible stakeholders on the back page. “Electric transmission line study in Southwestern Alaska” Problem to be resolved Population forecasts project that a city comprised of approximately 5,000 highly transitory and ethnically diverse population and four smaller adjacent Yupik villages will experience substantial growth in the next ten years. To prepare for this growth the local utility proposes to construct three substations interconnected by 41 miles of high voltage transmission lines. These lines and substations will be located in between the villages and the city, crossing pristine wetlands and passing through a national wildlife refuge. The city is primarily residential and anticipates industrial opportunities surrounding mine

• exploration. The villages pride themselves on their cultural integrity, protection of

subsistence resources, and the preservation of water quality. The city insists the lines be buried, but the cost is prohibitive based on permafrost issues. The utility needs to decide where the lines will be located. Who are the stakeholders?

• Spectrum:

As you can see from this exercise there is no single “public.” The “public” incorporates various levels depending on interest and ability to participate.

• Unsurprised apathy
• Observers
• Reviewers
• Advisors
• Planners
• Deciders

Public Involvement: What is it really? HDR Alaska 2525 C Street, Suite 305 Anchorage, AK 99503

3 To explain further, we will discuss with you the Public Participation Spectrum. The full definition of public involvement was mentioned previously, but more simply what it means is this: public participation is any process that involves the public in problem- solving or decision-making and uses public input to make decisions. The spectrum is important because this is what makes or breaks a project. It’s not about how much money you spend on Public Involvement--it's about accurately defining the level of involvement (often a compromise between client comfort and public expectation); making a promise; and delivering on that promise. Spectrum levels can be used for

• Identifying problems
• Developing alternatives
• Making decisions

The level can be set for the whole project, or for each phase of the project. What are the decisions to be made? What level of comfort does the decision-maker have regarding public involvement? Before a project begins, the decision-maker should decide how much public input will be used to make the decision. This seems like common sense, but go back to the definition of public participation—a process that involves the public in problem-solving. The public may also have expectations of the level of participation they would like to see. Sometimes if the public cannot impact the decision or the decision- maker will not use the information, it may become more of an information distribution strategy than a public involvement plan. To help decision-makers decide what level of public participation may be appropriate, the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) developed a public involvement spectrum—a series of goals related to different levels of public participation, moving from least intensive to most intensive. Each goal builds upon the previous goal’s promises about how information will be shared and how information will be received and incorporated.

• Inform: Help people to understand the project.
• Consult: Inform; listen to and acknowledge concerns; provide feedback on how

public input influenced the decision

• Involve: Work with the public to ensure concerns are directly reflected in

alternatives

• Collaborate: The public will provide direct advice and innovation in formulating

solutions at the fullest extent possible

• Empower: The public decides what is to be implemented.

Each goal has specific tools associated with it. Again, depending on the phase of a project, different levels and different tools may be used. Example, not using Empower for safety decisions. Cautions:

Public Involvement: What is it really? HDR Alaska 2525 C Street, Suite 305 Anchorage, AK 99503

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• Buy-in is part of public participation, but alone is NOT public participation—it’s

just advocating for a decision that’s already been made.

• Avoid gaps in perception—what the public expects and what the decision-makers
• expect. Controversy occurs when the public expects one thing and agencies do

something other. The level (or levels) of public involvement need to be articulated early on in the process.

• Similarly, if a promise is made to include the public in a certain level of

participation, keep the promise. By meeting public expectations, the decision- maker builds trust, support for the project, and acceptance of the final decision.

• Consensus will rarely be achieved. But people will be more likely to accept

decisions if they agree with the process of how those decisions were made. Identification and use of the different levels of public involvement through the course of a project is cost-effective. It saves time in the long run, avoids sometimes costly controversies, and makes decision-makers’ lives easier. Sustainable decisions can be achieved when you find common ground.

Spectrum Walk:

Now that we’ve identified stakeholders for our case study and how we might identify levels of public involvement, we’d like to ask you to put yourselves in different stakeholders’ shoes. Please hold up your spectrum level card when you feel you are comfortable as the given stakeholder for the given case study.

• Village Elder
• Client (Utility)
• City small business owner
• Wildlife Refuge Manager

Before closing we will explain the stakeholders and how you can use the spectrum to form your public participation plan.

Case Study Solution:

As noted, there is no right answer for the case study. If there are three ideas you leave with regarding public participation I hope you consider these in your next planning effort:

• Determine the values and issues for the project and the community
• Determine the specific decisions to be made
• Use this information to determine the right role for the public in your
• project. Ie. Choose your stakeholders and level on the spectrum.

Case Study: Identified the values of:

• Economic opportunity
• Natural environment
• Cultural values
• Protection of resources

Issues:

Public Involvement: What is it really? HDR Alaska 2525 C Street, Suite 305 Anchorage, AK 99503

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• Safety (high voltage lines)
• Economic opportunity vs. social impacts
• Resources
• Compromise to the natural environment
• Landownership
• Water quality

The main decision to be made is where the lines will be located?

• ID the berry patch
• Inform community on how many new workers for each station
• ID the sensitive wildlife locations

Now determine the role of the public –

• Village Elders - Cultural values – Collaborative level to determine the span
• ver the berry patch – Tools include Direct interviews
• Utility Manager - Economic opportunity – Consult level to inform the public
• f the project and listen/acknowledge concerns. – Tools to use include

comment forms and public meetings.

• Overall project – Consult level – can only go as far to the right as the project

sponsor is comfortable with. One thing to note on this project is that the decision to put in the power line has already been made. The decision at hand is to find the location.

Q&A:

At this point, we’d like to answer any questions you have in regards to identifying stakeholders, choosing level of involvement for a public involvement plan, or how to incorporated different tools into levels of the spectrum. Thank you for your participation.