Environment General Courses (ENVIRON)

graduate level, taught in Durham

298.67 Participatory Techniques for Environmental Decisions
(2 cr)
Spring 2005

Instructors:

Mary Lou Addor, Associate Director, NC State University - Natural Resources Leadership Institute

Lynn A. Maguire, Nicholas School

Purpose and Format:

To deliver a course in participatory processes that will examine: (1) how to remove some of the barriers in public participation in environmental decision-making; and (2) how the public can influence policy level, as well as community, decision-making for environmental issues. The course will incorporate theoretical, historical, and experiential learning via classroom instruction, field experiences with participatory processes, and a group project in design and execution of a participatory process.

The course will include five 3-hour sessions on participatory processes for environmental decision-making plus an applied team project. The out-of-class demands on students to attend participatory processes and for the group project will require a higher than usual ratio of out-of-class to in-class hours (hence the 2 credits). The target audience is graduate students in the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. Class limit: 24.

Course Objectives
1) Provide an overview of who the public is, how the public is represented, why public involvement, and how.
2) Provide an overview of the principles, skills, challenges, and processes for effective public participation and decision-making;
3) Improve overall understanding of the kinds of participatory processes in environmental policy.
4) Understand the facilitative role and rules of engagement in the participatory processes.
5) Learn the importance of facilitative techniques in participatory processes.
6) Develop critical thinking skills in how to assess, convene, manage, and evaluate public participation processes.
7) Blend theory and skill development with experience in approaching a local problem-solving project.
8) Attend current public participation processes when feasible.

Requirements for Students

Attendance at each of the five workshop sessions; completion of a follow-up assignment after each of the first four sessions; design and execution of a participatory process concerning a university environmental issue, to be prepared in both written and online form, and to be presented in the final workshop session.

Course Schedule (class meetings 8:30-11:30 on five Fridays)

January 14, Work Session 1: The purpose of this workshop will be to develop a fundamental understanding for participatory processes among workshop participants. The session will focus on the history of the public participation in environmental policy: the nature of environmental disputes; an introduction to the spectrum of public dispute resolution processes; and current perspectives on participatory processes. The concepts will be illustrated by current examples at the local, state, and federal level. Instructional strategies include lecture, guided teaching, group inquiry and discussion, and case study illustration. Following the workshop, participants will be able to:

• explain history of participatory processes in environmental policy (recognize the assumptions)
• explain the nature of deliberation and conflict in environmental policy
• recognize upstream and downstream processes in environmental policy
• differentiate between participatory models: uses, benefits, and limitations
• recognize characteristics of successful processes
• analyze the Fundamental Paradox in policy formation
• investigate further the various perspectives on participatory processes in environmental policy


ASSIGNMENT: students will work in teams of 2 to research an organization (public or private) in North Carolina or the US that utilizes participatory process in environmental policy. Preference will be to contact the organization personally and develop an understanding of the philosophy of that organization on participatory processes, history of the organization in conducting these processes, model(s) used to conduct participatory processes, how these organizations define successful processes and examples of linkages to the policy arena. The teams will compose a handout (1-2 pages) that will be distributed online and discussed during a debrief process during the second class meeting.


January 28,Work Session 2: The objective of the workshop will be to improve understanding for the role of facilitation and meeting management procedures in participatory processes. This session will examine the keys to a facilitative process that aid in effective meetings and decision-making. Instructional strategies: guided demonstration, role-play, and group discussion and inquiry. Following the workshop, participants will be able to:

• define facilitation and various roles of a facilitator
• examine several facilitative models: values of and stages of
• recognize fundamentals of meeting management
• analyze strategies to deal with barriers to an effective process (listening and communication skills, the role of good questions and testing assumptions, ground rules, difficult situation matrix, and group techniques).
• investigate further the role of facilitation and meeting management

ASSIGNMENT: can choose from several projects as a team of 2: (1) choose to co-facilitate a meeting and have another student or instructor act as observer to provide feedback, or video-tape facilitation to self-critique; (2) observe a facilitative process (community meeting; online council meeting,…etc) and analyze what was effective and what hindered the process, and identify the unique skills of the facilitator; (3) research various models for contracting and choosing a facilitator; (4) research a participatory technique and comment on its strengths and weaknesses with respect to meeting facilitation. Each team will compose a handout to be shared online and debriefed during the third class session to further understanding of the role of facilitation in environmental policy.


February 11, Work Session 3: The objective of the workshop is to introduce how to convene and manage a stakeholder process. The session will explore the importance of “assessment” in public participation processes: a key to whether the issue is suitable for a participatory process effort and, if so, what kind. Assessment will extend into a process design format for effective stakeholder participation. Instructional strategies: lecture, guided teaching, a case-study examination, group inquiry and discussion. Following the workshop, participants will be able to:

• recognize the importance of assessing environmental issues for participatory processes
• describe several models of stakeholder engagement
• analyze the role of charters in stakeholder processes
• examine the characteristics of successful processes
• examine role of “learning” in effective processes
• investigate further the role of conflict analysis in environmental policy

ASSIGNMENT: Project teams will begin to develop and map out approaches to deal with site specific issues on campus that will utilize participatory processes to influence decision-making. Projects may include: facilitation; co-facilitation; meeting agenda development; a convening report; skill development; and project management. Each project team will be required to submit a status report to the instructor in February, March, and during the activity component from March to April.

March 11, Work Session 4: Explore participatory techniques to learn about specific techniques and their relationship to public policy decision-making. A portion of the session will spent on completing approaches to deal with a specific issue on campus that will utilize a participatory process to influence decision-making (see assignment above). Instructional strategies are: lecture, group orientation and education, group discussion and inquiry, facilitation and demonstration. Following the workshop, participants will be able to:

• describe several participatory techniques and the use of the technique
• explain the limitations of the several techniques
• complete an approach to work with a participatory project

ASSIGNMENT: Finalize approaches to deal with site specific issues on campus that will utilize participatory process to influence decision-making. Students and instructors will work between February, March, and April sessions to design effective approaches in working with site specific issues.

April 22, Work Session 5: Work teams will present completed participatory projects - proposals, approaches, and outcomes (or anticipated outcomes) that occurred as a result of participatory engagement. The students will discuss the strengths and limitations of each approach and what steps would have been taken given the advantage of hindsight. Following the workshop, participants will be able to:

• to examine whether an approach was effective or not;
• to describe several participatory techniques and the use of the technique;
• explain the limitations of the several techniques
• complete an approach to work with a participatory project

Course texts:

1. Sam Kaner: Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-making. (about $25)
2. Goal QPC - Memory Jogger II: (www.goalqpc.com) (about $7.00)
3. Democracy in Practice: Public Participation in Environmental Decisions (Resources for the Future) $18

Additional sources:
1. Building Trust - Alder and Birkhoff- www.resolv.org/pubs/buildingtrust/building_trust.pdf
2. Community Store Resources: www.thecommunitystore.com/resources.html
3. Thomas Beierle's writings on public participation in environmental decisions
4. Other readings to supplement various topics not yet identified, such as : Resources for the Future; the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Human Dimensions of Social Change and recent online working papers on public participation; and Yosie and Herbst - Using Stakeholder processes in Environmental decision making: A evaluation of lessons learned, key issues, and future challenges (Ruder-Finn), IAP2 - International Association of Public Participation