Measuring the success of public participation on environmental restoration and waste management activities in the US Department of Energy

The value added by public participation to decision-making in the Office of Environmental Management (EM) in the Department of Energy (DOE) can be enhanced through better organization, improved participation strategies and mechanisms, and integration with other aspects of decision-making (e.g., problem definition, mission development, identification and evaluation of decision alternatives, and decision implementation). The opportunity to improve the value added by public participation, however, is contingent on being able to demonstrate that the resources devoted to such activity is a sensible and worthwhile investment. This article summarizes research conducted to expand those savings and improvements and facilitate other improvements by developing a set of performance-based indicators, based on discrete attributes of successful public involvement, for use in evaluating public participation programs and activities in EM, with special emphasis on activities implemented in the held offices of DOE. The success attributes and indicators were developed through reviews of appropriate research literatures and through intensive interviews with and surveys administered to diverse stakeholders, including DOE project managers and public participation specialists, contractor project managers and public participation specialists, representatives of tribal, state, and local governments, federal and state regulatory authorities, environmental interest groups, and other interested parties, at nine DOE facilities in the United States. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.