Public Participation Methods: A Framework for Evaluation Export

@article{citeulike:2663928, abstract = {There is a growing call for greater public involvement in establishing science and technology policy, in line with democratic ideals. A variety of public participation procedures exist that aim to consult and involve the public, ranging from the public hearing to the consensus conference. Unfortunately, a general lack of empirical consideration of the quality of these methods arises from confusion as to the appropriate benchmarks for evaluation. Given that the quality of the output of any participation exercise is difficult to determine, the authors suggest the need to consider which aspects of the process are desirable and then to measure the presence or quality of these process aspects. To this end, a number of theoretical evaluation criteria that are essential for effective public participation are specified. These comprise two types: acceptance criteria, which concern features of a method that make it acceptable to the wider public, and process criteria, which concern features of the process that are liable to ensure that it takes place in an effective manner. Future research needs to develop instruments to measure these criteria more precisely and identify the contextual and environmental factors that will mediate the effectiveness of the different participation methods. 10.1177/016224390002500101}, author = {Rowe, Gene and Frewer, Lynn J.}, citeulike-article-id = {2663928}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/016224390002500101}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://sth.sagepub.com/content/25/1/3.abstract}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://sth.sagepub.com/content/25/1/3.full.pdf}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://sth.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/25/1/3}, day = {1}, doi = {10.1177/016224390002500101}, journal = {Science Technology Human Values}, keywords = {acceptance, advisory, citizens, committee, communication, conference, consensus, criteria, deficit, evaluation, focus, group, hearing, jury, making, model, negotiative, opinion, panel, participation, process, public, referendam, risk, rule, survey}, month = {January}, number = {1}, pages = {3--29}, posted-at = {2008-04-13 16:41:35}, priority = {2}, title = {Public Participation Methods: A Framework for Evaluation}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/016224390002500101}, volume = {25}, year = {2000} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:2663928 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2663928 N2 - There is a growing call for greater public involvement in establishing science and technology policy, in line with democratic ideals. A variety of public participation procedures exist that aim to consult and involve the public, ranging from the public hearing to the consensus conference. Unfortunately, a general lack of empirical consideration of the quality of these methods arises from confusion as to the appropriate benchmarks for evaluation. Given that the quality of the output of any participation exercise is difficult to determine, the authors suggest the need to consider which aspects of the process are desirable and then to measure the presence or quality of these process aspects. To this end, a number of theoretical evaluation criteria that are essential for effective public participation are specified. These comprise two types: acceptance criteria, which concern features of a method that make it acceptable to the wider public, and process criteria, which concern features of the process that are liable to ensure that it takes place in an effective manner. Future research needs to develop instruments to measure these criteria more precisely and identify the contextual and environmental factors that will mediate the effectiveness of the different participation methods. 10.1177/016224390002500101 IS - 1 JF - Science Technology Human Values EP - 29 TI - Public Participation Methods: A Framework for Evaluation VL - 25 SP - 3 KW - acceptance KW - advisory KW - citizens KW - committee KW - communication KW - conference KW - consensus KW - criteria KW - deficit KW - evaluation KW - focus KW - group KW - hearing KW - jury KW - making KW - model KW - negotiative KW - opinion KW - panel KW - participation KW - process KW - public KW - referendam KW - risk KW - rule KW - survey AU - Rowe, Gene AU - Frewer, Lynn PY - 2000/01/01/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/016224390002500101 ER -