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Engaging and Involving Stakeholdersin Water Quality Issues

Barry TonningTetra Tech

Engaging and Involving Stakeholders: Part I

• Why involve stakeholders?– Deal with interest in the issues– Solicit decision support– Sometimes it’s required...

• Stakeholder processes & structures– Formal vs. informal

• Communicating with stakeholders– Do it early & often!

Six Minimum Measures for Phase II Stormwater Cities

• Public Education and Outreach• Public Involvement/Participation• Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination• Construction Site Runoff Control• Post-Construction Storm Water Management

in New and Redevelopment• Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping for

Municipal Operations

What is a stakeholder?

• A group or individual who:– has the responsibility for

implementing the decision.– is affected by the decision.– has the ability to impede or

assist in implementing the decision.

Why are stakeholders important to the process?

• Ensures that concerns are factored into the decisions made

• Shares the responsibility of the decision• Enables partnerships to be formed to

combine financial resources• Shares implementation of the decision• Establishes a framework for planning and

conducting management activities

Why Teams Fail

• Past failures• No commitment• Worry about lost independence• Lack of credit for contributions• Personality conflicts• Power struggles• No agreement on roles and responsibilities• Differences in cultural and personal values

Building Local Partnerships, CTIC

Keys to Team Success

• Broad-based stakeholder involvement

• Credibility, fairness, & openness

• Overcoming mistrust and skepticism

• Strong leadership• Commitment and

involvement of high-level visible leaders

Key Principles in Designing a Stakeholder Process

• Legitimacy• Accountability• Inclusiveness• Accessibility• Adaptability

Some Goals of Stakeholder Involvement

• Improve staff awareness of issues & information

• Public education on key issues• Solicit input or feedback• Develop & explore options for

implementation• Build support at each stage of

the process• Identify and overcome obstacles

Levels of Stakeholder Involvement

• Low: Information sharing only• Low/Medium: Information sharing with requests

for specific input/feedback• Medium: Feedback and on-going input, where

stakeholders are a regular sounding board• High: Active partnership effort, stakeholders

help to co-develop solutions• Very High: Full consensus, stakeholders

negotiate a mutually agreeable solution, and are able to prevent resolution or implementation

Opportunities to Engage Stakeholders

Building Science/Tech Foundation

Interpreting &Translating

Data

Developing Policy/Implem.

Options

Implementing, Evaluating &

Adapting

Organizing questions for developing a plan:• Where are the decision points?• Where can decisions be challenged?• Where would it be most useful to hear from stakeholders?• Where is there particular stakeholder agreement or

disagreement?



Data


Options


Adapting

Strategic Questions:• How much do we know about the overall issue?• Is there agreement on core issues/problems?• Could stakeholders help to define the problem?• Could stakeholders help direct us to new/different

information sources? • Could stakeholders help determine data gaps and

address information needs?



Strategic Questions:• What criteria will we use to rank the importance

of issues/problems in the project?• How could insights about core stakeholder

interests help us do this?• How can stakeholders help us identify core areas

of agreement/disagreement?


Adapting

Developing Policy /Implem.

Options


Data



Strategic Questions:• Can stakeholders help identify/invent options, or

suggest early implementation measures?• Can stakeholders help develop selection criteria

for decision-making?• At what point in the process should we begin

developing options?


Adapting



Data


Options


• Will implementing the decision require negotiation among stakeholders and the regulated community?

• How can stakeholders assist with monitoring and evaluating implementation?

• How can new information and adaptations be communicated after implementation begins?


Adapting

Building Scientific

Foundation


Data


Options

What Level of Stakeholder Involvement Do We Need?

• Internal Staff Considerations:– Timeline of the project– Level of agreement needed– Level of scientific and

technical complexity– Implementation strategy – Level of staff resources

What Level of Stakeholder Involvement Do We Need?

• External Considerations:– Level of controversy – Presence of existing

stakeholder groups– Level of interest and

willingness to participate– Potential for outside

funding

Types of stakeholder processes

• Large group, open processes

• Caucus or single-interest group involvement

• Representative multi-stakeholder collaborative groups

Large Group, Open Process Options

– Listening Sessions– Public Meetings (including

legally required hearings)– Public Training or

Workshops (technical or policy focused)

– Online Discussions– Public Comment Periods

Large Group, Open Processes• Potential Goals:

– Educate the public about key issues– Present your work, reports, conceptual models– Hear concerns and questions from stakeholders

• When to Use:– Lower levels of technical complexity involved– Need to reach as many people as possible on a

tight budget– Lower levels of stakeholder activity/organization

Large Group, Open ProcessesPros

– Good for communicating information to large groups– Can hear questions and comments from a wide variety

of people at once– Works well in conjunction with other strategies

Cons– Difficult to explain highly complex technical information

to large, predominantly non-technical audiences– Doesn’t allow for two-way dialogue– Communicating with a large number of people with

various and potentially opposing views can be difficult– Lack of continuity undermines group trust

Caucus or Single Interest-Group Outreach Approaches

• Targeted sector or interest group meetings and workshops

• “Road shows” • Meetings for individual

organizations by request

Caucus or Single Interest-Group Outreach

• Potential Goals:– Present your work, reports, conceptual models– Learn about stakeholder interests and opinions– Explore potential implementation options

• When to Use:– Need buy-in from key organizations & entities– Higher levels of technical complexity involved– Higher levels of stakeholder organization

Caucus or Single Interest-Group Outreach

Pros• Allows for a more targeted message to each sector• More in-depth discussion of complex issues• Can help build connections and coalitions

Cons• Multiple presentations x multiple organizations =

more time required for roll-out• Must pay very close attention to balancing time and

energy equally among multiple players

Representative Multi-Stakeholder Collaborative Groups

• Potential Goals:– Joint framing of problems or issues– Joint information gathering– Development of mutually acceptable

implementation options

• When to Use:– Significant disagreement over basic

technical information– Stable agreement is difficult but vital– Resources are available for the

stakeholder group

Representative Multi-Stakeholder Collaborative Groups

Pros• Can promote high levels of agreement• Higher level of accountability and commitment• Allows for deep discussion of technically complex issues

Cons• Higher costs and more time commitment required• May not be necessary if high level of agreement exists• May not be necessary if issues are less complex

How many “F”s?

FINISHED FILES ARE THERESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC

STUDY COMBINED WITHTHE EXPERIENCE OF MANY

TYPES OF EXPERTS

Designing the Process

• Considerations for process design:– Stakeholder group size and composition – When will stakeholders be involved?– Will stakeholders be engaged on technical or

policy related issues, or both?– Will we focus on a single stakeholder or

organization at a time, or create a multi-stakeholder process?

– Is the process formal or informal?– How will we work with other agencies?

Do We Need More Than the Minimum?

• Is there a potential for a veto/appeal of the action?• Is there is a high level of interest in the action?• Does the action involve technically complex

data/information that needs to be understood?• Is there a need for broad community/public

support for the implementation strategy?• Is there a need for interagency cooperation?

Defining the organizational structure

• Will the group operate in an advisory or decision-making capacity?

• How will decisions be made? • Will the group make the final decision?• What resources are available to support

the operation of the group?• Will the group be developing products?

Getting Organized and Acquainted

• To get organized. . . . – Define goals and expectations– Establish organizational structure– Set ground rules for decision-making

• To become acquainted. . . .– Share background and interests– Understand perceptions– Recognize strengths and skills

Communicating with Stakeholders

• Use simple, concise, unambiguous language to describe what you’re doing & what you want from others

• Use multiple channels of communication– Websites, email, phone trees,

public meetings, printed media• Keep your environmental

purpose at the forefront

Monitoring Progress

• Use graphic schedules and flow charts to track progress.• Take stock of the group:

– Do you need to revise your mission?– Expand stakeholder representation?– Revisit the scope of issues under discussion?– Revisit the level of technical detail?– Revise ground rules?– Revise timeline?

• Check in with constituents “outside the room”• Use adaptive management to address changes, and to

refine your stakeholder involvement approaches.

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