Factors influencing agency staff's willingness to adopt collaborative public participation techniques in the NEPA decision-making process

2013 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.Today, U.S. government agencies face complex environmental issues and decisions. These issues involve diverse stakeholders with a broad spectrum of interests and concerns. While public participation has conceptually evolved over the years, many agencies continue to rely on the traditional public participation techniques such as the public meeting. However, both the public and agencies have been less than satisfied with the results of traditional public participation. A trend towards implementing collaborative public participation techniques has been embraced by the U.S. government in environmental decision-making. However, based on the literature and observation, collaborative public participation is rarely implemented in the decision-making process. This study reviewed the factors that either encourage or discourage agency staff from adopting collaborative public participation techniques, specifically in the NEPA decision-making process. Eleven semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with environmental managers and public affairs representatives from Western Area Power Administration, U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. This study evaluated these factors and identified potential relationships between the factors and the willingness to adopt collaborative techniques. Agency culture was identified as the primary factor influencing agency staff to adopt collaborative public participation techniques. An agency culture that is service-oriented supports collaborative processes, and in turn, encourages training and education about the appropriate use of collaboration. Further, while there is a direct effect of agency culture on willingness to adopt collaborative techniques, the study identified a potential indirect effect of agency culture on other factors. Cost to implement a collaborative public participation programs and federal regulations were found to be encouraging factors, rather than discouraging factors as previously identified in the literature. The study found that with the cost reimbursement program and new technology, cost was not a hindrance to using collaboration. Also, threats to the agency's decision-making authority were not validated because the regulations secure this authority. Two new factors affecting agency decisions to use collaboration emerged from the study that warrants further research. The relationship between agency culture and the individual's mindset and how these factors influence the use of collaboration provides opportunities for future research. Also, additional studies should explore how staff determines the appropriate level of participation for their projects. Are they unaware of other techniques or are they misapplying techniques based on the scope or type of project? Collaboration is an extension of our democratic culture and when appropriately applied can be an effective means for resolving our environmental concerns. Without fear of losing decision-making authority, this study found that agency staff support alternative approaches to assist them in making sound decisions