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Using Hands-On Exercises to Create Stakeholder Buy in: If you do it with them, they will come along
Citation:
Berry, W., S. Agius, AND J. Twichell. Using Hands-On Exercises to Create Stakeholder Buy in: If you do it with them, they will come along. SETAC NA Annual Meeting, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA, November 03 - 07, 2019.
Impact/Purpose:
It is important that stakeholders have trust in the process used to make environmental management decisions and a sufficient level of understanding to be able to provide input to those decisions. This is especially true in the current climate of distrust in both government and science. One way to increase stakeholder trust in the decision-making process is to walk them through it using hands-on exercises. We will demonstrate the usefulness of hands-on exercises to increase the transparency of environmental management decision-making using three examples. These three exercises vary greatly in complexity and time commitment, but all of them can increase stakeholders’ ability to influence the decision-making process, and their confidence in the ultimate decision. We hope that this presentation will encourage scientists and regulators to develop hands-on exercises like these to get increased stakeholder buy in.
Description:
It is important that stakeholders have trust in the process used to make environmental management decisions and a sufficient level of understanding to be able to provide input to those decisions. This is especially true in the current climate of distrust in both government and science. One way to increase stakeholder trust in the decision-making process is to walk them through it using hands-on exercises. The experience gained by interacting with the practical aspects of the decision-making process can also increase stakeholders’ understanding of the process, and build the confidence needed to provide input and see how it will help make better decisions. We will demonstrate the usefulness of hands-on exercises to increase the transparency of environmental management decision-making using three examples. The first is a two-hour-long game suitable for use alone or as part of a training course which illustrates the use of various sediment indicators in making sediment assessments. The game was based on the EcoChallenge game, which imposes a time and money budget, and forces the players to make choices as to what types and quantities of data they will “buy.” The second is a case study which was woven into a three-day training on the assessment and disposal of dredged material. The case study provided hands-on experience applying each of the units of the course, as it was being taught. Participants pretended to be regulatory decision makers, carrying out each step of the assessment process and comparing notes on their results. The third is a four-session participatory workshop for municipal stormwater decision makers to engage their communities in the development of stormwater management programs and funding solutions. Over the course of four months, participants learned and actively applied a practical skillset for undertaking a consensus-building approach in their communities. This built confidence in public processes and inspired continuing efforts by participants after the workshop. These three exercises vary greatly in complexity and time commitment, but all of them can increase stakeholders’ ability to influence the decision-making process, and their confidence in the ultimate decision.