TY - JOUR

T1 - The Role of Formalisation, Participation and Context in the Success of Public Involvement Mechanisms in Resource Management

AU - Newig, Jens

AU - Gaube, Veronika

AU - Berkhoff, Karin

AU - Kaldrack, Kai

AU - Kastens, Britta

AU - Lutz, Juliana

AU - Schlussmeier, Bianca

AU - Adensam, Heidelinde

AU - Haberl, Helmut

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgments This work was jointly funded as part of the ‘PartizipA’ project by the German Ministry of Education and Research and the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture under grant no. 07 VPS 10.

PY - 2008/12/1

Y1 - 2008/12/1

N2 - In the face of complex and uncertain issues, one important goal of public participation in resource management and research is to foster communication and the inclusion of non-expert knowledge-thus the effective flow of information between project organisers and stakeholders. We compare different methods (instruments, tools) that were employed in the German-Austrian 'PartizipA' project to structure information flows in participatory processes. Depending on their goals and context, more or less 'formalised' and 'participatory' methods were applied, the most important being guided interviews, focus groups, agent-based modelling, nutrient modelling, cognitive mapping and group model building as well as the development of a common document. Two regional case studies, both concerned with European-induced institutional change, are portrayed in which the specific participatory methods were embedded. The Austrian case study involved the analysis and modelling of agricultural land use in the region of St. Pölten against the background of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, while the implementation of recent European water policy was the issue in the German agricultural region north of Osnabrück. Presenting both cases in their regional context, the applied methods are first described according to the logic of the entire respective process. Subsequently, the specific methods are systematically analysed and compared according to their objective, context and degrees of participation and formalisation. Finally, we evaluate all methods regarding their effectiveness in terms of goal attainment and their potential generalisation, seeking to respond to the question of when a particular method might best be used. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

AB - In the face of complex and uncertain issues, one important goal of public participation in resource management and research is to foster communication and the inclusion of non-expert knowledge-thus the effective flow of information between project organisers and stakeholders. We compare different methods (instruments, tools) that were employed in the German-Austrian 'PartizipA' project to structure information flows in participatory processes. Depending on their goals and context, more or less 'formalised' and 'participatory' methods were applied, the most important being guided interviews, focus groups, agent-based modelling, nutrient modelling, cognitive mapping and group model building as well as the development of a common document. Two regional case studies, both concerned with European-induced institutional change, are portrayed in which the specific participatory methods were embedded. The Austrian case study involved the analysis and modelling of agricultural land use in the region of St. Pölten against the background of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, while the implementation of recent European water policy was the issue in the German agricultural region north of Osnabrück. Presenting both cases in their regional context, the applied methods are first described according to the logic of the entire respective process. Subsequently, the specific methods are systematically analysed and compared according to their objective, context and degrees of participation and formalisation. Finally, we evaluate all methods regarding their effectiveness in terms of goal attainment and their potential generalisation, seeking to respond to the question of when a particular method might best be used. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

KW - Sustainability sciences, Communication

KW - Public participation

KW - participatory methods

KW - Information flows

KW - Learning

KW - Effectiveness

KW - Case study comparison

KW - Case study comparison

KW - Effectiveness

KW - Information flows

KW - Learning

KW - Participatory methods

KW - Public participation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=57249095774&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/0d9c9f57-577f-329e-9390-59032d226ba7/

U2 - 10.1007/s11213-008-9113-9

DO - 10.1007/s11213-008-9113-9

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 21

SP - 423

EP - 441

JO - Systemic Practice and Action Research

JF - Systemic Practice and Action Research

SN - 1094-429X

IS - 6

ER -