The contents of the message, appropriate techniques, and forms of
communication should be prepared and selected depending on identified
groups of stakeholders.
| Technique |
Features |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| Community interviews Face-to-face meetings
|
Personal visits or phone calls to local
residents, elected officials, community groups, key official or group
leaders to announce a problem, provide background information, or answer
questions. |
Provide background information. Determine
reactions before an issue "goes public". Alert key people to
issues that may affect them. Two-way communication technique. |
Requires time. Should be complemented by
other activities. |
| Informal meetings |
Meetings with individual groups identified
as having a particular interest in this problem and/or facility. |
Allows two-way interaction between
citizens and local officials; officials can learn how citizens view the
problem. This actively promotes public participation. Two-way
communication technique. |
Should be complemented by other
activities. Requires time. |
| Briefings |
Meetings with key state, local officials,
people key to the public involvement process to inform them of the
status of a permit application or a solution to the problem. |
Allow the public to raise questions about
any action prior to public release of information regarding that
problem. Allows for the exchange of information and concern. Two-way
communication technique. |
Usually takes a day to plan and conduct.
Although briefings can be an effective tool for updating public, should
always be complemented by other activities, such as informal meetings,
news conferences, and so on. |
| Workshops |
Workshops are seminars or gatherings of
small groups of people (usually between 10 and 30), led by a small
number of specialists with technical expertise on a specific problem. |
Two-way communication technique. Provide
more information to the public than is possible through written
materials. They are successful in familiarizing citizens with key
technical terms and involve them in better ownership. |
If only limited number of workshops are
held, only a small segment of population is affected. |
| Public meetings and hearings |
Formal conferences for all groups of
stakeholders, led by the specialists with technical expertise on a
specific problem. Is intended for two-way discussion between specialists
and community and to afford community members an opportunity to ask
questions. |
Two-way communication technique. Provide
accurate information to the public on the activity. |
Public meetings often create an atmosphere
of "us versus them". One way to avoid confrontation is to make
sure that representatives of the community are briefed in a less formal
setting prior to the full formal public meeting/hearing. |
| Panel discussion, brain-storming |
Organized for identifying problems and
possible solutions and for discussing controversial subjects. |
Very effective tools in planning,
realization and implementation of any activity. |
Should be complemented by other
activities. |
| Mailing list |
Mailing lists are both important databases
and essential communication tools. Mailing lists typically include
concerned residents, elected officials, appropriate national, regional
and local government contacts, local media, organized environmental
groups, facility employees, and local businesses. |
Allow reaching broad or targeted audiences
with its messages. |
Requires time. One-way communication
technique. |
| Public notice |
Public notices provide an official
announcement of proposed decisions and provides the public with the
opportunity to comment on the proposed decision. |
Efficient, simple means of alerting the
public to important events. |
It should never substitute for other
activities that involve direct communication with the public. One-way
communication technique. |
| Fact sheets |
Fact sheets summarize the current status
of a permit application or corrective action. They present technical
and/or procedural information in a format that uses clear and
understandable language. |
These documents allow communication of a
consistent message to the public and the media. |
Poorly written fact sheets can be
misleading or confusing. It is a one-way communication tool and
therefore the name and telephone number of a contact person should
always be provided. |
| Telephone contacts |
Can be used to gather information about
the community and to update local officials. Are usually made to arrange
or conduct community interviews, develop mailing lists, and arrange
interviews for other public involvement. |
Saves time. Two-way communication
technique. |
Residents initially may feel uncomfortable
discussing their concerns and perceptions over the telephone with a
stranger. |
| Telephone Hotline |
A hotline is a toll-free telephone number
to an institution providing information. Provides citizens with an
opportunity to ask questions and obtain information promptly about these
activities. |
Provides citizens with a quick means of
expressing their concerns directly to the source of information and
getting their questions answered. Can also help monitor community
concerns. Two-way communication technique. |
Citizens calling the hotline must receive
responses to their questions or concerns quickly, or they may become
frustrated with this problem. Dialing a hotline number and receiving a
recorded message could irritate or alienate some members of the public.
|
| Door-to-door canvassing |
Allows distribution of information by
calling on community members individually and directly to provide fact
sheets or other materials and discuss the facility. |
Ensures that materials are directly
provided to community members. |
One-way communication technique. May be
used only with other techniques of information dissemination. |
| Bulletin boards |
Placed in a strategic area in schools,
towns, villages, is a very attractive and a good source of information
for the general population. Is regularly updated with newsletters,
posters, leaflets. |
Very effective and inexpensive form of
providing information to the general population. |
Could be pre-tested before large-scale
production and distribution. One-way communication technique. |
| Posters |
Provide information using only drawings
and a few words. |
Cost effective, may be used in many
different ways and even to produce a newspaper wall on specific issues.
|
Requires considerable staff time to
arrange, prepare, and coordinate. |
| Facility tours |
Trips scheduled to a facility for all
groups of stakeholders (media representatives, local officials,
citizens) during which technical and public involvement, staff answer
questions. |
Familiarize the media, local officials,
and citizens with the activities, and the individuals involved in the
actions. |
Sometimes, the insurance regulations for
the facility and liability may make the tours impossible. |
| Field trips |
Used to motivate the emotional feelings of
people for "conservation". Organized for grade school
children, high school students, and university students. |
Very popular technique, participants look
forward to new experiences in the understanding of nature through use of
sight, sound and touch. Combines entertainment and education. Two-way
communication technique. |
Requires very good organization. |
| Environmental sites |
Exploration of the surrounding
environment, site of special environmental significance and
environmental protection facilities. |
Very popular technique, provides the
community with important information on the environment. Learners'
understanding is enhanced by the combination of sound and sight stimuli.
|
This technique should be combined with
written material that will make the information memorable. |
| Special events Traditional rites |
Use of traditional rites. |
Provides specific information on
environmental problems, use of non-technical language. Very attractive
form for very broad audience, combines entertainment and education.
|
Costly. |
| Radio |
Use of different techniques, e.g.,
quizzes, competitions, talks, music, radio drama, interviews, jingles,
folk stories in different types of programmes catering for different
ages and/or interest groups can be effective in raising awareness. |
A powerful medium, radio reaches a large
number of people with relatively little input. |
It is relatively cheap. |
| Television |
Use of different techniques combine
picture, sound, colour and motion to express the environmental issues,
e.g., quizzes, competitions, talks, music, drama, interviews, jingles,
folk stories in different types of programmes catering for different
ages and/or interest groups. Can be effective in raising awareness. |
A powerful media, reaches a large number
of people. |
Costly. This is a one-way communication
tool. |
| Video films |
These techniques combine picture, sound,
colour and motion to express many environmental issues. |
Very effective way to provide information
because they combine entertainment and education. These forms allow
making the message memorable. |
Costly. This is a one-way communication
tool. |
| Exhibits |
Exhibits are visual displays such as maps,
charts, diagrams, or photographs. May be accompanied by a brief text
explaining the displays and the purpose of the exhibit. |
They allow use of realistic,
three-dimensional models that facilitate understanding through use of
sight, sound, and touch. This technique can be used over a period of
time and thus cover a wider population. Exhibits can convey information
to many people with a low level of effort. This technique can also
convey scientists to know the perceptions of children about
environmental issue linked to their research. |
This is a one-way communication tool. One
solution is to attach blank postcards to the exhibits, encouraging
viewers to comment or submit inquiries by mail. This is a one-way
communication tool. |
| Computer games |
These techniques combine picture, sound,
colour and motion to express the environmental issues. |
Very effective way to provide information
because they combine entertainment and education. |
Still expensive. |
| Internet e.g. "Water on the Web"
|
This technique provides wide-world
information on the subject in question. |
Very effective way to provide information,
two-way communication tool, allow exchange of opinions. |
Still very expensive. Still limited access
in some countries. |
| Newsletter, Newspaper insert |
Brief description of what is going on. The
problems that have environmental implications, usually issued at the key
intervals for all people who have shown an interest. |
Provide information about current events
that have environmental implications. |
Requires staff time and cost money to
prepare, print, and mail. Story must be objective and credible or people
will react negatively to newsletters. |
| News conferences |
Brief presentation to the reporters,
followed by question-and-answer period, often accompanied by handouts of
presenter's comments. |
Simulate media interest in the problem.
Direct quotes often appear in television. |
Cannot control how the information is
used. |
| Press kits |
A packet of information on what is
happening with the problems that have environmental implications.
Distributed to reporters. |
Stimulates media interest in that problem.
Provides background information which reporters use for future stories.
|
Requires staff time to prepare and print.
|
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