RE: EPA's evolving role - 2-way communication & trust

[Jerry Filbin <filbin.gerald@epa.gov>]

I think that Barry Zelf makes a very legitimate point about trust as a key component of communication.  In my earlier comment, I didn't want to seem "poly-anna-ish" about EPA's history in communication and in facilitating community involvement through effective communication.  For the few examples I've raised that seem to have worked well, participants over the last few days have described far more that had real communications problems - many of them centered on trust and credibility.  There are things we can/should  do better - I think we have a very hard time communicating uncertainty in our risk assessments without sounding as if we are hemming and hawing - part of this is the nature of scientific assessments - which are probabilistic assessments - and never absolute certainties.  So our scientists should be working with communications and social scientists to help make the messages more understandable - I think we should be particularly concerned with the issue of cultural sensitivity and cultural competence in our communication - we need to work harder to understand the dialogue as a two-way dialogue and to focus our responses to be responsive to community concerns.  

I think that another issue of concern is that some people are fearful of the involvement of the Federal government agencies in local matters - realistically, when strangers come from outside the community, perhaps with little understanding of local concerns and community dynamics they are going to be treated with trepidation - particularly if it feels like, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you"!  Our experience is that in order to build trust in most places we have to listen very closely before we speak.  EPA Region 7 has had some wonderful experiences with "listening tours" within communities - including St. Louis - and these tours and the relationships that were built from just listening really turned doubt into trust.  Second, we need to be aware that we are "strangers in the midst" and it will be difficult for people to extend broad acceptance quickly.  In these cases, it often useful to search out respected community leaders in an open process and listen to their perspective and advice and use their wisdom and community knowledge in formulating our communications.  Sometimes these may be political leaders - but in many instances they are apt to be unelected community leaders including educators, clergy, newspaper editors, business leaders, judges, community organization leaders, among others.  To the extent that these types of community leaders can help to facilitate a communications process and help to make sure that we are listening and speaking in ways understandable to the community we can begin to address the issue of trust.

Thanks, Barry!