Lessons from Dialogue for EPA

[Eric Marsh <marsh.eric@epa.gov>]

The evaluation that Resources for the Future, Inc. will conduct following this event will systematically evaluate specific aspects of the Dialogue.  Please reference Thomas Beierle's earlier message regarding this effort or go directly to the survey at http://www.info-ren.org/network-democracy/epa-pip/join/epasurvey.shtml .  Today is an opportunity for all those who have followed the Dialogue to tell EPA what it should take away from this Dialogue experience.  From my end, the Dialogue appears to have been a great success, and there are several lessons to be learned from this effort.  I'll mention a few.  

One lesson is that "the Public is talking", and people are continuing to show that they are more than ready to provide instructive, helpful commentary on how to make improvements in EPA public involvement activities, especially when given time and opportunity to do so.  These discussions involving persons from around the country representing a variety of different backgrounds provide a rich source of varied viewpoints and information and serve as a great way to "check-in" on what the public is thinking. 

A second lesson that I see, echoing concerns raised by Eileen Jones, is that despite the high level of participation in the Dialogue, not everyone that would like to be heard has the appropriate opportunity to participate in these Internet style forums.  It's still important to take these broader policy discussions to street level.   Engaging the public earlier in open-ended policy discussions may go a long way in terms of building bridges and building better policy, but it should be carried out, to the degree possible, through face-to-face discussions in addition to electronic media.  Conferences focused on public participation, as mentioned earlier, would be great vehicles by which to do this.