Trust and Understanding in Participatory Policy Analysis: The Case of the Vermont Forest Resources Advisory Council |
| |
| Authors: | David Haight Clare Ginger |
| |
| Institution: | recently graduated from the University of Vermont with a master's degree in Natural Resource Planning. His interests are in natural resource policy, forest management and land conservation, and citizen participation in public decisionmaking.;assistant professor of natural resources at the University of Vermont. Her research focuses on public policy and planning processes with specialization in organizational arrangements and applications to environmental issues. |
| |
| Abstract: | Participatory policy analysis (PPA) has been recommended as a means for better informing the policy process and reinvigorating citizen participation in government decisionmaking. This study analyzes the Vermont Forest Resources Advisory Council (FRAC), a stakeholder form of PPA, to assess trust and understanding, which PPA proponents suggest is important for democratic governance. Findings indicate that process design and the roles of science and social values in decisionmaking affected trust and understanding among participants and in the FRAC process. This case highlights challenges in making PPA operational and in addressing positivist and postpositivist perspectives within PPA. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
