Abstract:
In what is called participatory democracy scholars and
practitioners have been calling for the involvement of citizens in decisions
that affect their lives. Citizens who emerge to participate in technically
complex, decision-making processes find that their involvement is often
minimized, disregarded, or neglected due to barriers such as specialized
scientific knowledge, inadequate or inaccurate information, among other
factors. Over the last three decades, attention has been given to technical
assistance to promote more informed citizen involvement. The goal of this
study was to understand the relationship between actively involved
citizens and technical assistance in the cleanup process by characterizing
the participation of actively involved citizens in the cleanup process, examining the effects of technical assistance, and identifying other
involved parties' perspectives about this relationship.
Twenty-one interviews were conducted with primary contacts
(citizens, government staff, the primary responsible parties, and technical
assistants) of the western region EPA-sponsored Technical Outreach
Services for Communities Program, technical assistance services offered
free of charge to disadvantaged communities.
Four key findings resulted from this study, namely: the
participation of citizens in the cleanup process is dynamic; technical
assistance does not necessarily lead to citizen's ability to influence
decisions; technical assistance's effects on citizens' capacity-building
resources are progressive and cyclical; and technical assistants take on
multiple roles. The study concludes that though technical assistance
operates within a system of relationships, it can extend citizen's capacity
to participate in technically complex decision-making processes in terms
of facilitating communication, cooperation, knowledge, and relations
between citizens and other involved parties.
