Public involvement is one of the weakest links in effective public policy; citizens lose faith in good government when they are not given chances to participate effectively. The dilemma of how to engage the public and fight apathy to involve more people in decision-making processes is critical. To help remedy this situation, the National Charrette Institute (NCI) is pleased to announce a new project on public health and involvement funded by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

This venture seeks to break new ground in community involvement and decision-making processes. Too often, professionals communicate only with others in their field. With this grant, NCI will develop a best practices forum of experts from a variety of disciplines (public health and safety, political process, land-use and transportation, among others) who use public involvement processes to promote and improve public health. This multi-disciplinary approach will open new lines of communication between practitioners from diverse backgrounds working to create and maintain healthy communities.

NCI will call upon its experience in public facilitation to promote dialogue among these practitioners as well as to aid in the determination of best practices. NCI will also compile and publish a literature review of methods currently employed in this field to inform a wider audience of the lessons learned.

The National Charrette Institute is a nonprofit educational institution that helps communities achieve healthy transformation through collaborative planning processes that harness the talents and energies of all interested parties to create and support a feasible plan.

Support for this project is made possible by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care.

Related Link: National Charrette Institute

For more information contact:

Breesa Culver
National Charrette Institute
3439 NE Sandy Boulevard, #349
Portland
OR 97232
USA

Phone: 503-233-8486
Fax: 503-233-1811
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.charretteinstitute.org