| Participation is an important facet in planning and design processes. Much emphasis has been given to the nature and roles of participation with few efforts addressing how to evaluate the participation process. The focus of this research is on participation evaluation and identifying issues related to participation effectiveness.;Insights obtained through this research address: (a) the use of participation techniques in state park agencies, (b) the use of a citizen advisory committee for planning and designing accessible park facilities, and (c) a potential "effectiveness categories" tool for evaluating participation effectiveness. The evaluation of citizen participation is explored in state parks through an historical review of park development, a survey of state park directors, a case description of the Missouri Division of State Parks' advisory committee for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and a survey of the advisory committee. A review of the participation evaluation literature identified seven categories of information relating to effectiveness that include: goals, information access, input and decision linkages, group participation process, participant characteristics, agency attitudes and resources and funding.;The state park directors' survey revealed that participation techniques which involve and collaborate with the public were used by all of the respondents and accounted for almost half of all the techniques used. Involving techniques include focus groups, task forces and friends associations. Collaborative techniques include advisory committees and cooperative associations. The techniques identified as especially effective by the park directors, however, focused on lower levels of citizen involvement through consulting-type techniques. These include surveys, public meetings and focus groups. The park directors' survey supports the need to explore in depth collaborative participation activities such as advisory committees and what makes them effective.;The Missouri Division of State Parks' ADA advisory committee survey identified how the participants felt about the process concerning each of the seven effectiveness categories. The importance of establishing clear goals, avenues for input and decision linkages and positive agency attitudes were identified by the participants in the advisory committee survey as important factors relating to effectiveness. The case description highlights activities and events which influenced the process. |
