On Thursday, March 11 RJM Design Group led an educational session at the California Parks and Recreation Society’s (CPRS) 2004 Recreation and Park Training Conference.

The title of the course, "Fear and Trepidation” is an appropriate title for how some Recreation and Park professionals view the public participation process.

RJM led the group through a design workshop that focused on the greatest fears, benefits and methods for overcoming the perceived obstacles to public participation events. The workshop was a hands-on example of how a successful public participation workshop would be structured with the CPRS delegates as the subjects.

CPRS members create community through parks, programs, and people.

The course was a success and these summary results were posted on this web page as a resource for the workshop participants.

Workshop Activities
Consensus Results

• Discussion 1 -
  GREATEST FEAR
  
• 1. Lack of or no participation
  
• 2. Special interests / NIMBY domination
  
• 3. Lake of support

• Discussion 2 -
  BENEFITS
  
• 1. Ownership
  
• 2. Support for funding / future programs
  
• 3. Meetin actual unique needs of the community

• Discussion 3 -
  METHODS
  
• 1. Saturaion of information to the community / clear consistent message
  
• 2. Web site
  
• 3. Personal contact