Public Participation Program
The California Water Boards have created a new public participation program to strengthen our efforts at involving the public in our decision-making processes.
To build this program, the Water Boards prepared a needs assessment to evaluate our current public involvement practices, and provide recommendations on how to improve upon our work with the public.
Based on this needs assessment, the organization plans to prioritize and support the integration of new public participation strategies into project work and to ensure that efforts are standardized throughout the state. Currently, the Water Board is training staff on enhanced public participation processes and is developing a guidance manual to help staff use these new strategies and tools in their work. Our public affairs office will also be assisting staff in designing and implementing effective stakeholder involvement processes.
Visit this page periodically to learn more about our developing program, and please contact us at info@waterboards.ca.gov if you have any questions or comments. Get more information at the Office of Public Participation webpage.
- Needs Assessment
This needs assessment was prepared for the Water Boards by the Center for Collaborative Policy of California State University-Sacramento, in partnership with University of California, Davis Extension. It was developed to assess the strengths and weaknesses of our current public involvement practices, and to help us in the development of additional tools to help staff design, conduct and integrate public involvement activities into regulatory and program work. - Draft Public Participation Policy
Created by the California Environmental Protection Agency to provide guidance to agency boards, offices and departments on implementing public participation programs.