Participatory processes for designing environmental policies

How can and should risk managers incorporate public preferences, integrate public input into the management process, and assign the appropriate roles to technical experts, stakeholders and members of the public? Which trade-offs should be used for risk management? Which concerns should be adopted in decisions that may determine life or death of many people? This paper discusses the potential of and requirements for an analytic-deliberative decision-making process in the field of risk management. It addresses the challenges for making public deliberation a part of the risk management process. Moreover, it articulates the requirements for integrating analytic reasoning with deliberation and interpretation. As a result of these requirements, a model of participation is developed that attempts to meet the two major objectives: to enhance competence in the decision-making process and to assign responsibility in managing risks to those who will be affected by the potential consequences.