Multi-Stakeholder Mediation: Improving the Practice of Deliberative Public Engagement

Lawrence Susskind ()
Additional contact information
Lawrence Susskind: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Urban Studies and Planning

A chapter in Fairness and Competence in Citizen Participation, 2025, pp 245-262 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract There is a long history of public engagement in local decision-making in the United States. The way this has usually been done, however, has provided insufficient opportunities for citizens to actually shape decisions. Merely giving the public a chance to express its views is not enough. Stakeholders need to be part of a dialogue that leads to agreements that all sides can support. In recent decades, new forms of deliberative public engagement have produced better results. The addition of a neutral facilitator or mediator has made all the difference. In this chapter, an experienced practitioner reviews efforts to resolve public disputes over the siting of renewable energy facilities. His findings are encouraging. Multi-stakeholder mediation has generated deliberative public engagement, guaranteeing stakeholders a place at the table. The next step is to guarantee that all public engagement efforts are assisted by professional mediators. The results are likely to be fairer (in the eyes of those effected), lead to agreements implemented quickly (saving time and money), and guarantee that scientific and technical information is taken seriously.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:rischp:978-3-032-02302-5_14

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783032023025

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-02302-5_14

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Risk, Governance and Society from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().