Purpose
The purpose of the Fermilab Community Task Force on Public Participation (Task Force) is to develop a set of mutual expectations for how Fermilab and the community will interact on issues that affect them both.

Who will be Involved in the Task Force?
Fermilab is seeking 20 to 25 community members to serve on the task force. The laboratory is giving special attention to assembling a group that represents the diverse interests of people who live and work in DuPage, Kane, and DeKalb counties. Members will include residents from neighborhoods adjoining the laboratory, community activists, business leaders, educators, elected officials, and Fermilab employees.

The task force will be coordinated by Fermilab Public Affairs, in coordination with partners from ICAR and Northern Illinois University. An independent consultant with extensive experience managing advisory groups has been hired to provide facilitation support for the task force.

The task force is funded by Fermilab and ICAR. ICAR is a state-funded, not-for-profit collaboration of five university physics departments (Illinois Institute of Technology, Northern Illinois University, Northwestern University, University of Chicago and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) with a mission of promoting university-based accelerator research and the importance of frontier physics in Illinois.

Scope
The input provided by the Task Force will help Fermilab put appropriate public participation mechanisms in place and know when to use them. Fermilab is asking the Task Force to provide three types of advice:

• Guidelines that Fermilab can use to identify the types of issues that need community interaction
• Recommendations for how Fermilab and the community should interact, based on the type of issue being addressed
• Recommendations for how Fermilab should keep the community informed about these types of issues

Expected Outcomes
The Task Force is expected to produce a final report of its recommendations by December 2004. Fermilab will use Task Force recommendations to develop a comprehensive policy for public participation, incorporating community desires and concerns to the maximum extent possible.

Membership
The Task Force will be composed of no more than 25 stakeholders who live and/or work in DuPage, Kane, and DeKalb Counties in Illinois. These stakeholders serve as individuals, rather than as representatives of specific organizations; however, the members were intentionally selected for their diverse knowledge, views, and experience.

Representatives of the DuPage, Kane, and DeKalb County Boards have been asked to serve on the task force, as well as mayors of Batavia and Warrenville. It is understood that these members will serve as individuals, but they represent the interests of the municipalities for which they serve.

A representative of the U.S. Department of Energy will serve as an ex-officio member of the Task Force. This ex-officio member will contribute fully in discussions but will not participate in decision making.

In the event that the Task Force becomes aware that an important stakeholder voice is not represented on the group, with input from the current members, Fermilab may add new members to the Task Force.

If determined necessary, the Task Force may institute a Chair or Steering Committee, to provide leadership to the group.

Task Force Meetings
The Task Force will meet once per month. Meetings will be scheduled in advance, and an agenda will be distributed to the members at least one week prior to each meeting. Following each meeting, the facilitator will draft a summary of the meeting and distribute it to the Task Force members. This summary will highlight the major issues addressed by the Task Force and document decisions that are reached.

Task Force meetings will be open to the general public, and specific time for public comments will be added to each meeting agenda. Fermilab will notify the public of Task Force meetings via local media and the Internet.

Fermilab may videotape portions or the entirety of Task Force meetings, in order to document the decision-making process and facilitate greater understanding of the process by the general public.

Other Meetings and Events
To address specific topics or complete specific tasks, the Task Force may form subcommittees or work groups.

The Task Force may hold special public events, in an effort to provide information to the general public and/or receive input on its recommendations. Likewise, the Task Force may send representatives to meet with civic groups and other organizations in the community.

Decision Making
The Task Force shall strive to achieve consensus on all decisions and recommendations. Consensus is defined as a decision that all members can support.

On topics where consensus cannot be reached, the Task Force may choose to develop minority reports that identify unresolved issues and describe the range of opinions held among Task Force members.

Roles and Responsibilities
The following four subsections describe responsibilities and expectations for parties involved in the Task Force.

Responsibilities of Fermilab

• Fermilab will provide the funding and other support necessary for the Task Force to accomplish the tasks with which it has been charged.
• Fermilab will identify and provide the information necessary for the Task Force to fully understand and discuss issues related to public participation.
• Fermilab will conduct outreach to the media and general public in order to promote the Task Force process, notify the public of meetings, and get broader input on Task Force recommendations.

• Task Force members will participate fully in discussions and share their values and opinions with the group.
• Task Force members will search for solutions that are acceptable to all task force members.
• Task Force members are expected to attend all Task Force meetings. Two consecutive absences may result in revocation of membership in the Task Force.
• If a Task Force member misses a meeting, it is his or her responsibility to review the meeting summary and seek other means (e.g., calling another member) to "catch up" on what he or she missed.

• The Facilitator will provide expertise to Fermilab, in order to promote an effective Task Force process.
• The Facilitator will draft and distribute meeting agendas.
• The Facilitator will help the Task Force identify information resources that would assist in its decision making process and work with Fermilab to provide those information resources to the Public.
• The Facilitator will manage all full Task Force meetings, to ensure there is effective dialogue in which all members are able to voice their values and opinions.
• Following each Task Force meeting, the facilitator will prepare and distribute a meeting summary, which highlights the key issues discussed and record consensus decisions of the group.