Welcome and Introductions
David Bidwell of The Perspectives Group, facilitator for the task force, welcomed task force members to the meeting. Members and other attendees introduced themselves. David provided them with the report of the Fermilab Long Range Planning Committee, which contains more information about the laboratory’s priorities regarding the international effort to develop a linear collider. Task Force members also received an article about a public survey conducted by Fermilab in 2000. These documents are available at the Task Force Website (www.fermilabcommunity.org).

David reminded the group of discussions from the July task force meeting regarding the differences between public outreach and public participation. At that meeting, Judy Jackson stated that Fermilab is comfit dent about its public outreach program but needs help determining the best ways to handle public participation in laboratory decisions.

Public Participation Principles
At its July meeting, the task force decided it should develop public participation principles that would guide policies at Fermilab. At the end of that meeting, the task force brainstormed a list of concepts that could be included in these principles. Between meetings, task force members Tom Kowske and Steve Pawlowicz worked with David to draft a list of principles. Tom explained that he and Steve had reviewed a number of sample public participation principles from other organizations and had produced a set of potential principles for Fermilab. After discussing their ideas by conference call, the two lists were combined into one and distributed to the full task force. Tom stated that they wanted to develop a list of broad principles that could guide specific policies for how the laboratory approaches public participation. David explained that Tom and Steve also drafted a vision for public participation at Fermilab.

Draft Vision for Public Participation
Active engagement and support of all stakeholders is essential to achieve Fermilab’s goals. Fermilab believes that the ideas, interests and concerns of the local community, general public, employees, scientific community and other stakeholders must be considered in program planning and decision-making processes. Therefore, Fermilab provides these stakeholders opportunities to provide input on decisions that could affect their lives and communities. These opportunities for participation reflect the magnitude of the issue and the needs of diverse stakeholders. Fermilab strives to integrate its Principles for Public Participation into all of its operations and to advocate for these principles in its collaborations with other organizations and entities.

Draft Principles for Public Participation
1. Stakeholders should have opportunities to influence decisions that could affect their lives and communities.
2. Input from stakeholders should be actively sought.
3. Participation of all interested stakeholders should be considered in the decision-making process.
4. Stakeholders should have a role in defining the scope of issues and decisions that require public participation.
5. Stakeholders should have a role in defining an appropriate process and strategies for a participation process.
6. Participation should occur early in the program planning process.
7. Openness and honesty are keys to successful participation.
8. Stakeholders should have access to understandable and user-friendly information.
9. Participation should seek consensus that will minimize disruption and maximize value to the stakeholder communities.
10. Diverse voices and viewpoints are a valuable part of the stakeholder communities, so there should be provisions in the process for dissenting views to be heard and documented.
11. Stakeholders should be provided with feedback regarding the results of a decision process and how their input affected the decision.
12. Participation is part of an overall effort to build and maintain trustful, mutually beneficial relationships with the stakeholder communities.

The group reviewed the draft vision and suggested revisions. Members agreed that it was important to be explicit about who are the stakeholders for Fermilab. They also suggested the vision recognize that national and international stakeholders have a significant cant influence on Fermilab decision making. The group acknowledged that national and global interests are sometimes at odds with local values. The group decided that the work of the task force should focus on how to ensure there are opportunities for local stakeholders to influence decisions made by the laboratory. Task force members noted that for off-site Fermilab projects, the lab should seek input from the stakeholders in those areas that are directly impacted by the project. David stated that the scope of each project would help define who is a local stakeholder.

The members discussed the need to recommend policies that would help Fermilab achieve this public participation vision. Members clarified ed that the task force should develop general policies but not specific processes or procedures, because it is impossible to anticipate every situation that could arise.

There was some debate regarding the wording used in the principles, specifically regarding the use of “should.” Some members thought that the principles should sound more prescriptive, while other believed the language should be more active and describe an ideal circumstance. David noted that advisory groups often struggle over the tone of recommendations. He suggested that the principles be revised using a more active approach, with an understanding that the task force can consider other formats in the future.

The task force discussed several of the draft principles and potential policies that would support those principles. Major discussion points are listed below:

• Fermilab will have to assess each situation to determine how best to identify and reach stakeholders.
• The lab must directly approach stakeholders that will be impacted by projects, rather than requiring those stakeholders to investigate current projects and impending decisions.
• Contractors who implement laboratory projects could influence public participation efforts. For example, the contractors on the MINOS project did not conform with construction schedules that were publicized to the community.
• Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Environmental Impact Statements are required for most Fermilab projects. This process requires notification and public comment periods.
• The public should be provided with regular updates and opportunities to provide input throughout a project. Participation cannot only occur at the outset of planning for a project.
• The laboratory needs a mechanism or mechanisms for the public to provide input on how to conduct public participation for specific projects or decisions.
• There must be a process through which the laboratory can identify projects and decisions for which participation is needed. Likewise, there needs to be an opportunity for the public to let the laboratory know the issues on which they would like to provide input.
• There are a wide variety of methods for getting public input, from small informal meetings to large public events.
• Stakeholders can be involved in conceptual stages of a project, to help Fermilab understand what types of concerns might arise and what types of participation should be included in the planning process.
• It may be difficult cult for the public to provide input on a project until it moves beyond the conceptual level.
  Stakeholders should be able to understand the scope of the project and its potential impacts.
• Participation should occur when there are still opportunities for a project to change. The public should not be able to comment only on decisions that have already been made.
• The laboratory must be careful in its communications to not create an impression that decisions are further along than they are.
• Technical constraints sometimes limit how much a project can be changed. Fermilab must communicate these constraints to the public.
• During the lifecycle of a project, Fermilab should continually evaluate whether stakeholder needs are being considered and what could be gained through public participation.
• Municipalities need to know Fermilab’s long-term plans, so they can better plan for future development and land use.
• It is important to recognize that potential impacts perceived by the public might be very different from the impacts anticipated by scientists. Likewise, different stakeholders define value in different ways.
• Openness and honesty are core values that determine the success of the other public participation principles.
• Even strong supporters of the laboratory and its work can have serious concerns about personal impacts that might result from its projects.
• Fermilab must be cautious about raising hopes and concerns about projects that are not likely to be implemented.
• Fermilab needs to ensure that knowledgeable guidance is available for its public participation efforts.

During the conversation, there were several specific questions about a potential linear collider project.
Representatives of the laboratory assured the task force that there are no definitive plans or routes for a collider, but Fermilab is an active participant in the international effort to define the parameters for this project. Task force members urged public participation and outreach in the earliest phases of this initiative.

Next Steps
David will revise the principles and distribute them to the task force members for their review and comment. The task force should give specific attention to identifying principles that might be missing from the current list.

John Fildes, Alan Gard, and Steve Pawlowicz will work with David to generate ideas for policies that could help Fermilab live up to these principles. David will start this process by documenting some of the ideas that were discussed during this meeting. Draft ideas should be distributed to the full group with ample time for them to review them prior to the September meeting.

Task force members encouraged Fermilab employees to attend the meetings and provide input to the group.

Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Fermilab Task Force on Public Participation is Tuesday, September 28, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at Fermilab’s Wilson Hall.