History of Shared Vision Planning

Historical Context

Shared Vision Planning involves the concept of public involvement in decision making at its core. Public involvement has progressed through four identifiable eras in the U.S. Most water agencies are in the third or fourth era today. Shared Vision Planning is a characteristic of the fourth era of public involvement.

I.  Era of Closed Participation. Arthur Maas wrote about the "iron triangles in Congress" in 1951. The triangle points were large water utilities, federal development agencies and Congressional committees. This era was characterized by one-way communication to sell plans and gain support.

II.  The Era of Maximum Feasible Participation. This era started after World War II with more interest in the environment and legal requirements for public participation. But the goal was still largely to inform (one way) and relied heavily on formal proceedings, such as public hearings.

III.  Era of Environmentalism.   This era produced a set of laws requiring public involvement: the National Environmental Protection Act, 1969 (NEPA), Clean Water Act, 1972 (CWA), and Principles and Standards, 1973 (P&S). NEPA requires Environmental Assessments (EAs) or Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for federal water decisions, developed by interdisciplinary teams, to provide opportunity for public review and comment. This was the era of full disclosure, but stakeholder and regulatory agency involvement still came at the end of the process, when plans could not be changed significantly.

IV.  Era of Collaborative Decision Building. After three decades of experimentation, effective involvement is now thought to require two-way communication, all major players involved from beginning to end, informal deliberation and representation of all interests.

Reviewed 13 Feb 2009

History of Shared Vision Planning

History of Shared Vision Planning in the Army Corps of Engineers