Konheim & Ketcham Qualifications – Community Outreach / Public Participation

Services Offered: Citizen Advisory Committee Support Community / Public Outreach Programs Surveys Newsletters Slide Presentations Public Information Materials Executive Summaries Public Presentations Press Briefings Graphics Production	What is the best way to explain the concept of "risk" to the people in an agricultural community near Vancouver, British Columbia who are considering a resource recovery facility? How should the scope of work for a solid waste plan for Milwaukee be revised to respond to the priorities of a citizen advisory committee? What does the press in Portland, Maine need to know about a permit application for a proposed waste-to-energy plant? Who can best respond to the concerns of the Seattle City Council about the health and environmental impacts of resource recovery systems? How can graphics be used in a newsletter to illustrate clean up of contamination of an aquifer under a landfill in Babylon, NY? The most reliable prediction one can make about every major project today is that it will generate public controversy. When opinions are formed in the absence of accurate information about a proposal and its effects, the momentum can topple the best intentioned plans, either politically or in the courts. This is often an expression of public frustration about influencing actions that are viewed as a threat to an existing quality of life. Konheim & Ketcham maintains that informed citizen participation in planning and reviewing proposals can lessen public mistrust and result in better projects. This principle grows out of years of environmental advocacy by the firm's principals and from our experience in the development of more than 25 of some of the most contested types of projects--facilities that burn municipal and medical waste. In such projects, Konheim & Ketcham has represented facility developers, municipal and county governments and citizens advisory committees. The common element of all our work is objective, technically correct, understandable information that is genuinely responsive to public concerns. The firm advises project sponsors about methods of site selection, and informing and involving the public during the planning and permitting process. We provide support services to citizens' oversight groups, prepare newsletters and other materials, organize meetings with community groups and individual leaders, produce audio-visual materials, and make presentations. The credibility of these efforts is enhanced by the firm's familiarity with the technical basis of the issues under discussion. Communicating the significance of the potential risk of an action is a special expertise, born out of managing, participating in or critiquing numerous health risk assessments. We emphasize approaches to make the process more meaningful to decision makers who must act on the results. The firm's president, Carolyn Konheim, has presented papers on this subject at several national and international forums and has published widely on the need for effective public involvement. Frequently, we use our experience and current knowledge of the technical aspects of the issues at hand to assist local public affairs firms in carrying out programs. The central consideration is that public outreach is an important aspect of successful projects.

Services Offered:

Citizen Advisory
Committee Support

Community / Public
Outreach Programs

Surveys

Newsletters

Slide Presentations

Public Information Materials

Executive Summaries

Public Presentations

Press Briefings

Graphics Production

What is the best way to explain the concept of "risk" to the people in an agricultural community near Vancouver, British Columbia who are considering a resource recovery facility?
How should the scope of work for a solid waste plan for Milwaukee be revised to respond to the priorities of a citizen advisory committee?
What does the press in Portland, Maine need to know about a permit application for a proposed waste-to-energy plant?
Who can best respond to the concerns of the Seattle City Council about the health and environmental impacts of resource recovery systems?
How can graphics be used in a newsletter to illustrate clean up of contamination of an aquifer under a landfill in Babylon, NY?
The most reliable prediction one can make about every major project today is that it will generate public controversy. When opinions are formed in the absence of accurate information about a proposal and its effects, the momentum can topple the best intentioned plans, either politically or in the courts. This is often an expression of public frustration about influencing actions that are viewed as a threat to an existing quality of life.

Konheim & Ketcham maintains that informed citizen participation in planning and reviewing proposals can lessen public mistrust and result in better projects.

This principle grows out of years of environmental advocacy by the firm's principals and from our experience in the development of more than 25 of some of the most contested types of projects--facilities that burn municipal and medical waste.

In such projects, Konheim & Ketcham has represented facility developers, municipal and county governments and citizens advisory committees. The common element of all our work is objective, technically correct, understandable information that is genuinely responsive to public concerns.

The firm advises project sponsors about methods of site selection, and informing and involving the public during the planning and permitting process. We provide support services to citizens' oversight groups, prepare newsletters and other materials, organize meetings with community groups and individual leaders, produce audio-visual materials, and make presentations. The credibility of these efforts is enhanced by the firm's familiarity with the technical basis of the issues under discussion.

Communicating the significance of the potential risk of an action is a special expertise, born out of managing, participating in or critiquing numerous health risk assessments. We emphasize approaches to make the process more meaningful to decision makers who must act on the results.

The firm's president, Carolyn Konheim, has presented papers on this subject at several national and international forums and has published widely on the need for effective public involvement.

Frequently, we use our experience and current knowledge of the technical aspects of the issues at hand to assist local public affairs firms in carrying out programs. The central consideration is that public outreach is an important aspect of successful projects.