Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Participatory Program Development Project

From July to September 2014, researchers from the Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, and personnel from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency advanced efforts to integrate the Social Measures Monitoring System (SMMS, Davenport, 2013) and the MPCA Participatory Program Development Project (PPDP) project and program management resources. This integration requires an application of social science assessment principles and methodologies drawn from current bodies of knowledge and standards of practice in both the basic (e.g. psychology and sociology) and applied (e.g., human dimensions of natural resources) social sciences. The PPDP Project Management Worksheet guides project teams in planning public participation implementation using an array of social science-based activities including critical thinking exercises, worksheets and sample measures menus.