(Cont.) In other words, the decision-making institutional framework has not evolved at a pace fast enough to provide adequate responses to the challenges brought by the new IT. My findings also illustrate how different actors in a decision-making process are constrained by these old frameworks to follow different planning paradigms, further emphasizing the need to adjust to the new technology reality. In this thesis, I present my hypothesis and research questions; the methodology I followed; the scientific traditions and bodies of literature that support this research; the case study and thesis experiment used to collect direct evidence; the analytical reasoning concerning the IT qualitative jump; the suggested research agenda for this domain; and the conclusions derived from this research, suggesting possible avenues to institutionalize some of the demonstrated IT-based improvements in public participation.

Federal agencies have taken steps to include the public in a wide range of environmental decisions. Although some form of public participation is often required by law, agencies usually have broad discretion about the extent of that involvement. Approaches vary widely, from holding public information-gathering meetings to forming advisory groups to actively including citizens in making and implementing decisions. Proponents of public participation argue that those who must live with the outcome of an environmental decision should have some influence on it. Critics maintain that public participation slows decision making and can lower its quality by including people unfamiliar with the science involved. This book concludes that, when done correctly, public participation improves the quality of federal agencies' decisions about the environment. Well-managed public involvement also increases the legitimacy of decisions in the eyes of those affected by them, which makes it more likely that the decisions will be implemented effectively. This book recommends that agencies recognize public participation as valuable to their objectives, not just as a formality required by the law. It details principles and approaches agencies can use to successfully involve the public.

As services provided by government have expanded over the past several decades, so inevitably, has bureaucracy--especially the corps of professional administrators in charge of programs ranging from health care to the maintenance of efficient transportation networks. Under pressure from reform groups to promote public accountability by involving citizens in the decision-making process, government has begun to place private citizens on many important health, education, transportation, and environmental planning bodies. This study of citizen participation and technocracy, written by twelve prominent specialists, provides the first comprehensive theoretical and empirical analyses of these recent developments and their impact on formulating, directing, and implementing public policies.