 |
It
is a balanced consideration of all issues, including special interest
concerns, project feasibility issues, and the best interests of the
community as a whole. |
|
It
is
an open, credible, process that is observable and produces results that
are considered fairly arrived at by all parties.
Through media coverage, it allows the entire community to obtain
credible information that considers all of the issues involved. Properly
done, it creates community support for an infrastructure plan. |
|
It
can
be accomplished within a limited time frame. |
What
is Required for a Successful Deliberative Poll® ?
A
critical attribute of a successful Deliberative Poll® is credibility; with
special interests, with the media, with client management, and, ultimately, with
the public. In order for a Deliberative Poll® to achieve credibility as an
unbiased public consideration of the facts a credible independent firm must be
engaged to conduct it.
This
requires that the independent firm demonstrate expertise, experience, and
integrity in achieving an unbiased result. It must be able to demonstrate
that participants have been selected in an unbiased manner and are
representative of the community as a whole. The firm must be able to work
with representatives of different interests, whose agendas may be conflicting,
to obtain consensus on a fair and balanced presentation of the facts and issues
to participants and consensus on a fair measurement of participants informed
opinions after deliberation.
An
equally important attribute is that the event be properly structured to lead
to a useful conclusion, a finding that will move the project forward in a
direction that will have public support. This finding must be credible.
That is why it is obtained using a survey and statistical analysis by
independent social scientists.
How
Did Deliberative Polling Evolve?
Deliberative
Polling® was developed by Jim Fishkin, former Chairman of the Government
Department at the University of Texas, now head of the Center for Deliberative
Democracy at Stanford University. It was first used internationally with
two experiments funded by Channel 4 in Great Britain. The first poll
considered crime in Great Britain, and the second considered international
issues. The first U.S. trial, in January, 1996, was the National Issues
Convention, featuring presidential aspirants and broadcast on PBS by the
McNeil-Lehrer Newshour.
The
Guild Group, in partnership with Dennis Thomas, former chairman of the Texas
Public Utility Commission and Ron Laird, former chairman of the Public Utility
Commission of Colorado, pioneered this process for infrastructure planning in
1996, to assist Central Power and Light in their resource planning process for
the Corpus Christi area. The project was so successful that we have
conducted subsequent utility polls for West Texas Utilities, Southwestern
Electric Power Co., El Paso Electric, Entergy Gulf States, Houston Lighting and
Power, Texas Utilities, and the Nebraska Public Power District. Our most
recent Deliberative Poll® client in the utility industry was Nova Scotia
Power, a Canadian firm, for whom we, again, focused on issues related to
electric generation.
The
Guild Group was engaged by Yale University to assist in a New Haven, Connecticut
deliberation of the future of the regional airport and local tax issues
and is currently working with Yale University and the New Haven Community
Foundation on another Deliberative Polling® project.
We
are currently working with the Texas Transportation Institute, the Texas
Department of Transportation, and DMJM + Harris, Inc. on a regional planning
process for highway construction in central Texas.
What
Results Have Been Achieved with Commercial Deliberative Polls®?
All
of the utility polls were hugely successful from the perspectives of the
customers, the regulators, and utility company management. Each poll had a
number of observers, including utility management and board members, public
officials, the media, regulators, and interested citizens, who attended to
listen to the customer participants. Members of all constituencies praised
the process and the results had a major impact on the resource mix used by the
utilities involved. The results also influenced the regulatory and
legislative processes related to utility resource acquisition.
Return to top
Related
Articles in PDF format
| Listening
to Customers: How Deliberative Polling Helped build 1,000 MW of New Renewable
Projects in Texas, (National
Renewable Energy Laboratory, June 2003/TP-620-33177) |
 |
| 21st
Century Polling, Public Power Magazine, March-April 2004 |
|
| Why
Deliberative Polling Can Provide a Superior Solution for Public Input, Will
Guild, Ph.D., Robert Guild, C.P.A.
|
|
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