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AUTHOR Weeks, Edward C.; And Others TITLE Citizen Participation in Policy Formation: A Review of Roberts' Conversation with . INSTITUTION Oregon Univ., Eugene. Center for Advanced Technology in Education. REPORT NO ISBN-8-87114-179-5 PUB DATE 92 NOTE 92p.; Funding also received from the Northwest Area Foundation. AVAILABLE FROMCenter for Advanced Technology in Education, College of Education, Eugene, OR 97403-1215. PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical,(143)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Citizen Participation; Elementary Secondary Education; Government Role; Higher Education; Interaction; Mass Instruction; Participative Decision Making; *Policy Formation; *Public Opinion; School Taxes; Social Science Research; *State Government; Surveys; *Telecommunications IDENTIFIERS Ed Net; *Oregon; Roberts (Barbara)

ABSTRACT This document presents the results of a survey of Oregon voters, polling those who did and those who did not participate in a series of meetings using the state's interactive telecommunications network, Ed-Net. The meetiAgs were part of a project in deliberative democracy called a Conversation with Oregon, launched by Governor to address a fiscal crisis in state government. Governor Roberts conducted 32 Ed-Net telecast sessions, reaching 10,000 randomly selected persistent voters in 900 local meetings throughout the state during November and early December. In the Conversation and Ed-Net meetings the Govenor discussed with voters appropriate levels of government services and how to pay for those services. The conversation and especially the Ed-Net meetings were an unprecedented effort to use modern, interactive communications technology to involve large numbers of citizens in the deliberative process of public policy meetings. This report describes the Conversation with Oregon, and documents the extent to which the Ed-Net Meetings succeeded in opening up constructive communication. The voter survey and analysis showed (1) the conversation succeeded in calling together a broad cross section of the state's most persistent voters;(2) the planning and operation of the Ed-Net meetings successfully involved many individuals and organizations in new roles;(3) the meetings significantly increased participants' grasp of basic facts about state finances; (4) persistent voters exhibited a skeptical attitude toward government and politicians that is not changed easily; and (5) though the fiscal crisis remains unresolved, the Conversation succeeded in opening a channel of communication between the governor and voters. (DK) VIr AAA

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sl UNIVERSITY 4,1ST COPY AVAILABLE OF OREGON Eugene, Oregon Citizen Participation in Policy Formation:

A REVIEW OF GOVERNOR ROBERTS' CONVERSATION WITH OREGON

Edward C. Weeks Margaret Ha flock James B. Lemert Bruce McKinlay

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON Eugene, Oregon 1992

3 CI:IZEN PARTICIPATION IN POLICY FORMATION

THE RESEARCH TEAM

This study was conducted by Bruce McKinlay, associate professor and director, faculty experienced in research, administration, Center for Advanced Technology in Education. and policy making. Members worked as an informal, Developer of computer-based career information interdisciplinary research team. systems and research on information systems in education and social services. M. D. Gall, professor, College of Education. Specialist in instructional methods, research Edward C. Weeks, associate professor, Department design, and program evaluation. of Planning, Public Policy and Management, and director, graduate program in public affairs. Margaret Hal lock, professor and director, Labor Research director for Eugene City Council's Education and Research Center. Chancellor's Eugene Decisions citizen surveys and research liaison to the Conversation with Oregon for the on social consequences of publicpolicy. State System of Higher Education. David Edwards, Jean Nelson, Akilino Susaia, Carl Hosticka, associate professor, Department of research assistants, Department of Planning, Planning, Public Policy and Management. Public Folicy and Management. Associate vice-president for statewide educa- tional services. Member of the Oregon State Funding for data collection and report publication Legislature. was provided by Office of the Vice-Presidentfor Research at the Universitf of Oregon and by the James B. Lemert, professor and director of graduate Northwest Area Foundation. Data were collected studies, School of Journalism. Author of books by MarStat, Incorporated. on mass media and public opinion and on news media performance in presidential campaigns, The Center for Advanced Technology in Education including pioneering work in the scholarly use provided coordination and project management. of exit polls. A CONVERSATION WITH OREGON iii

PREFACE

This study was initiated by University of Oregon funds to initiate the pre-Conversation survey of faculty members who recogMzed that the Conversa t ion participants. The Northwest Area Foundation w ith Oregon provided a unique opportunity to examine followed through, on similarly short notice, with two aspects of modem democracy, an expanded role for funding for the post-Conversation survey and the citizens in policy development and the place of crucial survey of nonparticipants. Recognizing the interactive communications technology in strength- potential audience for a report of the Oregon ening public participation. experience, the Northwest Area Foundation also Several, organizations contributed to this project. provided funds for editing and printing this report. First, staff members in the governor's office assisted The Conversation with Oregon obviously raises in obtaining random survey lists of persistent voters; many questions, both political and technical, beyond that technical role, they remained besides those addressed here. The data and other independent of the study. On short notice, the information acquired for this project are available university's vice-president for research provided for further research into those questions.

0 iv CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN POLICY FORMATION

CONTENTS

The Research Team ii Do Conversation Participants Believe the Preface iii Governor Heard What They Said? 19 Table of Contents iv The Governor's State of the State List of Tables Speech 20 List of Figures vi How Did the Conversation Affect the Participants ? 21 Executive Summary vii What did Participants Learn? 22 Introduction 1 Changes in Opinions about Government Oregon's Tax Limitation (Measure 5) 1 and Politicians 22 Responding to Measure 5 1 Changes in Opinion about Response to The Conversation with Oregon 2 Measure 5 23 Ed-Net Meetings: Overview 2 Civic Activation 23 Ed-Net Meetings: Facilities, Logistics, Postscript 25 and Agenda 3 Reaction to the Gover