Successful transport decision-making - Osmose

Vol 2 - Table of Contents Next Practical information
Who participates and how?
Planning a community visit or study tour
This page provides advice on things that you need to think about when you are planning a community visit or study tour. Key
issues include when you should hold your event, who to invite and what you need to tell them in advance.
Who to invite
A community visit or study tour should have a cross-section
of people with different backgrounds, interests and expertise.
This could include local politicians and transport industry
professionals and members of local interest groups such as
residents associations. You will usually invite a selection of
individuals, rather than publicising the event more widely.
Check how many people you can guide around the site. If
necessary split into smaller groups.
Tell visitors in advance:
Why you are arranging a visit.
Where the visit will take place.
Why you have chosen to invite them.
Which other groups or individuals have been invited.
What the timetable for the visit is (including travel and
any contingency plans for bad weather, etc).
What refreshments (and accommodation) will be
provided.
What they need to bring (and what you will provide).
What opportunities they will have to ask questions or
make comments.
How discussions on the day will influence the decisionmaking
process.
On the day:
Make sure that everyone is fully aware of any specific
safety issues.
Assessing a community visit or study tour
BEFORE DURING AFTER
Is the purpose of the visit/tour clearly Do people understand what changes are
defined? Do you know what you want to planned, and what they will be seeing
achieve? Do participants clearly know the during the visit/tour? Do people
purpose of the visit? Do they know why they understand their role in the visit/tour?
are attending? How will the outcomes of the
visit/tour contribute to the project?
Choosing a time and date
Think about what you want to show the visitors. For example,
if you want to demonstrate severe congestion which your
project aims to address, arrange the visit to coincide with
busier times of day. Don’t arrange a community visit if the
weather is likely to be too hot or too cold to comfortably spend
time outdoors.
Arranging a place to meet
Think carefully about where you start your visit/tour. Choose a
location which is easily accessible by public transport and give
a precise meeting point (not ‘outside the station’ or ‘in the main
square’). Also bear in mind that some people will arrive early
or late, so try to choose a meeting place with a comfortable
waiting area, with toilets and refreshment facilities. It may be
appropriate to start with an indoor briefing session, before
travelling by bus or on foot to the site. If you choose this option,
tell people beforehand how the journey will be made, and what
the arrangements are for the return trip.
Were people given enough information
about the study area prior to and during the
visit? Are they better informed to make
decisions and provide feedback? Do they
know the advantages and disadvantages of
changes and what the impacts will be?
Community visits and study tours are suitable for a
wide range of people. It may be better, however, to
hold different visits/tours for different types of interest
groups; for example, residents/resident associations,
local politicians and media, government organisations
and other stakeholders.
How much does it cost?
The cost of the community visit may depend on where
people live and work in relation to the study area.
Some costs may be incurred if transport is required to
take people to the study area. Other costs could
include the information pack, the provision of lunch
and possible payment for attendance. Costs will be
substantially higher for a study tour to another area,
as the project would normally be expected to cover
travel and accommodation costs, particularly for local
residents and other voluntary groups.
What skills are required?
The guide should be knowledgeable about the study
area and be able to mediate and facilitate discussion
if necessary. If a study tour involves an overseas visit,
he/she should be fluent in the local language.
How is it used with other techniques?
A community visit can be used at the start of a
workshop (if near the study area) to give people an
overview of the area and the local problems, prior to
working through the issues in detail. In the case of a
study tour, it is often useful to hold a follow-up meeting
of participants a few days after the trip, once they
have had time to reflect on what they have seen and
heard, to discuss its relevance to the local situation.
What are the drawbacks?
Day long community visits or longer study tours may
be inconvenient for some people, especially if
arranged during the week, when people are working.
Costs may make the activity expensive to run.
T17
117