Public Involvement
Transportation practitioners have the power and obligation to incorporate the voices of their communities in transportation decision-making. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) developed Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making to help funding recipients meaningfully involve the public in various stages of transportation decision-making and build their organizational capacity to do so. Public involvement from the beginning and throughout a project’s lifecycle has the potential to help projects come to life faster and to better meet the needs of the community. This set of promising practices provides a shared definition of meaningful public involvement and promising practices to help address barriers to inclusion in transportation decision-making. DOT released version 2 of the document on November 8, 2023.
What is Meaningful Public Involvement?
The Department defines meaningful public involvement as a process that proactively seeks full representation from the community, considers public comments and feedback, and incorporates that feedback into a project, program, or plan. The impact of community contributions encourages early and continuous public involvement and brings diverse viewpoints and values into the transportation decision-making process. This process enables the community and agencies to make better-informed decisions through collaborative efforts.
Provide Feedback
The Department considers this resource a living document and welcomes feedback and real-life examples of funding recipients that have been able to implement these practices. We are accepting public comments on the document via docket DOT-OST-2022-0115 to inform potential future updates. When submitting feedback, please specify the relevant page number(s). When submitting a real-life example of meaningful public involvement using these and other techniques, please include the following information:
- Name of organization that conducted the public involvement
- Technique(s) used
- Intended audience
- When the outreach occurred (e.g., Spring 2021)
- Description of outreach (How was the technique used? What was the outcome? How did you know it was successful?)
- Link to webpage with more information
- Contact information
FAQs
As discussed in the document, public involvement costs should be included in project budgets. They can also be supported through other Federal formula funds that State departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, or transit agencies may receive. On the DOT Navigator, you can find frequently asked questions (FAQs) to help you understand what types of costs may be eligible for public involvement activities.
Events and Trainings
Upcoming Events
Check back here for information on upcoming trainings!
Past Events
September 23, 2024 Virtual Training
On September 23, 2024 DOT hosted a training focused on meaningful public involvement approaches, techniques, and examples in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The training provided an overview of key public involvement concepts, approaches, and strategies from DOT’s Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making.
June 14, 2024 Virtual Training
On June 14, 2024 DOT hosted a second Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-making Virtual Training. Facilitated by DOT Civil Rights specialists, this training introduced key Civil Rights principles, including Title VI, and drew from examples that address Civil Rights compliance in the transportation decision-making process. The training provided an overview of key public involvement concepts, approaches, and strategies from DOT’s Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making.
March 6, 2024 Virtual Training
On March 6, 2024, DOT hosted a public Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-making Virtual Training for nearly 200 participants. The training provided an in-depth overview of the guide, including key considerations, approaches, and techniques. The training also provided opportunities for group engagement and discussion to share success stories and experiences in public engagement. View the presentation slides from the March 6 training.
Pilot Training
In Fall 2022, USDOT hosted virtual pilot training sessions for practitioners to learn more about the document and how it may support your related work. We appreciate feedback received from our pilot training participants and interest from others who joined the wait list for future trainings. DOT plans to host quarterly trainings starting in 2024. This page will be updated with training dates and registration information when available, and we will contact individuals from the wait list.
Please send any related questions to equity@dot.gov with subject “Public Involvement Training.”