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Public Involvement

Image of the cover of Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-MakingTransportation 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?

Circular graphic depicting the meaningful public involvement process: 1. Understand community demographics 2. Build durable community relationships 3. Understand community wants and needs 4. Involve broad representation of community 5. Use community-preferred engagement techniques 6. Document and share community's impact on decisionsThe 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.

 

MPI Tips Toolbox

The resources below are part of the DOT Meaningful Public Involvement (MPI) Toolbox Series and based on the Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making document. They can help you incorporate MPI into your project.

  • Features of Meaningful Public Involvement can help you understand common features of MPI and incorporate MPI into your project.
  • Identifying Engagement Techniques can help you develop and continuously maintain a Community Participation Plan (CPP) for your project.
  • Improving Access and Accessibility provides prompt questions to help you consider how to increase public involvement in your project by broadening access and meeting your community’s specific needs.
  • Using Federal Funds for Public Involvement can help you think through whether costs related to your public involvement activity could be an eligible use of grant funds under Federal regulations (2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E) based on whether they are necessary, reasonable, and allocable. 

 

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.”

Last updated: Thursday, December 12, 2024