How do you set up and implement a good participation process and also involve the “quieter” voices? How do you effectively promote a participation format and also use the opportunities offered by the digital space? These were the fundamental questions of the “Participation in sustainable mobility planning” training program for municipal stakeholders in Hesse.
On a total of four dates, employees from Hessian municipalities and districts were able to receive professional training on the topic of citizen participation in mobility planning.
The event was hosted by the Hessian Center for Sustainable Mobility Planning, which supports Hessian municipalities and districts in all aspects of sustainable, integrated mobility planning. Participatory planning is a focus area in this context.
The aim of the training courses was to provide participants with significant support in designing and implementing their participation processes. The focus was on imparting basic theoretical knowledge paired with an interactive practical component and the exchange of experiences.
The following topics were covered:
- Part 1: Recommendations for a successful participation process and inclusion of “quieter” voices
- Part 2: Successful promotion and marketing of participation processes and the use of digital participation opportunities
The training units, which were spread over two full days each, were held in Hanau (11.10. and 18.10.) or Marburg (12.10. and 19.10.). This ensured good accessibility for participants from urban and suburban areas as well as for participants from rural areas.
Expert speakers at the training sessions were Dr. Sonja Rube from USP Projekte GmbH(recommendations for a successful participation process), Ms. Annerose Hörter from 4K | Kommunikation für Klimaschutz(promotion of participation processes) and Mr. Christoph Okpue from ontopica GmbH (digital participation).
A key component of the advice and support offered by the specialist center is the so-called online method kit, which contains various participation methods and tips on how to use them. The method kit only recently went live and is an important element of the content of the training courses.
The training series met with a positive response from all participants – not least because, in addition to the opportunity to learn, there was also the chance to network. The mutual exchange of experiences was highly valued by the participants.
aconium was responsible for the conception, moderation and documentation of the training formats as well as for the development of the content components of the online method kit.
Background
The training courses and the online method kit are measures that are part of a so-called action plan for Hesse, which was developed as part of the Interreg project e-smartec. In the e-smartec project, nine European partners are working on improving their participation processes for sustainable mobility planning. aconium is providing technical advice and support to the Fachzentrum Nachhaltige Mobilitätsplanung Hessen, which is acting as a project partner for the state of Hesse within the framework of e-smartec.