Many situations may call for some form of public participation. Since each is unique with regard to its context, objectives and audience, the participation program must consider these specific circumstances. Careful program design is the key to success; in fact, a poorly designed program may be worse than no participation at all. An effective participation program can not be constructed unless the following key activities have been completed:

	Important milestones in the project or program have been identified.  These represent decision points when participation or collaboration  is most critical for decision making.
	The project's budget and staffing have been evaluated with regard  to any limits these might place on participation. Available resources  will determine what role(s) citizens will/should play in program  planning, implementation, and evaluation.
	A profile of interested parties has been developed. This includes  key decision makers, important stakeholders and others in the  community who should be involved in planning, problem solving  and decision making. Particular attention has been given to the  identification of underrepresented stakeholders.
	Other opportunities for or obstacles to participation (if any) have  been considered.

The results of the above activities then determine the tools and practices [link to tools and practices page] that will be employed in the participation program, and whether the program will be designed to:

	organize the community and build its capacity for problem solving
	inform stakeholders of problems, processes and decisions
	involve stakeholders in planning and problem solving
	create new partnerships and new processes for decision making.

Among other things, program design should consider what information will be needed, both by planners and by participants and other interested parties.

Finally, it is important to consider how the process itself will be documented and how these results will be integrated into decisions. A plan for program evaluation is essential, and must be in place at the time of program start-up, not only as a way to decide whether this specific program has been successful, but also as an aid in the development of new processes and programs.