1. Informing People Through Outreach and Organization	Print Section 1C (565KB)
1.C - Providing Substantive Information and Establishing Methods of Communication 1.C.a - Mailing Lists 1.C.b - Public Information Materials 1.C.c - Key Person Interviews 1.C.d - Briefings 1.C.e - Video Techniques 1.C.f - Telephone Techniques 1.C.g - Media Strategies 1.C.h - Speakers' Bureaus and Public Involvement Volunteers	1. Introduction 1.A 1.B 1.C 1.D

1.C.b - Public Information Materials

What are public information materials?

Public information materials are materials that provide information about a transportation investment that is underway or in the planning stage. They are usually printed but sometimes are video or tactile. Public information materials are an essential form of communication in any public involvement process. The substance of the materials can be factual, present a point of view, or in some instances be legally required and thus need special drafting.

Public information materials communicate quickly. They are often visually appealing, and many need not include a great deal of detail. Some materials are quite small and contain a single item of information, like a logo for a metropolitan planning effort or a telephone number for more information. Some are geared to individual recipients, while others such as billboards reach out to a mass audience. Public information materials can summarize large amounts of information simply and in straightforward fashion. A sample range of public information materials includes:

• Advertisements—display and legal notices
• Badges and buttons
• Billboards
• Brochures
• Display boards
• Electronic media
• Fact sheets
• Fast-food placemats
• Fliers
• Grocery bags
• Magnets
• Models
• News articles
• Newsletters
• Newspaper inserts and articles
• Notices
• On-line home page
• Posters
• Press releases
• Progress bulletins
• Public service announcements (paper, video, radio)
• Slides and overheads
• Summaries of reports
• Utility bill stuffers
• Videotapes

Why are they useful?

Public information materials provide basic information about a process, project, or document in a fast, concise, and clear way. They often summarize or capsulize the overall thrust of a process. They provide information on what to do to respond, comment, get more involved, or get on a mailing list for a project or study. (See Mailing Lists.)

Public information materials are an easy way to update information periodically for people who aren’t actively involved in an issue but who are curious or interested about its status. Often this is a very large group with fewer information needs than those who are intensely involved and need information frequently and in more depth.

Public information materials make it easy for people to find information. They are widely distributed to many people for maximum effect. Public information materials increase the chances that people actually get the information, because distribution can be extensive and less reliance is placed on press releases, word of mouth, or memory.

Information can be presented in graphic, non-technical, and non-verbal ways. Renderings, simplified diagrams, models, and cartoons communicate information different ways. An Idaho Department of Transportation (DOT) poster featured a cartoon map of a construction project. San Francisco’s Municipal Transit System (MUNI) used models to show how key stations would be adapted to accommodate disabled people.

Public information materials target a broad public beyond those who attend meetings. They expand the number and geographic distribution of those who can become informed and participate. (See Media Strategies; Improving Meeting Attendance.) The city of Worcester, Massachusetts, distributed pin-on buttons saying "Route 146 and a Piker, too!" to promote a new turnpike interchange and highway expansion project; the pins were distributed throughout the region. As part of its "Open Market Plan," the Rochester, New York, Telephone Company inserted information and a survey with a billing to all of its 340,000 residential customers.

Public information materials can be tailored to a specific aspect of a project or plan. They can focus on a geographic area, a particular mode of transportation, or one element of a plan, such as evaluation criteria. The Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Council of Governments produced brochures on specific transportation modes, including one on bicycle access.

Public information materials can be fun, interesting, and attention-getting. They engage people casually. Under its "One Percent for the Arts" program, the Regional Transit Project in Seattle, Washington, used a host of amusing, non-technical materials during its planning process, including posters, badges, public service announcements based on interesting conversations, transit music, and video art performances. TV and newspaper ads highlighted the transit planning activities underway by using a character called "avoidance man," an everyday citizen who attempted to ignore messages about the worsening state of transportation in the Puget Sound Region.

Do they have special uses?

Public information materials help people decide to participate. Attractive, well-illustrated, easy-to-understand materials make it easy for people to comprehend a process or a proposal. If they highlight ways for people to participate, community members may decide to get involved.

Public information materials get children involved. Games, placemats, and posters have been used to attract children to transportation projects. The Denver, Colorado, Regional Transit District created coloring books to teach children about light rail and safety. Amtrak and the Chicago Rapid Transit Authority prepared paper engineer’s hats for children. Amtrak distributed placemats with drawings that challenged children to find an engineer and other rail personnel hidden in a crowd. The Federal Aviation Administration prepared a connect-the-dots game and an activities book highlighting the life of the first black airplane captain, August Martin. For Portland, Maine, Comprehensive Transportation Study, materials were sent home with elementary and junior high school children.

Public information materials can be multilingual. Extensive or even moderate use of multilingual materials can create goodwill and demonstrate that an agency is trying to reach out to all groups. (See Ethnic, Minority, and Low-income Groups.) In Denver, Colorado, billboards in English and Spanish were used to inform people about an upcoming light rail project.

Public information materials encourage people to seek more information. The design of a piece can attract attention and encourage questioning. It can become a symbol of a process or project.

Who participates?

Nearly everyone can use public information materials. An emphasis on visual presentations makes it possible to reach people who are busy and have only a few moments to catch the message; they appreciate concise informative messages. The visual element makes it possible to reach people who may have difficulties in reading, such as the elderly and children. Visual information should be supplemented by materials designed to reach those with sight impairments. (See People with Disabilities.)

Even technical and planning staff can benefit from the brevity of public information materials. In the New England Transportation Initiative (NETI) regional study, a newsletter describing alternative investment scenarios was often used and cited by the Policy Committee. Although the full document of the scenarios was relatively short, the two-page description had icons for visual cues, making it easier to read and comprehend.

And how?

People read or view public information materials in a variety of locations. They read it in print, see it on television, or hear it on radio. They review brochures or other printed material at home. They view displays in public buildings or at meetings. Libraries, state DOT offices, transit stations, or city halls are good locations to lend videotapes, provide summaries of reports, and distribute other public information materials. In San Francisco, information on transit service and joint development activities was placed in prominent locations on turnstiles.

People request information materials. In instances where wide distribution is impractical, agencies can make materials available on request. This is particularly true of reports, report summaries, slide shows, or videos. Pennsylvania DOT produced several videotapes to lend to residents on request. (See Video Techniques.)

Community residents can participate in preparing public information materials. Members of the Citizen Planning Committee of the San Francisco, California, Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) wrote articles for a newsletter for a joint development planning study newsletter.

Public information materials reach people at restaurants and stores. Restaurant or fast-food placemats with information about a project are seen by people who may not read news articles about transportation projects or listen to public service announcements. The Portland, Oregon, Tri-Met combined grocery shopping with information about transit. Working with a grocery vendor, Tri-Met printed messages on grocery bags, printed its logo on grocery advertisements, stuffed a flier in each grocery bag, and handed out magnets printed with a logo at the cash register.

Public information materials show that an agency understands and values communication with people other than technicians and bureaucrats. For the Central Artery North Area project in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood, the Massachusetts Highway Department produced a two-sided color poster, "Charlestown in 1999." The poster described community development goals, illustrated by an artist’s view of neighborhood development after the highway was depressed. This poster touched lightly upon the engineering feats needed to depress the highway, reflecting the interests and concerns of the community about the future.

Who leads production of public information materials?

Experienced staff with communication, public involvement, desktop publishing, graphics, and writing skills lead the production process. Staff members need knowledge of community issues. The leader must be able to translate technical information into terms that lay people can easily understand. Denver, Colorado’s transit district uses non-engineering personnel to direct the public information process to be certain that technical issues are stated in simple, easy-to-understand language.

Other agency staff get involved, including the public relations staff. Policy staff members review material for consistency with an agency’s mission and other activities. People skilled in graphic design and production are key to well-prepared information materials. To save money, people skilled in desktop publishing can make changes and updates quickly and efficiently. A desktop-published product usually is more effective than a simple, word-processed piece, because it incorporates graphics, columns, and illustrations in an attractive and easy-to-comprehend way.

Private companies and institutions can assist in the production process. This may involve donating billboard or exhibit space, paying for printing, producing public service announcements (PSAs), or helping get editorials printed or aired. During the Atlanta, Georgia, Regional Commission’s Vision 2020, local business and civic leaders wrote seven guest editorials for the area’s biggest newspaper.

How do agencies use public information materials?

Public information materials can test concepts or policies for agencies. A fact sheet on a proposed policy position generates comments and objections. Agencies use public information materials to explain a policy position or invite public comments. By presenting information in an uncluttered way, without a great deal of detail and technical information about options and alternatives, an agency’s message becomes clearer. The NETI Policy Committee issued a newsletter asking people to comment on potential policy shifts in transportation infrastructure investment, airport planning, and growth management planning, among other issues, before it voted to adopt any new policies.

Public information materials can focus on issues that affect a given area or subarea, highlighting concerns about alignment, noise, travel time, etc. For Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel project, a project-wide newsletter included neighborhood-specific news bulletins to keep people up-to-date with local happenings.

Public information materials improve awareness of a planning process. They provide information on how to get involved. The Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation updates people on the North Central Expressway reconstruction project through a quarterly newsletter.

Public information materials offer opportunities for private-sector involvement. Public-private partnerships are forged through donations of billboard spaces, newspaper inserts, or utility bill stuffers to help reach more people with information about a process.

Agencies form useful links with the media. Newspapers, especially those in local communities, are not as constrained for space as radio and television and are thus more likely to print articles, graphics, newspaper inserts, and calendar listings. Progress bulletins and press releases give reporters ideas and factual information for articles about a project. (See Media Strategies.) In Boston, a neighborhood newspaper periodically printed articles and graphics submitted by the Massachusetts Highway Department to prepare people for upcoming meetings.

What do they cost?

The cost of public information materials varies widely, depending on complexity and volume. Small ones, such as brochures, fliers, or newsletters, are relatively inexpensive to produce, even on a large scale. Materials are expensive to produce if they require four-color printing, large display panels, models, or billboards. Costs are less per unit in volume printings: not counting staff time, printing 1,500 copies of a newsletter might cost 35 cents each, while 5,000 copies might cost less than 20 cents each.

Desktop publishing produces public information materials relatively inexpensively. Brochures, one-page progress bulletins, and fact sheets with simple graphics can be produced on a personal computer. Use of color grabs attention and enhances the attractiveness of a public information piece but also increases the costs to produce it. The Maryland DOT produced a five-page booklet describing the State’s approach to a program of transportation enhancements. In a simple, straightforward way, the booklet provides details on a relatively new and unknown program, along with telephone numbers for more information. The Iowa DOT’s "Need Answers?" pamphlet has staff names and telephone numbers accompanied by a map of districts.

Private-sector donations cut costs, as do cooperative efforts with other agencies. Private organizations may distribute printed information materials in grocery bags or utility bill inserts. Media organizations may run meeting notices and PSAs free. Transit agencies may display free advertisements in transit vehicles. Literature might be distributed at toll booths. Billing agencies might include information materials with their mailings.

Costs are incurred for staff time spent in production. Written information, such as PSAs and news articles, takes time to produce. Designing and developing graphics can be expensive, and the process from concept to development to camera-ready can be lengthy. Outside consultants are sometimes needed for major items such as displays or models.

Costs are closely related to the visual quality of public information materials, but quality is crucial. A piece that is visually bland, cluttered, dull to read, or otherwise unattractive obscures the message. As in advertising, attracting people and getting them to read or look at materials requires eye-catching, good-looking designs. The Arizona DOT’s Mt. Lemmon highway reconstruction project in Tucson used the slogan "Lemmon Aid" in bright yellow on black in its eye-catching brochures and posters.

Costs are incurred in distribution. Bulk rates are available to help reduce mailing costs. An alternative is door-to-door distribution by volunteers. (See Speakers’ Bureaus and Public Involvement Volunteers; Drop-in Centers.) The Houston, Texas, transit agency reaches apartment dwellers by hanging materials on their doorknobs.

How is production organized?

Public information materials are conceived at the beginning of a plan or project. They can be oriented to support key goals and milestones of the participation and technical planning processes. A time line for production and distribution is prepared. Materials are planned to coincide with major events and give periodic updates throughout the program. It is often a good idea to schedule periodic communication throughout the process for general updating or "keeping in touch" with people in the community. Scheduled dissemination helps remind agencies of activities that should be communicated to the public.

The target audience is identified. In most cases, the general public will be the recipient. However, an agency may need to target and customize materials to different groups. A local community heavily affected by a proposed project may need special publications or explanations to address its concerns. Soliciting funding for specific purposes requires materials targeted to business or industrial interests.

General information about a process or project is made available. Information that will remain constant throughout a process or project is made available for repeated use. Pennsylvania DOT videotapes illustrating the planning process are shown at meetings to newcomers who need to know the overall background before they know the details.

Public information materials highlight an event or milestone, such as the start-up of process, a major meeting, the release of a report, the start of a new phase, or the conclusion of a project. The Wisconsin DOT’s first newsletter at the start of long-range planning introduced the in-depth study process and the people involved. The Puget Sound Regional Council in Seattle, Washington, mails a newsletter several times a year to review events and announce upcoming dates of meetings.

Public information materials can survey a wide audience. Typically used in printed materials, survey materials describe facts and include a tear-off sheet to be sent to an agency. They also may list a toll-free or local telephone number to call with comments or a FAX number to encourage immediate response. (See Public Opinion Surveys; Media Strategies.) The Little Rock, Arkansas, Metroplan MPO issued its report summary as a newspaper insert and included a tear-off form for reactions and comments through phone, mail, or FAX. Dallas, Texas, Area Rapid Transit mails comment cards to people in the community to solicit input on how DART is doing in a number of areas.

Updates and progress bulletins can be disseminated periodically. The Little Rock, Arkansas, Metroplan used progress bulletins to keep people informed of current issues. San Francisco’s BART periodically sent FAXes to 500 to 600 businesses to keep them abreast of happenings in its joint development planning process. The Orange County, California, transit district sent "Fast FAXes" to 100 companies for immediate information. New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande Council of Governments updates information in an annual report it distributes to the public.

Press releases serve as input to future media coverage. Reporters who are following the process may use each new detail of a proposal as the basis of a story. Basic facts are provided to help reporters assemble articles and avoid mistakes or misleading information that could cause difficulty or awkwardness for an agency. (See Media Strategies.)

How are they used with other techniques?

Public information materials are used with almost any other technique of public involvement. They give basic information for open houses and open hearings, media strategies, on-line services, drop-in centers, and briefings. (See Open Houses/Open Forum Hearings; Media Strategies; On-line Services; Drop-in Centers; Briefings.) They are used to announce meetings, charrettes, conferences, workshops, and retreats. (See Charrettes; Public Meetings/Hearings; Conferences, Workshops, and Retreats.) They contribute names for mailing lists by soliciting interest from community residents. The Seattle area’s Puget Sound Regional Council produced a videotape that was made into a public service announcement and shown repeatedly. (See Video Techniques.)

Transportation fairs are excellent places to distribute public information materials, particularly fun items such as buttons, magnets, posters, and literature. (See Transportation Fairs.) A Washington, D.C., ridesharing organization supplied many giveaways at its transportation fair.

Games and contests mesh with public information in creative ways. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) held an art contest for children on the theme of "Flying Saves Lives." The FAA also published a bilingual book, "A Visit to the Airport—Un Viaje al Aeropuerto," that included several games, some also in two languages. (See Games and Contests.)

Public information materials reach out to minority, ethnic, and low-income groups. Reaching out with basic information and facts presented with visuals brings people into the process who might otherwise feel uncomfortable participating. (See Ethnic, Minority, and Low-income Groups.) The Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission prepared illustrated glossaries of transportation terms to help people understand the planning process. Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority prepared a transit design kit that showed drawings of different transit vehicles, answered basic questions about the study, and was printed in Spanish and English.

What are the drawbacks?

Public information materials require wide distribution to reach a maximum number of people. They are an essential part of any public involvement program. Failure to provide periodic basic information can severely hurt a public involvement program and could cripple a project.

Finding ways to get information out takes creativity. Demand on staff time and resources can be intensive. Staff members must know ways people can obtain information about a variety of topics. They should be skilled in examining needs and producing appropriate materials to meet them.

Published or written materials are not usually interactive. Public information materials cannot substitute for other forms of public involvement, because they are one-way communication, unless a mail-back coupon is included. People who see them must take further, individualized steps to get more information or to participate. An agency should make the steps simple to take, and respond promptly when community people call. (See On-line Services; Computer Presentations and Simulations; Interactive Video Displays and Kiosks.)

Events can overtake public information materials. Needs can be determined by default, even with prior planning. An agency might have to prepare public information materials to respond to editorial criticism, counter negative publicity, compensate for difficult-to-read technical reports, or respond to issues that have arisen naturally during the project. In Denver, Colorado, the transit agency broke its long-standing rule of not allowing advertising on shuttle buses in order to promote businesses affected by the transit line construction and inform people about the project.

Production time is significant if materials are to be done well. Production costs can be high, depending on levels of detail and numbers of illustrations to be included. Increased volume of printed matter also raises costs, but unit costs diminish as volume increases. Producing a small number of customized materials is expensive and labor-intensive.

Public information materials may be perceived as public relations and not public involvement. Materials that are too general and add no new substantial information are often regarded negatively or ignored. Public suspicions may also result from high-end advertising agency slickness. Many people feel it is inappropriate for public agencies to spend a lot of money on fancy public information material when other efforts or programs are being cut back. To gain optimal response, materials should be straightforward in design and content, especially if input from participants is desired and if it needs to be made clear that plans or projects are not yet finished.

Public information materials may fall flat if the information is too technical and difficult for lay people to grasp. Where possible, agencies should avoid intimidating or technical language and formats. If materials are not comprehensible to an average person, good will is lost, and potential participants may become suspicions about an agency’s motives. An outside person can be asked to review the piece to make sure it is understandable to the average person and not too technical or obscure.

Information is prepared in a form that will reach the target audience. Press releases might not reach the intended audience, because they have been placed in an inappropriate section of a newspaper or relegated to a "lame duck" spot on a newscast. Pamphlets containing technical material may not be read by local residents. Brochures or flyers that are discarded as litter could have a negative effect on the community’s perception of an agency. To counter these problems, an agency designs materials for specific uses and audiences and chooses the appropriate distribution technique.

Are they flexible?

Public information materials can be sent through the mail to a project mailing list or an acquired list, or be inserted in another group’s mailing. They can be included in bills sent out by public or private organizations. (See Mailing Lists.)

Public information materials can be sent electronically. They can be put on a home page to be available on-line. (See On-line Services.) Public service announcements provide information via radio or television. They can include announcements of meetings, due dates for comments, recent activities, upcoming events, and more. (See Media Strategies.) The Atlanta, Georgia, Regional Commission’s Vision 2020 process used PSAs to inform people of the opportunity to voice their opinions through questionnaires inserted in Sunday newspapers.

Public information materials can be used in displays. They can be positioned to be seen from a sidewalk, highway, or rail line—for example, on a billboard. They can be illustrations on window cards. They can be posted in interiors of transit vehicles on car cards. The Houston, Texas, Transit Authority uses cards in its buses to announce upcoming events.

Public information materials can be distributed at meetings. They help get a meeting started or as a basis for a presentation or discussion. They can be exhibits, videos, fact sheets, slides and overheads, models, or progress bulletins. (See Video Techniques; Computer Presentations and Simulations.)

Timing is flexible for most public information materials, except meeting notices, newspaper deadlines, and materials relevant to public hearings and official comment periods, where exact timing is crucial. Staff commitments for producing public information materials is flexible except for deadlines for production, printing, mailing, or presentation.

The format for producing public information is flexible. Options relate to individual budgets, information dissemination needs, topics, and audiences. A variety of types of public information materials can be selected. Many public involvement programs mix and match materials.

When are they used most effectively?

An overall strategy for public information materials is developed early in a process, before beginning to involve community residents. At that point, an agency can strategize about what audiences need to be targeted, what types of materials are needed, and when they will be most effective. General materials on, for instance, the nature of the project serve as background information that remains relevant throughout the process. Materials can highlight important events or decisions. Timing must be carefully considered, and materials scheduled so they are available in advance of an event, meeting, close of comment period, or articles in the media. (See Media Strategies.)

For further information:

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