Communicative Skills Development of Administrators: A Necessary Step for Implementing Participatory Policies in Natural Resource Management

Abstract

In 2007, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) asked the authors to design and run a program for communicative skills development of Natural Resource Management (NRM) administrators and managers at SEPA and county administrative boards. This essay is based on our experiences with and reflections on the program. We first discuss basic assumptions about the situation of the administrators and their need for communicative skills development. Second, we provide a brief description of program implementation. Finally, we use our experiences to explore implications for a wider context of NRM. We conclude that initiating and supporting bottom-up processes within top-down structures is a delicate task that demands continuous training. Establishing professional learning teams at the administrators' places of work can facilitate continuous reflection and communicative competence development.

Keywords:

• Communicative Skills
• Competence
• Conflict
• Public Participation
• Sweden

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lotten Westberg

Lotten Westberg is a Researcher in the Unit of Environmental Communication, Department of Urban and Rural Development, at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Lars Hallgren

Lars Hallgren is an Assistant Professor in the Unit of Environmental Communication, Department of Urban and Rural Development, at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Agneta Setterwall

Agneta Setterwall is a Lecturer in the Unit of Environmental Communication, Department of Urban and Rural Development, at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences