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Program > Program Management > Outreach
Outreach
Public outreach is a process by which interested and affected individuals, organizations, agencies and governmental entities are informed of a project and its goals, and have the opportunity to participate in the decision making process. Public outreach supports the exchange of ideas and information among interested individuals and groups, which is critical to resolving the challenges involved in implementing the CERP. Outreach also creates and builds partnerships, involves the community, helps form mutual understanding, engenders trust, reduces conflict, and ultimately leads to a more complete project. Public outreach activities for CERP have a number of goals:
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Increase general public awareness and support for the CERP with effective outreach activities, including environmental education
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Involve stakeholders, agencies, tribes and other interested communities in the CERP decision making process to incorporate public values into the program
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Develop and implement outreach strategies to better serve minority communities, persons with limited English proficiency, and socio-economically disadvantaged individuals
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Provide focused outreach activities for traditionally under-served communities, especially those that may be affected by the project
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Improve the substantive quality of decisions as a result of public participation
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Increase trust in public institutions
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Reduce conflict among interested and affected parties by building agreement on solutions to emerging issues
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Provide effective internal communications and support for individual project teams to increase efficiency and provide support and guidance for project-level public participation activities
In addition to these outreach goals, federal and state laws and agency policies also require the Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District to provide effective public participation in the implementation of the CERP. These include the NEPA, the Federal Advisory Committees Act (FACA), the WRDA 2000, and the One Florida Initiative.
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