Virtual Stakeholder Workshops

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

The Rules Unit within the Maricopa County Air Quality Department (MCAQD) Planning and Analysis Division is responsible for drafting and finalizing air pollution control rules and ordinances. The process of drafting and finalizing air pollution control rules and ordinances involves many steps, including holding stakeholder workshops. In recent years, MCAQD has held in-person stakeholder workshops, with an online option available, to obtain stakeholder input on new and revised rules and ordinances. In 2020, with the coronavirus pandemic, holding safe in-person stakeholder workshops was not feasible, so MCAQD elected to continue to conduct stakeholder workshops entirely online. In doing so, MCAQD experienced higher stakeholder participation numbers via the virtual workshops for several rules than had been observed for those same rules via the previously held in-person workshops that had provided an online option. More importantly, conducting the workshops entirely online permitted MCAQD to move several significant rulemakings forward.