title: Environmental initiative prioritization with a Delphi approach: a case study.
abstract: India is fast finding its place in the industrialized world and that is beginning to raise its environmental consciousness. The Delphi technique was used to prioritize specific needs and articulate a sustainable urban improvement strategy for the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). The Delphi technique is a means of achieving consensual validity among raters by providing them feedback regarding other raters' responses. Mumbai has several indigenous environmental groups that were tapped for activists and leaders; the study was conducted using ten environmentalists. In the initial phases the responses resulted in a range of possible program alternatives. The last two stages helped to seek out information that generated a consensus on the part of the respondent group. Statistical analysis methods included a hierarchical cluster analysis, mean, median, mode, and percent of agreement calculations using SPSS software. The face-to-face discussion in phase 4 clarified some issues and helped the group as a whole to outline the strategy for putting in place the essential elements of a framework to improve the quality of life in an urban environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial Technology, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois 61790-5100, USA. gokhale@indtech.it.ilstu.edu
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gokhale
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003697:Delphi Technique; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D011050:Policy Making; D011640:Public Policy; D011788:Quality of Life; D014505:Urban Population