Coastal Services Center

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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How Do Users Perceive Management Agencies and Policies?


Resource users will often have preconceived ideas of the effectiveness of particular management agencies and their policies. These perceptions may be based on past experiences, agency image, media coverage, or word of mouth. If a user does not agree with a policy, then the likelihood of compliance may be low.

How Can Knowing This Help Me?

Understanding how users perceive management agencies and policies will enable managers respond to user perceptions in order to maximize compliance. Studying perceptions can help managers

  • Understand and address user concerns
  • Build on positive perceptions of users
  • Address any cases of misinformation
  • Promote increased compliance by tailoring policies to the understanding of user groups
  • Identify potential conflict areas

What Are Some Tools I Can Use?