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Students are able to name different theories of democracy and assign political systems to these theories. Students know the tools of public participation. They have a good understanding of LCA and are able to apply LCA to different projects. The can write an expert opinion based on an LCA, which can be used as material for a public participation process. They can judge the complex situation of a public participation process and learn the limits of scientific arguments in public debates.

The module contains two parts: I) For block lectures with 4 hours of lecture II) A three day long role play in after the lecture period The first part contains the following parts: I.1) Theory of democracy, foundations and methods of public participation I.2) Life Cylce Assessment (LCA) as basis for environmental and health assessments of projects and products I.3) Methods and tools of LCA I.4) Design of an LCA as basis for a public participation process by means of examples Part II is made up of a three-day long role-play. On the first day, a project is identified and the necessary information is collected. Recommendations for a public participation process are prepared. On the second day, a public assembly is simulated with an expert hearing. A special role is assigned to each participant. Other students are asked to participate as civilians. All discussions are recorded. On the third day, the recordings are analysed and refinements of the expert materials are discussed.

The lectures consist of frontal lessons and discussions. The method of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is deepened by practical exercises on the computer. The students learn and practice the techniques using different test cases using Excel and relevant databases for LCA. The special meaning of the role play is to reverse the view of experts and citizens. In the future, students will rather play the role of the expert, but in this course they will learn about the situation of different groups involved in the process by reversing the roles.

At the end of the semester, a 20 page long report needs to hands in. A precise format will be supplied at the beginning of the lecture. The report is the technical description of a new project, either a geothermal or an infrastructure project. The report can be used as basis for a participation process. The report should utilise a simple LCA to estimate the impact of the project on human health and the environment.