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STRATEGIES TO ENCOURAGE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Rochester, NY
June 18th, 2014
THE CONTEXT FOR ENGAGEMENT: HOW HAVE CITIZENS* CHANGED?
More educated
More skeptical – different attitudes toward authority
Have less time to spare
Better able to find resources, allies, information (Internet)
* citizens = residents, people
THE CONTEXT:FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN
Have the most at stake in community success
More motivation to engage, but even less time
Want to engage in community, not just politics
THE CONTEXT: INCREASED USE OF THE INTERNET
Available free for download at BIT.LY/IWJGQN
THREE MINUTES AT THE MICROPHONE
Retrieved from Cincinnati.com, July 27, 2012
“What drove me to try planned, structured public engagement was my awful experience with unplanned, unstructured public engagement.”
─ John Nalbandian, former mayor, Lawrence, KS
TREATING CITIZENS LIKE ADULTS
Give them: Information Chance to tell their story Choices Legitimacy Chances to
take action Good process Food and fun!
SUCCESSFUL TACTIC: PROACTIVE RECRUITMENT Map community networks;
Involve leaders of those networks;
‘Who is least likely to participate?’
Use online as well as f2f connections;
Follow up!
SUCCESSFUL TACTIC: SMALL-GROUP PROCESSES
No more than 12 people per group;
Facilitator who is impartial (doesn’t give opinions);
Start with people describing their experiences;
Lay out options;
Help people plan for action.
SUCCESSFUL TACTIC: FRAMING AN ISSUE
Give people the information they need, in ways they can use it
Lays out several options or views (including ones you don’t agree with)
Trust them to make good decisions
SUCCESSFUL TACTIC: ENCOURAGING CITIZEN ACTION
“Sometimes you need a meeting that is also a party. Sometimes you need a party that is also a meeting.”
Gloria Rubio-Cortès, National Civic League
SUCCESSFUL TACTIC: FUN
“PORTSMOUTH LISTENS” PORTSMOUTH, NH
Ongoing process since 2000
Several hundred participants each time
Addressed a number of major policy decisions: bullying in schools, school redistricting, city’s master plan, balancing city budget, whether to build new middle school
JANE ADDAMS SCHOOL FOR DEMOCRACY WEST SIDE OF ST. PAUL, MN
50-200 people in “neighborhood learning circles” every month since 1998
Involves recent Hmong, Latino, Somali immigrants
Young people involved in circles and other activities
Cultural exchanges - food, crafts, storytelling Has resulted in new
projects, initiatives, festivals, and changein INS policy
DECATUR NEXT DECATUR, GA
PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING IN BRAZILIAN CITIES
Commitment from gov’t to adopt budget;
Wide range of ways to be involved;
A carnival atmosphere;
Started small, now huge – 60,000+ people
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
HOW MUCH IS THE INTERNET CHANGING HOW YOU DO ENGAGEMENT?
DIGITAL DIVIDES (PLURAL)
Overall, Internet access growing Different people use different hardware Different people
go to different places on the Internet
Communities just as complex onlineas off
What online tools can do: Help citizens gather data
What online tools can do: Help people generate and rank ideas
What online tools can do: Help people visualize options
What online tools can do:
Help sustain community
connections
COMMON MISTAKES
Treating Internet as a one-way medium Not enough recruitment Transparency without proactive engagement Gathering ideas and not implementing them
STRENGTHS OF DELIBERATIVE ENGAGEMENT
Making policy decisions, plans, budgets Catalyzing
citizen action Rebuilding
trust, fostering new leadership
WHY SUSTAINED ENGAGEMENT?
Increases in: Trust Efficiency Equity Connectedness…which increases: Economic growth Public health
TWO ASSUMPTIONS TO RECONSIDER
1. Government is the only problem-solver
TWO ASSUMPTIONS TO RECONSIDER
2. It is the job of government to sustain participation
WORKING GROUP ON LEGAL FRAMEWORKS FOR PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION
Broad and non-exclusive definition of public participation
No mandates – model is ADR
Principles for successful public participation
Possible use of commission or other agency at local government level
No reference to changing sunshine laws as usually a matter for state legislature
Best use: to start a discussion about how you want participation to work in your municipality
LOCAL PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ORDINANCE
Participation commissions or advisory boards can:
Develop multi-year participation plans
Develop guidelines on when/how participation should happen
Assess and evaluation current participation efforts
Provide annual report to council on status of participation
Help strengthen networks for recruitment
PUTTING THESE TACTICS TO USE: PARTICIPATION COMMISSIONS
AND ADVISORY BOARDS
Stronger networks, online and off, for recruitment and dissemination of information
Better use of social media to raise interest, discussion before and between meetings
Clear avenues for public to present ideas for the agenda
At the meeting (or as a pre-meeting), a format featuring small-group discussions
Proposed guideline: Electeds cannot vote, act, or make decisions until information from meeting is made public
PUTTING THESE TACTICS TO USE: BETTER FORMATS FOR PUBLIC
MEETINGS
Larger assumption to discuss: What is government’s role in supporting participation?
One office – or participation skills distributed throughout departments?
Training opportunities
Need for principles, protocols, and metrics to guide the work
PUTTING THESE TACTICS TO USE: PARTICIPATION STAFFING IN CITY
HALL
SLIDES AVAILABLE AT:WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/MATTLEIGHNINGER
GUIDES:PLANNING FOR STRONGER LOCAL DEMOCRACY – BIT.LY/PSLDNLC USING ONLINE TOOLS TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC– BIT.LY/IWJGQNMAKING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION LEGAL – BIT.LY/1F2MGAP
RESOURCES
www.icma.org
www.participedia.net
www.deliberative-democracy.net
www.everydaydemocracy.org
www.publicagenda.org
www.kettering.org
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
