2014 Public Administration Conference Community Engagement Jay Reinstein, MPA Assistant City Manager City of Fayetteville Faith M. Thompson, MPA Ombuds Town of Chapel Hill Cherie Jzar, AICP Community Outreach Coordinator City of Concord November 7, 2014
Dashboard Partnership Jay Reinstein, MPA City of Fayettville City Manager’s Office
2014 Public Administration Conference November 7, 2014
Community Engagement Workshops
Citizens Oversight Committee Established
Tool to highlight progress made on objectives, measures, and initiatives Provides “Why It Matters” narrative, analysis, action plan, data sources, and charts, graphs, and gauges Drills down to raw data Published semi-annual PDF report for our residents Embedded video tutorials Compatible with text reading software Dashboard
Partnership established with citizens Increased and improved outreach to Durham residents Better understanding of Strategic Plan alignment Improved communication between the City and the community Greater transparency Community Outcomes
Thank you
Cutting Through the Noise Communication vs. Engagement Faith M. Thompson, MPA Town of Chapel Hill Office of the Ombuds
Cutting Through the Noise
How many governmental units communicate with the “public”:
Cutting Through the Noise In , the Town of Chapel Hill tried something “REALLY BIG”
Cutting Through the Noise This was a departure from “business as normal” As Yogi Berra would say: "If you don't know where you are going - you might end up someplace else."
Cutting through the Noise Old Comprehensive Plan – Land use Planners – a process that determines community goals and aspirations in terms of community development – a Comprehensive Plan which dictates public policy in terms of transportation, utilities, land use, recreation, and housing New Community Visioning – Community mapping – Community leaders – Citizen driven goals – Youth meetings – Social activities – Business, Faith, Civic and Visitor Communities invited to participate. – Electronic reports (blog, Instagram, Facebook).
Cutting through the Noise Inclusivity
Cutting through the Noise
Cover art by Sarah Mitchell, winner of Chapel Hill 2020 Art Contest, grade category.
Web 2.0 Community Engagement Cherie Jzar, AICP City of Concord City Manager’s Office
What is Public Participation? At page 111 in APA’s A Planners Dictionary (2004), citizen participation is defined as: “The process through which citizens who live and/or work in an area are actively involved in the development of plans and recommendations” (Prince George’s County, MD).
Engaging the broader public in the city-making process leads to better answers and a deeper public ownership of our future.
“Partnerships for Stronger Neighborhoods” Purpose To build relationships with the City’s neighborhoods in an effort to enhance the quality of life in the City and stimulate activity within neighborhoods and in City events. Neighborhood Program
“Partnerships for Stronger Neighborhoods” Focus CONNNECT CONNNECT neighborhood organizations with information and resources. FACILITATE FACILITATE resolution to small, large, and complex neighborhood issues. PROMOTE PROMOTE public involvement in city projects, services, and events. COORDINATE COORDINATE logistical support for community projects and special events. DEVELOP DEVELOP partnerships that promote community vitality. EDUCATE EDUCATE residents about City services programs, policies, processes, and resources. Neighborhood Program
How do we engage the community?
Concord’s Web 2.0 engagement tools
Some things to consider ……. to make your Web 2.0 participation process a success
identifying interested and affected public considering the relationship to decision-making evaluate capacity providing feedback to stakeholders undertaking the analysis of stakeholder inputs keeping to budget and time lines confidentiality
What if?