public participation in changing times
TRANSCRIPT
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN CHANGING TIMES
Matt Leighninger
FIU workshop
June 20, 2013
THE CONTEXT: HOW HAVE CITIZENS*
CHANGED?
More educated
More skeptical – different attitudes toward authority
Have less time to spare
Better able to find resources, allies, information
* “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
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
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
SUCCESSFUL TACTIC: ONLINE TOOLS
Particularly good for: Providing background information Data gathering by citizens Generating and
ranking ideas Helping people
visualize options Maintaining
connections over time
“DECATUR NEXT” DECATUR, GEORGIA
Large-scale planning efforts in 2000, 2010
Initial Organizer: city government and a local nonprofit (Common Focus)
Issues: schools, race, growth
450 participants in 2000, 680 in 2010 (city of 17,000)
“DECATUR ROUNDTABLES” DECATUR, GEORGIA
Outcomes:
• Decatur Neighborhood Alliance
• Promotion of tax abatement plan for seniors, other anti-displacement efforts
• Less tension between different groups
• New model for land use decisions
• Extensive citizen input into city’s strategic plan
SHARE YOUR STORY, SHAPE YOUR CARE”NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
• Began in 2009
• North West Ontario Local Health Integration Network, Ascentum
• Issue: health care planning and improvement of health care services
• 800 participants
• Received IAP2 award
Element 1 – Online choicebook that provided background information and data, described main options
SHARE YOUR STORY, SHAPE YOUR CARE”NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
Element 2 – Online “stories and ideas” tool that allowed people to share experiences, solutions
SHARE YOUR STORY, SHAPE YOUR CARE”NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
Element 3 – Conversation guide for face-to-face, moderated small-group meetings
SHARE YOUR STORY, SHAPE YOUR CARE”NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
“COMMUNITY CHAT” SOUTHWEST DELRAY BEACH, FL
Outcomes:• Parent support group• Youth basketball team• Expansion of “Delray Divas” youth group• Westside Neighborhood Presidents’ Council• Citizen input to street redevelopment plan• “Maintaining the Village”
effort to rehab housing • New deregulated public
school
“HORIZONS” RURAL COMMUNITIES IN SEVEN NORTHWESTERN STATES
• Initiated by Northwest Area Foundation
• 284 towns, with poverty rates between 10% and 78%
• Issues: poverty reduction and economic development
• 3,000+ participants
“HORIZONS” RURAL COMMUNITIES IN SEVEN NORTHWESTERN STATES
Outcomes listed in recent evaluation: “Community gardens and farmer’s markets, parks, trails (one with a $1.2 million grant), and recreational opportunities, community and community resource centers, scholarships for low income children and families for daycare, after school programming and recreation, including Boys and Girls’ clubs, car repair and home maintenance programs, and in (at least) five communities, the establishment of community foundations.”
NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON MENTAL HEALTH
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
STRENGTHS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Making policy decisions, plans, budgets Catalyzing citizen action Building trust, fostering new leadership Connections = disaster preparedness Attachment = economic vitality
LIMITATIONS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (AS WE PRACTICE IT TODAY)
Lots of work for temporary gain Inefficient – every organization on its own Community moves back to ‘politics as usual’ ‘Engagers’ set the agenda, not the ‘engaged’ Limited impact on equity Laws on participation out
of step with practices Not well measured or
benchmarked
WHAT IS CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE?
The regular opportunities, activities, and arenas that allow people to connect with each other, solve problems, make decisions, and be part of a community.
“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
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
“KUNA ALLIANCE FOR A COHESIVE COMMUNITY TEAM” KUNA, ID
Recurring input-gathering process, used on all major decisions
Organized by Kuna Alliance for a Cohesive Team (Kuna ACT), in collaboration with local government
Issues include: school funding, downtown development, planning and growth
500 participants annually (city of 6,000)
“KUNA ALLIANCE FOR A COHESIVE COMMUNITY TEAM” KUNA, ID
Outcomes:
New comprehensive plan
Passage of school bond issue
Improvements made to downtown
New strategy to market community as hub for “Birds of Prey” area
NEW MODEL ORDINANCE ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Available at www.deliberative-democracy.netDeveloped as a collaboration of:
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE
BUILDING BLOCK:
Helping neighborhood and school groupsbecome more- effective- inclusive- participatory
BUILDING BLOCK: HYPERLOCAL ONLINE FORUMS
More sustained
Larger, more diverse numbers of people
Easier for ‘engagers’ – recruitment doesn’t have to start from scratch
More open to ideas from the ‘engaged’
DIGITAL DIVIDES (PLURAL)
Overall, Internet access growing “Access” – to Internet, to government – has
never been enough Different people use different hardware Different people go to different places on the
Internet Communities just as complex online as off –
recruitment must be proactive
BUILDING BLOCK: CIVIC INDICATORS
1. Capture more of the basic data
2. Use databases
3. Establish ‘mid-level’ indicators to connect basic data with ‘metadata’ like Soul of the Community
4. Be transparent – and think about ways to allow people to contribute and analyze data
BUILDING BLOCK: YOUTH LEADERSHIP
“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
DON’T FORGET: FUN
SLIDES AVAILABLE AT:WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/MATTLEIGHNINGER
GUIDES:HTTP://BIT.LY/PSLDNLC HTTP://BIT.LY/IWJGQN
RESOURCES
www.participedia.net
www.deliberative-democracy.net
www.soulofthecommunity.org
www.everydaydemocracy.org
www.publicagenda.org
www.kettering.org
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?