Public Participation in Changing Times

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN CHANGING TIMES

Matt Leighninger

FIU workshop

June 20, 2013

THE DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY CONSORTIUM

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?