Ten Ways to Create More Meaningful Public Participation shared at the first Civic Engagement Summit on April 4, 2009:
|
Move Away From… |
Move Toward… |
| Positions – where people dig in to narrow representations of what they want | Values – where people can forge common ground and envision solutions that meet a variety of needs |
| Usual Suspects – where participants represent a small segment of the total stakeholder community | Full Spectrum of Stakeholder Voices – where a balanced understanding of community values, interests, and concerns is ensured |
| Argument – where everyone seeks to get their own individual way | Dialogue – where people seek to understand each other before coming to firm conclusions |
| Buy-in – where we seek to convince others to adopt our decisions | Real Input – where others’ opinions are used to shape decisions |
| Events – where people get one shot at a decision or project | Processes – where everyone is integrated into decision-making and put on a shared learning curve |
| Late Involvement – where others are informed after decisions have basically been made | Early and Continuous Involvement – where stakeholders have input to issues that matter |
| Opinions – where they’re taken only at a point in time | Conclusions – where they’re arrived as through shared learning and dialogue |
| Individual Demands – where the loudest stakeholders are heard | Shared Responsibility – where the total community finds sustainable solutions |
| One Size Fits All Meetings – where the same approach is always used to work with the public | Custom Designed Processes – where the needs of the problem and the stakeholders are met |
| Arms-Length Interaction – where stakeholders are kept at “arms length” | Functional Relationships – where stakeholders are allowed to know, understand and trust each other |
Adapted from The Perspectives Group
Provided by the Hampton Roads Center for Civic Engagement