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Community Social Engagement Guidebook and Case Studies

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Community Social Engagement Guidebook and Case Studies Digital Sustainability Conversations How Local Governments can Engage Residents Online ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Funding for the guidebook was provided by the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) Urban Sustainability Innovation (USI) Fund with funds provided by the Summit Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, and The Home Depot Foundation. This guidebook is a collaborative product made possible through the leadership and contributions of: • City of Albany, NY Mayor’s Office of Energy & Sustainability » Douglas Melnick, AICP, Director » Sarah Reginelli, Principal Planner • City of Richmond, VA » Andreas D. Addison, Civic Innovation Team Manager • Case Study participants Authors of the Guidebook are: » Amanda Mitchell , Olive Dempsey, and Tracy Vaughan, City of Vancouver • Daniella Fergusson & Vince Verlaan, » Beth McMillan, Atlanta BeltLine HB Lanarc Golder » Gina Knepp and Renee Traud, Sacramento 311 • Susanna Haas Lyons » Gregory Claxton, City of Austin The Spectrum of Public » Jake Barton, Local Projects Participation and IAP2 name and logo are used » Mackenzie Kelly, Williamson County Emergency Management with permission from the » Ritchard Ludlow, Denton Wiki International Association for Public Participation. » Ross Collicutt, City of Nanaimo March 2012 » Sara Solomon and Rebecca Winkler, Get Fit Philly Executive Summary Why should As local governments face impacts from climate change, public health concerns, and public demand for increased accountability and transparency, it is becoming increasingly important to engage you read this with the public on important sustainability topics. Guidebook? With over 75% of Americans now online, and 82% of them interacting with government online, local governments have This guidebook is designed to help City the opportunity to engage residents on Facebook, Twitter, Managers, Mayors, Directors of Sustainability, and a myriad of other “digital engagement” tools. In fact, local Communications Directors, other governments that do not participate in digital engagement risk department heads, and project managers in remaining unaware of online mobilization, until it manifests at local governments learn how to: public meetings and other face-to-face events. • Create a business case for using digital This guidebook provides case studies and a step-by-step guide to engagement as part of a community support local government digital engagement efforts. sustainability effort Case studies included in this guidebook are very diverse, • Create a business case for using digital covering: small and large initiatives; projects intended to tools as part of an engagement strategy inform and empower; and, digital engagement that has been • Understand legal challenges associated implemented for the many functions of local government, like with digital engagement governance, service provision, and specific initiatives and policies. • Learn about successful digital Our step-by-step guide takes both the digital novice and adept engagement implementation through a 16-step process. The process includes: goal-setting, • Plan, choose digital tools for, and defining audiences, selecting digital engagement tools, gaining overcome challenges associated with internal commitment, creating digital teams, clarifying roles and digital engagement implementation responsibilities, listening online, combining digital engagement with face-to-face events, mitigating risk, evaluating and measuring • Assess your local government’s internal impact, and incorporating organizational learning. readiness and your community’s readiness for digital engagement We hope that you will find this guide useful for strengthening government responsiveness and augmenting your in-person • Develop, implement, and evaluate a engagement tactics with new, online tools. digital engagement strategy Good luck with your digital engagement initiatives! Only got a few minutes? DO YOU WANT TO... Understand the business case for digital engagement? 1Start by reading Section I to find tips on obtaining senior staff or Council approval to pursue a digital engagement strategy. Learn about the risks of digital To assess your internal and external readiness for digital engagement? engagement, consult Appendix I. Explore how other local governments have used digital engagement? Jump into Section II to understand more about appropriate times 2and techniques for using digital engagement tools. Browse tools that you could use in Appendix III contains a list of digital engagement tools. your department? Quick Start 3Quick Start with Section III to find out specific “how to” Get going! I want to know how to instructions and tips on developing, implementing, and evaluating a do digital engagement Digital Engagement Strategy. Look to Appendix II for worksheets referenced in this section. Appendix IV contains details on “how to” instructions and best practices for using common digital engagement tools including: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Flickr, YouTube, and LinkedIn. TABLE OF CONTENTS Section I: “Business Case” for Digital Engagement by and with Local Government ...... 1 Chapter 1: Understanding Local Governments & Sustainability ............................................................................3 A. What is sustainability? ............................................................................................................................... 3 B. Why are local governments addressing sustainability? ......................................................................... 4 C. How can local governments address sustainability? .............................................................................. 6 D. Behavior Change, Sustainability, and Local Governments .................................................................... 7 E. References ................................................................................................................................................. 8 Chapter 2: Understanding Local Governments & Civic Engagement ....................................................................9 A. Governance : Responsive Local Government ..................................................................................... 9 B. Civic Engagement: What is it? ............................................................................................................. 10 C. The Spectrum of Public Participation .................................................................................................... 11 D. Digital Engagement: What is it? ........................................................................................................... 13 E. How sustainability efforts benefit from digital engagement .............................................................. 14 Chapter 3: Business Case for Government Use of Digital Engagement ..............................................................15 A. Benefits of Digital Engagement .......................................................................................................... 15 B. Cost of Not Engaging Digitally .............................................................................................................. 18 C. Expenses of Using Digital Engagement ............................................................................................... 18 D. Return on Investment ............................................................................................................................. 19 E. References ............................................................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 4: Understanding & Overcoming Risks ...................................................................................................20 A. Discrimination: Demographics, Geography, and Accessibility .......................................................... 20 B. State Specific Laws: Public Records, Data Retention, and Open Meetings ...................................... 22 C. First Amendment Laws: Moderation, Terms of Use, and Employee Usage Policies ......................... 23 D. Privacy: Information Collection, Anonymity and Minors...................................................................... 25 E. Intellectual Property ................................................................................................................................ 27 F. References ............................................................................................................................................... 28 Section II: Digital Tactics for your Engagement Goals ......................................................... 1 Chapter 5: Digital Engagement for Governance ....................................................................................................3 A. Inform: Help public understand the issues ............................................................................................ 4 B. Consult: Obtain feedback on existing services or options .................................................................... 7 C. Involve: Solicit non-binding, influential advice ....................................................................................... 8 D. Collaborate: Partner with the public on influential choices .................................................................. 9 E. Empower: Stakeholders own the decisions .......................................................................................... 11 F. References ..............................................................................................................................................
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