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Go Vocal’s blog—get insights, advice, and all the latest information on trends to help you foster meaningful engagement.
Governments are increasingly recognising the value of petitions. This engagement method empowers residents to shape policies directly, leaning on their unique insights and lived experiences. However, implementing a petitions process isn't as simple as flipping a switch. Success requires thoughtful planning, internal buy-in, and the right tooling.
Online engagement tools enable you to reach a large number of community members in an instant. But not everyone is so simple to reach. Here, we meet four local governments using low- and no-tech engagement methods like WhatsApp, SMS, in-person visits, and the good old telephone to ensure the underheard voices in their community get a chance to have their say.
Once again we’re off to Vienna – Europe's Capital of Democracy. Vienna has long been a pioneer when it comes to contemporary citizen participation. And the Austrian capital is also repeatedly named among the world’s most liveable cities. In 2024, Vienna once again took first place in the “Global Liveability Index” published by The Economist. Is there a connection between participation and liveability?
We know the youth are our future, but how good are we at including them in the decisions that affect their lives? Well, not that good, studies have shown. This article outlines key strategies and provides practical tips for achieving meaningful youth engagement.
For governments at all levels seeking ways to engage their constituents in decision-making and agenda setting, proposals are a powerful, generative tool that help close the gap between top-down measures and bottom-up movements.
One of our Public Square podcast episodes takes us to the bustling metropolis of New York City, where the Public Engagement Unit (PEU), under the leadership of Adrienne Lever has developed an innovative approach to community engagement. Our conversation with her unveiled key insights and actionable strategies from their work, offering a blueprint for UK councils and organisations aiming to enhance community engagement and public service effectiveness.
In 2023, we launched our updated Events feature and have already seen it help boost engagement: 54% of event attendees had never contributed to their city’s consultation before. And our early results tell us that events are the perfect introduction to the world of participation – they have a strong ability to attract residents who are early in their participation journeys. In fact, 46% of event attendees contribute to other projects!
Digital community engagement can complement offline engagement, but it doesn’t replace it. Offline participation methods are still widespread, as they’ve proven their value for many communities by allowing for deliberation and debate.
More and more local governments are engaging their communities in decision-making. Whether it’s to increase trust or create more inclusive policies, community engagement has become a central part of local government and we’ve found that digital engagement with CitizenLab leads to 12x more participation on average. To help local governments keep up, engagement teams are being formed in cities all across the country.
Building a community where residents trust their government requires a strategic and intentional approach to engagement. To ensure your initiatives are successful, it's essential to establish a strong community engagement strategy based on the following six pillars.
By engaging their communities and tapping into collective intelligence, cities across the globe can set better priorities and facilitate sustainable development on a local scale.
In a time where problems with governance can be overwhelming, governments are frantically searching for a solution. There is a constant debate about how exactly a government should go about facilitating change, whether that be with incremental improvement or radical change.
A comprehensive community engagement strategy is key to ensuring the smooth launch of – and satisfying outcomes for – projects. Before initiating a project, it’s best to set clear objectives, define roles and responsibilities, and select the most promising communication channels. Looking for some guidance? Discover CitizenLab’s Online Engagement Canvas and how it can help you design your strategy.
Community engagement platforms can increase civic participation, improve trust between residents and governments, and can help collect data that increases the impact of your projects. When you optimize the way you use social impact data, there’s a real opportunity to assess a project’s performance and outcomes, improve future processes, and run more efficient and ethical projects.
If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re probably already convinced that citizen participation is a good thing. However, what you might not be so convinced about is that involving community members in decision-making can be done without huge amounts of resources. And yet, it’s true thanks to digital participation!
You know that your residents want to be more involved in local decision-making, but how do you involve them both meaningfully and efficiently? Community engagement can help by facilitating more active collaboration with the residents, businesses, visitors, and other stakeholders in your community.
Citizen initiatives are gaining popularity, citizen assemblies are proposed as a solution to defrost polarised debate, and overall, there are more participation methods to choose from than ever before.
Citizen initiatives – also known as community proposals – are often seen as a potential antidote to growing political disaffection in many parts of the world. However, not all proposal programs are the same. We have identified four key success factors.
Today’s political landscape is characterised by strong polarisation, a sense of unease, and a decline of trust in our governments (and democracy as a whole).
In recent years, communities across the globe have voiced a burgeoning need and desire to be directly involved in local decision-making.
Three years ago we asked ourselves, “How can natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning technologies help digital democracy platforms?” CitizenLab developed a feature that realizes just that.
The world has received a crash course in digital interaction and tools during the COVID-19 pandemic. With social distancing as a catalyst for digital engagement, Civic Tech started to invest in facilitating digital deliberation; a field that historically had not been its forte.
When it comes to community engagement, most governments’ first concerns are the associated costs. Large-scale projects involving thousands of people must be incredibly costly, right? Well… not always. An online community engagement platform can drastically reduce the cost of participation. Let’s dive deeper into the investment and what you get in return.
Placemaking is a people-centered approach to urban planning that focuses on transforming public spaces in a way that brings communities together and creates beautiful, accessible, and interactive cities. Leading with the goal to meet the needs of their residents and create more authentic and welcoming spaces, local governments have been turning to community engagement methods, including digital platforms, in their placemaking initiatives. Community participation allows councils to directly connect with residents and gather fresh ideas and information on how public spaces should be used and improved. This allows communities to grow and adapt according to the needs of the people who live in them.
In the aftermath of a polarising debate, public servants are expected to put the pieces of the puzzle back together. But how do you bridge this divide and inspire your community to move forward together? The answer could lie in community engagement.
The terms “community engagement” and “community development” are sometimes used interchangeably. After all, both ideas are based on the strength and improvement of our communities. Nonetheless, there are a few key distinctions between the two concepts. Let’s take a closer look at what they are.
Whether you’re working in the public or private sector, you’ll inevitably find yourself needing buy-in from community members and other stakeholders. Comprehensive plans, economic development plans, strategic plans, climate action plans, mobility plans – whatever your mandate, most planning processes share the same core components and necessitate public engagement.
So, you’ve engaged your community. You’ve asked residents and stakeholders to share ideas, cast votes, or take part in a survey. You might’ve even asked them to allocate budgets or invited them to an online workshop. And now, your community engagement results are in.
Survey, idea collection, participatory budget… when launching a community engagement project, there are many participation methods to choose from.
Anonymous participation can be the key to unlocking engagement on topics that your community is divided on. We’ve helped clients host their fair share of such projects on CitizenLab platforms, and we heard the desire for an anonymous participation option loud and clear. Read more to learn how this latest feature can help increase engagement rates.
Are you a firm believer in the offline old-school? Or do you choose the digital route whenever you can? Good news: when it comes to community engagement, you don’t have to pick one.
Harnessing the full power of your community engagement platform requires effective moderation. This ensures vibrant, inclusive dialogue, and boosts trust. Dive into best practices to enhance the quality and productivity of the conversations on your platform.
Every local government and organisation that has launched a community engagement project knows the challenge: How do you reach underrepresented groups? In this article, we’ll cover some of the good practices for inclusive community engagement so that you’ll be ready to broaden your participation and activate even hard-to-reach target groups.
Ensuring that your community engagement is successful and worthwhile requires full buy-in and continuous support from all levels of the community, starting with your organisation and eventually also your residents. It comes down to creating a culture of engagement. This doesn’t have to be daunting, and in the long run it will save you time, money, and headaches.
When it comes to engaging with the public, social media is often a first instinct for many government officials. It is easy to access, widely utilised, and is often the first place people go to share their opinions on trending issues or topics in their communities. In fact, according to TechCrunch, 62% of adults now get their news from social media. But when it comes to meaningful and effective community engagement, especially if it’s in pursuit of inclusive and equitable policy-making, social media lacks the moderation, security, and deliberation required for officials to make truly representative decisions.
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