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inCommon is the Participatory Governance Blog of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy. Here you will find information about the latest resources, studies, programs and discussions about Civic Engagement in California, throughout the nation and around the world. We hope that the case studies and technological innovations discussed here will spark new reflection and conversation regarding both what legitimate civic engagement looks like and why it is important for good governance, particularly at the local level.

New to Civic Engagement? Check out our foundational documents »

Portland Mayor on Prosperous Cities

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Davenport Institute

Sam Adams, mayor of Portland, Oregon shares his take on a new approach to planning for prosperous cities in an era of austerity:

When I talk about planning, I’m not just referencing plotting spots on a map where new bikeways will run, or where new business districts will pop up. Instead, I’m talking about how to understand the specific and real human challenges we face, and then how to establish priorities that are shared by community members and government. This is what creates a real playbook to guide future decisions.

Our challenges? Our historic approach to planning has widened the economic and academic disparities between white and nonwhite Portlanders. In addition, and until recently, only 54 percent of our high school students graduated on time. And increasingly, global and national decisions impact our main streets as much as or more than local City Council decisions.

You can read more here.

Posted in City, Planning/Land Use | Leave a comment

Participatory Budgeting in Denver

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Davenport Institute

The Engaging Cities blog recently ran an article on a two-part participatory budgeting engagement in Denver, CO:

A series of public forums put keypad polling devices in the hands of city employees and Denver residents to test the best ideas for how to address the City’s financial challenges. The Mayor also unveiled a new participatory budgeting tool encouraging public feedback on key topics relative to fixing Denver’s budget gap. The new interactive tool, Delivering Denver’s Future, gives residents a unique opportunity to weigh in on how to fix the city’s broken budget.

You can read more about the process and project here.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Vital Leadership Skill

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Davenport Institute

Executive Director Pete Peterson has authored an article in the latest issue of California Special District Magazine. The article, which shares a title with the Davenport Institute’s public engagement training program, looks at changes taking place in local governance:

As the Internet makes public organization easier and governing institutions face growing distrust in the wake of scandals like those that wracked the City of Bell, local government leaders – from special districts to cities and counties – must become more intentional about how they include the public in policy-making.  As one California official quipped to me recently, “We either engage the public, or they’ll engage us . . . and I don’t mean that in a good way.”

You can read Peterson’s full article, “Public Engagement: The Vital Leadership Skill,” here (starting on page 18).

Posted in California, City, Training | Leave a comment