Public Engagement Spectrum Snapshot: Consult As we move into the fall of an unprecedented year, we are inviting you both to ask “what is it that we are trying to do as we engage the public?” and to let the answerdrive the process you use to engage. We have been taking a look back at the spectrum of engagement through the lens of the pandemic to equip you to take the risk of inviting residents to live into their identity as citizens (regardless of immigration status). This month’s spotlight is on the second stage of the spectrum: Consulting the public. Last month we looked at how the way we inform the public changes when we start with the question “what does the public need to know to be able to join the decision-making process?” When approached this way, informing becomes “stage one” for every other type of engagement. As we begin to move further to the right on the spectrum, we are entering the real space of engagement: inviting residents to be involved in the decisions that impact them. One important thing to note is that while the stages of the public engagement spectrum do build upon one another, and while each stage represents a greater level of public investment and a greater willingness for traditional decision-makers to “take their hands off the wheel” of the outcome, it would be a mistake to think that the farther along the spectrum a government is operating, the better it is doing in terms of engagement. Residents lead complex lives, with a variety of demands - they neither expect nor desire to take over all the operations of local government. The vast majority of really good local engagement projects fall under the banner of “consulting” or “incorporating,” and that’s okay! The important thing is to know where you are on the spectrum, because that will shape how you engage. When City Council, or City Management, or anyone else says “we should engage the public on this issue,” the first question should be “For what purpose?” What is it that you want from the public? If your purpose is for residents to help prioritize between a finite number of options, that is a sure sign that you are seeking to consult them. This could be anything from involving the public in the tradeoffs between raising taxes/fees or cutting services to having residents identify the most important elements in the development of new parkland. The key is that the public is presented with a set of pre-developed options, and is asked for their feedback on those options. Government remains the final decision maker, but seeks to align decisions with public preferences. Consulting requires a longer timeline than a mere informational meeting. Besides legally required public noticing, you will want to think about when a busy family member can make a meeting (or tune in virtually). You want to think about who your partners are for contacting hard-to-reach community members. You may want to think creatively about ways to involve people who are not traditionally involved. Although traditionally consulting with the public is often limited to surveys, you ideally want to create space (online or offline) where people can hear from each other, can discuss different priorities, pros, and cons, and perhaps even offer creative compromises that weren’t on your radar. In this way, feedback can really become community feedback - rather than just majority individual preference. In non-covid times, consultation processes are a great opportunity to experiment with pop-up engagement. In these times of limited face-to-face interaction, there are a variety of virtual platforms that can help. Ethelo is an interesting tool for crowdsourcing preferences around design decisions. Bang the Table and Public Input offer features that seek to mimic in-person workshops. Balancing Act allows residents to explore budget options and tradeoffs. Many governments are also using video meeting technology like Zoom (particularly those with break-out group features) to creatively facilitate conversations about tradeoffs. At the end of the day, remember that the goal is for the city to have a solid understanding of public preferences between the options on the table, and let that goal drive the process you plan.