Innovating at the Point of Citizen Engagement: Making Every Moment Count

INNOVATING AT THE POINT OF CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT: MAKING EVERY MOMENT COUNT

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WELCOME / CONTENTS

Introduction

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The Spectrum of Citizen Engagement

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Arnstein’s Ladder - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8

IAP2’s Spectrum - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8

Maslow’s Hierarchy - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8

“Must Do” Moments

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Retooling Tax Time: How to Educate and Engage Taxpayers on the Go - - - - - - - - - 11 Rejuvenating Jury Duty: How a “Captive” Audience Becomes a Catalyst for Action - - - 13 Constructing Strong Communities: Improving the Permit and Property

Management Process - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 17

“Should Do” Moments

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Helping the Hard to Reach: How Savvy Social Workers Build Digital Bridges - - - - - - 21 Transforming Town Hall: How a Co-Located Community Center Works Wonders - - - - 23 Engaging By Email: How to “Upsell Engagement” Through Sign-Ups and Subscriptions - 27

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“Can Do” Moments -

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Enabling Citizen Energy: How Raleigh Opens Up Opportunities for Innovation - - - - - - 30 Mobilizing a Movement: How Online Community Connects Neighbors in Need - - - - - 35 Overcoming Budget Constraints: How Crowdfunding Supplements Tight Budgets - - - - - 37

Summary

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Acknowledgements About GovLoop Resources

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INTRODUCTION

What’s the point of citizen engagement?

If you think about it, that question has two answers: 1. When you first hear that question, you likely think of the word “point” as tied to meaning.

The point, in this case, comes from asking ourselves: Why do we want citizens to have an exchange with government? What’s the point of them interacting with us? Is completing a transaction enough or do we want citizens to tell government more about their experience related to that transaction? Do we want them to get more involved in the machinations of government?

2. Of course, there is another way of thinking about the point of citizen engagement, which is the place where citizens encounter their government. As citizens lead increasingly mobile lives and many services move online or to mobile environments, such as tablets and apps,

the physical location of engagement is becoming less relevant. In many ways, the place has become more like a moment when necessity meets opportunity.

For example, let’s say my son says, “Daddy, let’s go fishing” one sunny Saturday morning and I say, “Sorry, son, but we’d need to head over to the Department of Natural Resources to get a license, and by the time we go there and get back, it’s going to be too late.” Instead, imagine that I could say, “Let’s do it, son! I’ll use DNR’s mobile app to get our licenses right now. We’ll be out the door in 10 minutes. Get the gear and hop in the car.”

The point of engagement, in this case, is being available wherever citizens require a key interaction with or important information from government.

This guide is designed to offer innovative examples of government agencies that are seeking to improve access to services and infor-

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mation in a variety of moments when citizens engage with government. It aims to inspire government organizations to leverage these moments as opportunities to build trust and empower citizens. Specifically, this report will explore:

“Must Do” Moments These points of engagement are compulsory.

Whether it is paying taxes, reporting for jury duty or getting a permit to operate machinery or engage in recreation, citizens are required by law to perform these actions. How do we leverage these “forced” moments to inform and invite citizens to other opportunities for engagement? We share two innovative examples in this section.

“Should Do” Moments These are the points of engagement when citizens aren’t required to participate, but it behooves them to do so. They might be eligible for benefits, interested in budget and policy decisions, or invested in an electoral outcome, but lack the time or knowledge to participate fully. How does government make it easier to take advantage of these opportunities? This

section covers case studies where government has effectively facilitated a connection.

“Can Do” Moments Sometimes citizens create their own rallying point. They gather together around a common cause and say, “we can do it!” - and they do. They organize themselves and take action on a pressing issue or community challenge sometimes creating tools and resources that supplement the good work of elected officials and government employees. How does government most effectively come alongside these initiatives to appropriately fuel the positive, collective energy of a committed group of citizens? This section shares case studies of citizen-led, government-supported partnership.

None of these moments are more important than another, but all are vital to building a better society of informed and active citizens. This guide will help you think innovatively about the points of engagement in which “we the people” - public sector professionals and the citizens you serve - can work collaboratively to make the most of every moment where we encounter each other.

This guide will help you think innovatively about the points of engagement in which “we the people” - public sector professionals and the citizens you serve - can work collaboratively to make the most of every moment where we encounter each other.

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GOVERNMENTCITIZENENGAGEMENT

The Spectrum of Citizen Engagement

ll too often, we make a false distinction between two tiers of engagement - passive (pay a bill, submit a form, receive an email) and active (feedback, participation, volunteerism) - and we typically consider the latter to be more valuable than the former. The truth is that there is a spectrum of citizen engagement and government operates most effectively when it thinks about service provision and information delivery in ways that leverage what is important

to the citizen in real-time. The key is learning their interests and providing more of whatever is meaningful to citizens in the midst of their busy lives.

The literature supporting this idea of a citizen engagement spectrum is plentiful. For instance, Sherry Arnstein proposed a “Ladder of Citizen Participation” that ranged from nonparticipation to citizen power. At the bottom of Arnstein’s ladder is manipulation and therapy, which is when government attempts to push an agenda or use influence to build support

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for an idea. In the next three levels, government tells citizens what they need to know (informing), encourages participation in surveys and town hall meetings to gain feedback (consultation) or invites citizens to participate in planning committees with limited authority (placation). The top three rungs find citizens and government sitting side-byside on governing boards with decision-making authority (partnerships and delegated power) or even giving citizens the final say on matters that impact them and their communities (citizen power).

Another more recent model is the “Spectrum of Engagement Activities” developed by the International Association for Public Participation. Like Arnstein’s ladder, government can inform, consult, involve, collaborate and empower citi-

zens via varying types of engagement. The IAP2 model is shown to the right.

Finally, GovLoop Founder Steve Ressler has suggested that “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a great way to view the citizen demand curve.”

He explained in a blog post on GovLoop that government must meet citizens’ basic needs before moving them up the hierarchy.

Based on several indicators, Ressler learned that, “Fundamental needs like applying for benefits or emergency alerts are inherently more popular than deeper engagement” when it comes to online interactions – and government can leverage the points of basic engagement to move citizens toward more robust forms of interaction and involvement.

In fact, Ressler asks govern-

ment readers an important question:

Are you connecting the base needs of citizens to deeper engagement opportunities?

In many ways, it’s this question that drives the vignettes – the “must do”, “should do” and “can do” moments - that you’ll read in the next three sections as they reveal innovative ways that government has leveraged one point of engagement to move citizens to another level.

Engage with Colleagues To join the conversation on related blog posts on GovLoop, please visit: How Agencies Can Climb the 8 Rungs of Citizen Participation Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need for Citizens

Resources “Best Practices in Citizen Engagement” by American Speaks “Planning for Stronger Local Democracy” by the National League of Cities “The Spectrum of Public Participation” by the International Association of Public Participation

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Models Of Citizen Engagement

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1. LADDER OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

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Citizen Control

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Delegated Power

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Partnership

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Placation

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Consultation

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Informing

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Therapy

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Manipulation

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Citizen Power

Tokenism

Nonparticipation

2. SPECTRUM OF ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES Increasing Level of Public Impact

Public Participation Goal

Example Techniques

Inform

Consult

Involve

Collaborate

Empower

To provide the public with balanced and objective information to assist them in understanding the problem, alternatives, opporunities and/or solutions.

To obtain public feedback on analysis, alternatives and/or decisions.

To work directly with the public throughout the process to ensure that public concerns and aspirations are consistently understood and considered.

To partner with the public in each aspext of the decision including the development of alternatives and the identification of the preferred solution.

To place final decision-making in the hands of the public.

Fact sheets Web sites Open houses

Public comment Focus groups Surveys Public meetings

Workshops Deliberative polling

Citizen advisory committees Consensus-building Participatory decision-making

Citizen juries Ballots Delegated decision

Citizen Problem Solving

This could include building an app based on open data or organizing a citizen watch group. Volunteer activities and events that seek impact are found at this level.

Sharing Ideas

In-person or online town halls offer opportunities to give feedback on programs. Citizens also gather to enjoy art or musical performance where community members share their talents.

General Agency Content/News/Events

Citizens want a sense of belonging. This means getting news about your community, such as parks information or the latest on a new school opening.

Emergencies/Jobs

Emergency alerts like text/emails with snow/hurricane or health-related information. This level deals with finding employment – providing for one’s family.

Basic Transactions

For government, that’s the basic transactions - getting a driver’s license, renewing a passport, applying for food stamps or paying taxes for services that support society.

3. MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS Morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of predjudice, acceptance of facts

Self-Actualization

Self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others

Esteem

Friendship, family, sexual intimacy

Love/Belonging

Security of: body, employment, resources, morality, the family, health, property

Breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion

Safety Physiological

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“MUST DO” MOMENTS

t’s the law. Plain and simple, there are just some actions which government demands of its citizens. For instance, President James Madison once said that, “The power of taxing people and their property is essential to the very existence of government” and former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes noted that, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” If you want to drive a vehicle, you must obtain a valid license. When a letter comes in the mail summoning you to appear in court, you must comply or be held in contempt.

The truth is that most of us chafe at being told that we “must do” something. Knowing this re-

ality – that compulsory actions can be onerous – government bears a responsibility to make these actions as easy as possible. That could mean modernizing “must do” moments for the 21st century by adapting the latest technology to place the power of real-time information at citizens’ fingertips. It might also mean leveraging these moments to guide citizens toward other interactions with government that are more meaningful to them – the things that move them up Arnstein’s ladder or rise to the top of Maslow’s hierarchy – and that ultimately build trust and mutual respect.

This section explores two ways that government could modernize and more effectively engage citizens during two “must do” moments: taxes and jury duty.

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Retooling Tax Time: How to Educate and Engage Taxpayers on the Go Like clockwork, tax season rolls around every April and citizens across the nation flood the IRS with phone calls and website visits looking for vital information. While many citizens loathe the idea of filing taxes, it is something everyone must do to remain in accordance with the law. In order to make the process easier and to provide citizens with the information they need in a timely manner, former IRS commissioner Doug Shulman pushed for a mobile tool that would have a big impact on the filing season by allowing citizens to get their refund status without having to use the telephone or the web.

In January 2011, the IRS developed the “IRS2Go” app in order to provide services and information that citizens were using on the IRS.gov website via mobile phones. Originally, the IRS identified 25 ideas to engage citizens through the IRS2Go app based on visitor activity on their website, but ultimately focused on just four main features as a starting point:

seeing your refund status, receiving tax law updates, engaging with IRS on social media, and getting contact information for agency personnel.

Ideally, the app would not just be a one time, downloadable tool, but would expand the relationship with citizens beyond the official IRS website.

In order to understand and respond to citizen feedback regarding the app, an IRS team paid close attention to the ratings and reviews being provided in the various app stores. Issues included everything from ‘look and feel’ to recommended features.

By reviewing this ongoing user feedback and monitoring citizen interactions with the agency across the web, the IRS updated the app and released a new version with expanded features in February 2013. For instance, the IRS noticed an increase in visits to the agency’s YouTube channel, so the new

iteration of the app included new and popular videos, marking another key integration with social media.

Mike Silvia, Director of Online Experience and Operations Management at the IRS, noted that, “people embracing IRS2Go has been terrific. Citizens are using it more and more for finding their refund status, so much so that between 15-20% of all online interaction with the IRS now comes through the ‘Where’s My Refund’ tool on mobile devices.” The IRS2Go app has also received numerous accolades and government innovation awards for creatively utilizing new technology to engage citizens and deliver better services.

In addition to providing another communication point with the IRS, the app has generated nearly 140,000 email subscribers, which enables the IRS to deliver timely information to taxpayers and sustain the relationship with citizens beyond a single point in time when they submit their tax return.

7 K E Y S TO E N G AGING CITI ZE NS O N TH E G O WITH M OBI LE APP S How can other agencies learn from the IRS’ success with the IRS2Go app? Below are seven lessons they have learned over the last two years:

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1. Identify a champion. The impetus for creating the IRS2Go app came from the very top. It’s not always the case that an agency head will spur an innovation, but most successful initiatives that break new ground have the imprimatur of a high-ranking official. If you’ve got an innovative idea, find a senior leader that will support and sustain the initiative from concept to completion.

2. Respond to known citizen activity. Did you notice that the IRS began their development of the app by learning how citizens were already interacting with the agency on the web? They performed an analysis of historic visitor activity on their official site and generated a list of potential feature sets to inform product requirements. Leverage the data you already have to identify citizen information preferences.

3. Narrow your project scope.

The IRS exercised extraordinary restraint to whittle down

25 ideas to just 4 final features.

Yet that prioritization and decision-making process was one of the big reasons they were able to stand up the app quickly and successfully.

4. Think outside the box.

Since IRS2Go isn’t a big legacy system or a tax processing system, it needed a different approach to implementation.

The IRS did not follow the traditional product development model they have in place. “We came up with a modified software development process to get some of our more lighter weight changes out there,”

said Silvia. As a result, “we created the app inexpensively and efficiently without taking any shortcuts on security.”

5. Iterate quickly and regularly. That modified process also allowed the IRS to make changes on a more regular basis. They make updates to the app about once a week, fixing bugs and improving the citizen experience in much shorter increments.

6. Listen to citizen feedback.

As mentioned above, the IRS is “constantly watching the ratings in the app store to see

Engage with Colleagues Have you heard of the Mobile Gov Community of Practice? It’s hosted at HowTo.gov as a cross-government, multidisciplinary community dedicated to creating open systems and technical assistance tools to build a public-centric path to government anytime, anywhere. Its members created the Mobile Gov Wiki with over 100 articles about Mobile Gov topics and practices. The Wiki includes tools and resources to help agencies build a mobile strategy and implement customer–facing mobile products so they don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Please visit HowTo.gov/communities/mobilegov to connect with other mobile government innovators. There’s also a MobileGov group on GovLoop: http://www.govloop.com/group/mobilegov

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where people are having issues and addressing those concerns,” said Silvia. “While we’ve focused more on the features, you’ll also see that we’ve made design changes. For instance, we don’t have the image in the background anymore due to feedback.” Lesson: listen to feedback and be responsive.

7. Integrate with other communication channels. IRS2Go has helped to get more citizens subscribed to agency news by email and social media platforms. They have an integrated communications approach which uses the IRS2Go app to drive people to the traditional website and YouTube for information and urges people to sign up for email updates. In turn, social media serves as an additional listening tool and directs citizens to the website for better information.

To learn more about IRS2Go and to see examples of other agencies using mobile apps to engage the public, please visit http://apps.usa.gov.

Rejuvenating Jury Duty: Can a “Captive” Audience Be a Catalyst for Citizen Engagement?

There you sit, held captive at the courthouse for several hours while you wait to see if you’re called to be a juror. You know it’s your civic duty, but you can’t help but feel a bit like the people who are sitting trial - a little nervous knowing that your future rests mostly at the mercy of someone else.

The truth is, whenever you are called for jury duty, you become a public servant - a critical role in our democratic society. That’s why it’s worth exploring the potential for this “must do” moment of civic service to become a catalyst for other forms of engagement.

Again, we turn to an excerpt from a blog post by GovLoop Founder Steve Ressler: Yesterday, I spent all day in jury duty. In the end, I didn’t get picked for the weeklong trial, but I found the whole process pretty fascinating. It’s great to see a truly diverse, cross-section group of individuals across the city come together to serve in government. Based on my ex-

perience, I wanted to share 3 lessons that any citizen engagement project can learn from jury duty: 1. It’s a civic duty: I was impressed by how many people in the room mentioned that they didn’t mind jury duty as it was their civic duty. The judges mentioned multiple times that it was what made America great and emphasized the importance of juries to the process.

Lesson: It made me feel like I mattered as a citizen and that what we were doing was important. Most people are willing to make a sacrifice and help out - if you make it clear what you want them to accomplish.

2. Make it concrete: What I like about jury duty is that it is very clear. Show up on this date at this location. Often citizen engagement and volunteer projects are vague in timing and vague in what they need.

Lesson: There’s something great about simplicity - you are asked

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once on a specific day and most people know what to do. Also, it is concrete on what is done with your input. If you are on a jury, you come together and decide on a trial. Too often with citizen engagement programs, it’s unclear how much of the feedback will be utilized.

3. It’s all about execution. The little things make a big difference. The city had obviously thought through the jurors’ perspective and it was pretty smooth (free parking garage, quick security, friendly checkin, flat panel TVs, free wi-fi, cafe next to the room, and magazines).

Lesson: Throughout the day, the city executed well and it felt that they respected your time.

In the end, it all comes down to execution and these items have a huge impact on whether the person has a positive or negative perception of government.

Why don’t we use jury duty waiting time better?

This would be the “perfect” place to encourage citizens to sign up for city alerts, ask for input on a city project, give reminders about important deadlines and notices. You have a captive audience that is thinking about government and are bored in the waiting room.

In response to this question, GovLoop members shared the following ways that government might make better use of this “must do” moment:

Show Educational and/or Promotional Videos: One respondent asked, “Why not have videos or interactives about the history of the justice system in the U.S., or about the history of the common laws and courts in general (perhaps providing context for the current U.S. system)?” Another contributor affirmed the potential value of this idea: “When I served on jury duty a year or so ago, there were 3- to 4-minute video loops running on what we could expect during the selection process -which information was reiterated live when the court clerk came to get the crowd to go into the courtroom for the selection process. I would have enjoyed learning about upcoming County or City issues

or events, other opportunities to participate in the County and City government processes, about outstanding historic and current area citizens, etc. “ Highlight Local Heroes: There are people in every community who are making a difference. For instance, “We probably can never thank soldiers, law enforcement, civil engineers, etc. enough!” remarked one GovLoop member.

She then wondered: “Who, locally and in other communities, are the ‘regular’ folks working in the public sector who do admirable or worthy things?” The negative citizen perception of government employees could be countered by sharing innovative, cost-saving activities that shows citizens how public servants are striving to

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be good stewards of their tax dollars.

Feature Non-Profits / Civic Organizations Where Citizens May Donate or Volunteer: Similar to the previous idea, jury duty could be used to inform people about the important work performed by key organizations in the region. One commenter on GovLoop noted, “In my county, they have multiple non-profit organizations to which the juror can opt to donate their payment from the court to the chosen non-profit group.”

In order to help people know more about the potential places to donate, there could be “a slideshow presentation featuring each non-profit and showing the jurors how the money from the previous donations were used would be informative as well as feature some volunteer opportunities to the jurors offered in their community.”

Promote Sign-Up for Other Events and Information: Another missed opportunity appears to be sign-ups for official, regulated activities: “Perhaps citizens could register with Live Scan or get a

background check performed, should they decide to purchase a gun? High-blood pressure or other health screening?

Donate blood or platelets?

Help prep food for a local food bank? Register for voting? Get additional background on current and near-term events in the legislature? Apply for public sector jobs? Participate in information-gathering polls or surveys? Take a (short, pre-approved) seminar that has been made available on the public network within the complex, so as not to unduly bias potential jurors, or compromise the security of the potential trial(s)? “ Gain Feedback on Key Initiatives: All too often, it’s hard to get the perspective of an average citizen on an issue. It always seems like the people on the polar opposite sides are the ones who are active in voicing their opinion. What if jury duty was a chance to get citizen input on the core strategic issues facing a community? One GovLoop member suggested the following process:

Maybe a person introduces a video that gives them information about a topic/issue; and then asks what they think should be done. If they have ideas, they can put them in a comments box. (Since they maybe called into court any minute, you can’t really have a full-blown discussion or round table.) But I’d suggest taking baby steps; maybe do this once a month or quarter and see what happens. “ Ensure that there’s free wifi so people can remain productive: Keeping people productive and contributing to their work environments might be another simple way to leverage the wait time. “If I were called today, I would bring my laptop and do as much real work as possible,” said one GovLoop member.

“That’s where I make the greatest impact.”

Impact is the key word, and jury duty is just one more opportunity to connect with citizens and cultivate a sustainable relationship that has lasting impact beyond a random point in time.

“I think the key is to be very selective about the topic; and make the presentation optional, interesting and appealing.

Engage with Colleagues To join the conversation about rejuvenating jury duty, please visit: Does Jury Duty = Citizen Engagement?

How Can We Get Citizens More Engaged While They Wait at Jury Duty?

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Maximizing the “Must Do” Moments: 4 Core Questions “Must do” moments are the foundation for government engagement with citizens.

Mandatory opportunities may be your best (if not only) interaction, so it’s important to get them right as it sets the tone for public perception and citizen satisfaction.

Make a list of the “must do” moments where you have responsibility and input, and ask each of these questions: 1. How can we modernize this point of engagement to make it easier or faster?

2. How can we leverage this point of engagement to help citizens learn more about other services, events, or other resources that benefit them?

3. How can we use this moment to gain citizen input on core initiatives that require public feedback?

4. How can we get citizens to mobilize or take action in their community?

Citizens are compelled to participate in these “must do” moments. How are you making the most of this mandatory opportunity?

“Must Do” Pivot Points CONTRACTING: RFPs / RFQs EDUCATION: Enrollment Applications HEALTH: Inspection Scores HOUSING: Taxes and Permits HUMAN RESOURCES: Job Applications LIBRARY: Checkout RECREATION: Park Fees SOCIAL SERVICES: Standard Forms TRANSPORTATION: License / Registration

Can you think of other “must do” moments for citizens?

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Enabling Citizens to Build Strong Communities More Efficiently An Interview with Maury Blackman, CEO of Accela

When it comes to citizen engagement, there are some actions that fall between “must do” and “should do.” Businesses need to file forms and abide by laws and regulations, while homeowners pay property taxes and make upgrades to their land or houses. At the point of these interactions is a company called Accela, which powers thousands of services and millions of transactions for more than 500 public agencies worldwide, enabling governments to connect with citizens and streamline processes related to land management, asset management, licensing, and public health & safety. We had the opportunity to interview Accela’s CEO, Maury Blackman, and gain his insights regarding ways in which governments can streamline citizen access to key information and important interactions.

Q: What is citizen engagement?

Blackman: “From our standpoint, citizen engagement really hits three areas. First, it includes managing public infrastructure in terms of taking care of what’s in the city - fixing potholes, downed stop signs, etc.

The second piece is making it easy to open a business by enabling entrepreneurs and small business owners to understand the rules and requirements to set up a restaurant, for instance. Third, we look at property management. People are obviously passionate about their homes and the places where they live.

How does government have a conversation with them about what’s going on with their property as well as their neighbors and what’s going on around them?”

Q: Why is mobile engagement becoming more and more important?

Blackman: “Let me give you a clear case study about why mobile matters. One of the key markets that our customers want to work with includes contractors. They want to reach out to contractors to make it easy to build in their communities. Well, guess what? Contractors don’t sit behind desks and surf websites.

They’re on the job. They’re doing work! But what do they all have? They all have phones. If we can provide those services to them on a mobile phone so they can transact with their government - get permits, schedule inspections, get updates directly from their phones - then we’ve accomplished our mission.”

Q: Do you have an example you can cite?

Blackman: “One of my favorite stories is this small border town in Arizona called Nogales. They have a need for citizen engagement just like New York City, Boston or Washington, DC. We were able to go in with our civic cloud and get them up and running within just a few months. Now they have a very effective system that they are happy with that is regulating the businesses in their neighborhoods and helping them build buildings faster.”

Q: In 100 words or less, how does Accela help government and citizens connect?

Blackman: “If you want in your jurisdiction to be able to build buildings fast, and fill those up with cutting edge businesses, then you need to be talking to us. We can put you on the forefront of those activities and enable you to engage with your customers in ways you probably didn’t think of before.”

To read the full interview, click here. To learn more about Accela and their Civic Cloud, please visit: http://www. accela.com/civiccloud

The Civic Cloud.

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MOVE UP. GET STARTED TODAY.

civic excellence

+

=

civic engagement

civic good Accela connects governments to people and streamlines processes such as permitting, licensing, asset land management and public health & safety.

We power civic excellence.

We apply cloud, mobile and social technologies to agency and citizen challenges and connect government to people. We empower civic engagement.

At Accela, civic excellence + civic engagement = civic good.

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“SHOULD DO” MOMENTS

ust as there are “Must Do” moments for citizens, there are also activities and services that citizens ought to utilize if they are eligible, such as accessing benefits, participating in elections, attending public events or visiting public parks and museums. There are also important opportunities for them to increase their levels of civic engagement, like attending town

hall meetings to voice their opinions or sharing their feedback in a participatory budgeting process. In this guide, we refer to these opportunities as “Should Do” moments. So how can government make it easier for citizens to participate in these “Should Do” points of engagement? Below we have identified case studies and provided some best practices to empower citizens to become more civically engaged, or to take advantage of government services and resources.

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Transforming Town Hall: How Co-Located Community Centers Work Wonders

Officials of the City of Takoma Park, Maryland, have transformed how their city town hall serves citizens. Not only is town hall a place where permits are processed, licenses approved, and parking tickets paid, but it is also now a social and recreational hub for the community. City employees and elected officials are able to leverage the community center as a way to notify citizens about benefits and services that government offers.

“Traditionally, City Hall was a staid place,” said Takoma Park City Manager Suzanne Ludlow.

“You would come to get certain permits, you would pay bills and you would come for city council meetings.” However, once Ludlow, in partnership with city officials and interested citizens, expanded the meaning of town hall by co-locating their city hall and a community center, the new

building “became a lot less intimidating.”

The idea to co-locate the community center came about as city officials witnessed something interesting happening in the afternoons at their old city hall - children hanging out in the hallways after the three nearby schools let out for the day. Officials realized that the city needed more community space for citizens, and especially for children. To create more community space, the city secured funding for a new city hall building that would double as a community center.

Today, the city hall includes everything from traditional city hall staples like city council chambers, notary services, tax and permit offices as well as non-traditional city hall opportunities like community space for art shows, a multiuse theatre, and recreational

and afternoon programs for kids. Ludlow says that the city has seen successful engagement and sustained relationships through their new city hall space.

“People come in for one reason - say a new family in the area needs to get passports for their kids. They come in and right at their desk is our recreation guide and they see other kids playing in the game room. The family thinks ‘oh, I need an after school program’ and then speaks with the recreation program manager.”

In the past, this family may have just picked up their passports and left, but now the city is able to leverage this simple activity to engage with these people and form lasting relationships. Ludlow also mentioned that people enjoy feeling a part of the larger community and sharing valu-

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“Takoma Park, MD was able to turn city hall into a ‘community hall.’

Instead of only going to city hall for permits and to speak with government officials, now residents utilize the space to interact and participate in their community much more regularly.” able feedback with city officials. Kids have pitched ideas about reorganizing the afterschool space and adults have had ideas for new programs that could be held in the community rooms. The city officials love to receive feedback from residents on how they can more effectively use the city hall space.

Takoma Park, MD, was able to turn city hall into a “community hall.” Instead of only going to city hall for permits and to speak with government officials, now residents utilize the space to interact and participate in their community much more regularly.

Not too far from Takoma Park, MD, another suburb of the nation’s capitol created what they call a Neighborhood Resource Center (NRC). In a collaborative venture of the Town of Herndon and Fairfax County,

Virginia, the NRC hosts a multipurpose center that offers integrative services to residents.

The space includes multipurpose meeting rooms, a learning center, computer lab and classrooms. Moreover, the center houses a Community Association Reference Library, which contains information to help strengthen community associations, and hosts the Herndon Police Department’s Community Resources Office with several crime prevention programs, such as the Neighborhood Watch Program.

The key lesson from Takoma Park, MD, and Herndon, VA, is that communities need to identify existing assets and leverage them for deeper civic engagement. In fact, a report by the National League of Cities entitled, Planning for Stronger Local Democracy, cites “Buildings That Can House Citizen Spaces – Physical Hubs

for Engagement” as one of the core building blocks for developing what they call a “shared civic infrastructure.” The key is to make existing hubs – schools, libraries, community centers, etc. – more available, more welcoming and more widely used. Takoma Park did just that.

7 Q UE S TI O N S TO CONSID ER ARO UND C O -LO C ATION If this idea intrigues you or your organization has begun to explore a potential move to co-located services, below are a few questions that might serve as an initial checklist to identify opportunities: 1. Have you taken an inventory of all available property within your geographic purview?

2. Do you know the relative

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number of citizens served at each location?

3. Can you use Geographic Information Systems to map and visualize the properties or citizen traffic and identify trends?

4. Could you consolidate lessvisited locations with buildings that receive higher traffic?

5. Are there vacant or underused buildings in strategic locations in your community that could serve as a hub for new or enhanced engagement?

6. Are there opportunities to coordinate citizen service delivery among levels of government (city, county, state, federal) and across functional areas (police, community development, social services, etc.) to maximize impact?

7. How can you elicit citizen feedback at the point of service?

There are a number of ways that government can consolidate resources in ways that both cut costs and serve citizens more efficiently. Co-locating “should do” moments with “must do” moments is just one of those creative approaches.

Helping the Hard to Reach: How Savvy Social Workers Build Digital Bridges Helping citizens realize they are eligible for benefits and social services is one of the core ways government can empower the “Should Do” moments. There are a number of citizens who are eligible to receive government support and services based on a person’s age, employment, socioeconomic status, or health condition. Often these citizens find themselves in vulnerable or challenging circumstances, and government needs to work even harder to ensure that these individuals receive the support and services for which they are eligible. This phenomenon is especially true for social workers.

To gather insights on how government might more effectively engage some of society’s harder-to-reach citizens, Gov-

Engage with Colleagues To join the conversation on GovLoop about creative use of public buildings, please visit: How Can Government Get More Creative with Public Buildings?

Loop spoke with Ellen Belluomini, a licensed social worker in Michigan.

Belluomini sees her job as being a bridge for vulnerable populations that may lack access or representation in a digital world. She urges practitioners in the social services to recognize and integrate technology into their practice. Belluomini suggested that some social services professionals feel that they become more detached from their clients if they embrace technology, but she’s finding new tools to put valuable resources at her – and their – fingertips. Belluomini believes that now, more than ever, one of the most important technology touch point for social services professionals to connect with clients is the use of mobile devices.

Belluomini is not alone in her assessment. In an April 2012 report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project entitled, Digital Differences, the

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report revealed that, “Groups that have traditionally been on the other side of the digital divide in basic Internet access are using wireless connections to go online. Among smartphone owners, young adults, minorities, those with no college experience, and those with lower household income levels are more likely than other groups to say their phone is their main source of internet access.”

Belluomini sees this trend firsthand.

“Marginalized populations use phones more than other people because their socioeconomic status doesn’t always account for having Internet access at home.” explained Belluomini. “But if you have a phone, you have Internet access everywhere. They don’t have to pay a $1,000 for a computer. So we try to create very community specific information accessible on mobile devices.”

By encouraging smart investments on technology through mobile devices, social workers can provide clients with important information about their benefits, and provide a low-cost way to access the Internet.

Belluomini believes that government is on the leading edge of app development and has produced some remarkable apps. One example Belluomini

“Marginalized populations use phones more than other people because their socio-economic status doesn’t always account for having Internet access at home. But if you have a phone, you have Internet access everywhere. They don’t have to pay $1,000 for a computer. So we try to create very community specific information accessible on mobile devices.”

- Ellen Belluomini, LCSW, Leader, Educator, Trainer and Blogger at Social Works Digital Divide

cites is the “PTSD Coach,” a free app that provides education, support and tools to help clients manage PTSD. Although this app is especially helpful for Veterans, anybody who has PTSD could use it with their therapist.

Another Pew report entitled, Teens, Smartphones & Texting, shows the potential for mobile technology to engage younger citizens. The report shows that 75% of all teens text and the number of texts per day has risen by 20%, just in the last 3 years.

Belluomini sees this trend in her day-to-day interactions with younger citizens:

“Digital natives are learning at a phenomenal rate how to use this technology,” she said. Belluomini suggested that communities need to partner with parents to assist in teaching even young kids what their actions are going to do twenty years from now – that they are starting a digital footprint which has implications for their future.

A social worker’s role cuts across many different demographics. Beyond helping youth to understand the proper way to leverage technology to communicate, social workers also have the responsibility to educate senior citizens.

Whether training seniors on

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how to use Skype, email, or emerging communication tools, this is an essential process to keep senior citizens connected and to avoid feeling isolated.

cially true when it comes to the “should do” moments that arise for society’s most vulnerable citizens. Below are four strategies for communities to build digital bridges.

tion has launched the Edge Initiative in order to engage key community stakeholders, and provide tools and resources to assist with eliminating the digital divide.

In the end, regardless of age and demographics, building digital bridges comes down to citizen education. “When I first sit down with a client, I do a technology assessment. I figure out where their strengths and weaknesses are with technology. If I am working with a community, I always work with them to expand on whatever resources they have by highlighting certain blogs, or chatrooms or websites, so that they can have access to information outside of a workshop, conference or consultation,” said Belluomini.

4 TAC TI C S FO R BUI LDI NG D I G I TAL BR I DG E S

4. Learn from best practices happening across the United States. From Maine to Mississippi to Montana, communities are tackling this tough issue and seeing successful outcomes. DigitalLiteracy.gov shares dozens of stories and best practices. Read their stories here.

By focusing on education and access, social workers build valuable digital bridges for engagement. This is espe-

1. Conduct a technology assessment with individuals and communities. The University of Washington has developed a Digital Literacy Self Assessment that you can administer to citizens.

2. Provide educational resources to increase digital literacy. Be sure to review the tools at DigitalLiteracy.gov, which are designed to help teach the basics around various types of technology.

3. Leverage libraries as access and education points.

The American Library Associa-

Engage with Colleagues To join the conversation around the importance of bridging the digital divide, please go to: Does the Digital Divide Have a Silver Lining?

How Would You Recommend Closing the Digital Divide?

Social Works Digital Divide Blog

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Shaping the “Should Do” Moments: 4 Core Questions “Should Do” moments are even more plentiful than their “Must Do” counterparts, making it at once easier to identify them and harder to focus your energy. Take a second to think about all the services, events, resources and information that you offer and jot them down. Then ask yourself these questions: 1. How can we consolidate services and resources to create serendipity and efficiencies that make people aware of other opportunities to participate in government “shoulddo” programs?

2. How are citizens already revealing their needs by being in places or making requests that are consistently out of the ordinary?

3. What types of technology or mobile solutions do you need to adopt in order to reach new audiences (from vulnerable populations to tech-savvy young professionals)?

4. As you adopt new technology and mobile approaches to improve citizen services and engagement, who do you need to educate and how can you do that most effectively?

By taking a few key actions, you can ensure that “should do” moments become a catalyst for community members to take better advantage of the opportunities you’re offering them.

“Should Do” Pivot Points BUDGETING: Public Commenting EDUCATION: Financial Aid ENVIRONMENT: Recycling / Waste Reduction HEALTH: Education / Information INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Open Data, Web LIBRARY: Digital Access / Meeting Space PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Publications / Public TV RECREATION: Events / Activities SOCIAL SERVICES: Child Care / Support, Food & Nutrition, Work Assistance

Can you think of other “should do” moments for citizens?

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Engaging by Email: Finding the “Engagement Upsell” Opportunity An Interview with Scott Burns, CEO of GovDelivery

What does it mean to be an engaged citizen? In a recent interview with Scott Burns, CEO and co-Founder of GovDelivery (the #1 provider of technology solutions that make it easy for the public sector to expand digital communication with the public), we gained several insights into this question. GovDelivery manages millions of communication touch points between government and citizens every month and has a unique vantage point on the issue.

Q: What does the term “citizen engagement” mean to you?

Burns: “Citizen engagement means different things to different people. Fundamentally, it is about citizens feeling empowered to connect with and influence their government in order to improve their life, their community, and their country. For some, it’s about participating in online or in-person forums. For others, it’s more passive. My wife, for example, engages on her own terms. She’s a parent, a physician, a caring neighbor, and a responsible and valuable member of the community. Like most citizens, she probably wouldn’t go to a town hall meeting unless something directly impacts her. She makes a very American decision to expect the people we elect and those they hire to do their job of managing our government. If she thinks they’re failing or that her involvement will make a positive difference, she’ll get involved; otherwise, she will be an engaged citizen by going about her life the way she does.”

Q: What topics are most important to citizens based on their digital subscriptions?

Burns: “It’s not that surprising. People’s information needs map very closely to what I imagine are their personal priorities. In all the data passing through our systems, we see topics like health and safety, children and family, money, time, employment, and recreation driving most of the interest in government information. These are a human’s basic hierarchy of needs. Traditional governance issues, such as city council meetings and press releases, are important, but citizens won’t pay attention to those items unless their more basic needs are met or when policy is affecting them directly.”

Q: How do you move them to different levels of engagement?

Burns: “Knowing this hierarchy to be true, we need to find the ‘Engagement Upsell’. Think of when you go into Barnes and Noble - you come in to pick up the latest Harry Potter book for your kid and the store wants to make sure the self-help book is front and center when you enter. This translates to government information as the snow or earthquake alert could be considered ‘the Harry Potter of government engagement’ while engagement around policy is more like ‘the self-help book.’ When a city has an event that drives traffic and awareness, such as a snow emergency, they need to make sure they are ‘upselling’ citizens on other content that aligns with the strategic priorities of the community.”

“It’s pretty easy to encourage someone to sign up for an alert while paying taxes or getting a fishing license. However, many government organizations are not compelled to find this ‘upsell opportunity.’

GovDelivery is showing our clients how to use technology to drive engagement and initiatives in this way, with a strong focus on reaching more people as the heart of that strategy. In fact, we’ve completely shifted our client support to help agencies go even bigger with outreach. Our mission is based on helping government maximize direct connections with the public– and this focus is really the guiding principle to help government to think innovatively around citizen outreach.”

To read the full interview, please click here. To learn more about the ways in which GovDelivery drives citizen engagement, please visit: http://www.govdelivery.com/how-we-help/

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Goal for the Year: Citizen Engagement. Go! No doubt you’ve heard this countless times. It’s a great goal, but how do you achieve it? What’s the strategy? How do you implement it?

The reality is citizen engagement means different things to different people. Your idea of engagement is different from your neighbor’s and your coworker’s idea.

But none of it matters if you’re not reaching your stakeholders. Are you confident you’re reaching the people you need to, while increasing your digital outreach every day?

If your citizen engagement initiatives could benefit from reaching more people, find out how more than 550 government organizations are using their communications to drive citizen engagement.

Watch this short video: bit.ly/GD-DCM-Video

reachthepublic.com

© GovDelivery 2013

facebook.com/govdelivery

@govdelivery

youtube.com/govdelivery

govloop.com

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“CAN DO” Moments

ometimes citizens need no push or promotion from their government at all.

Sometimes they take matters into their own hands and a city or county feels like they’re playing catch up or planning clean up. The key is for government to successfully come alongside these constructive citizen movements to add the appropriate amount of fuel to their fire. It’s a tricky situation, but a couple communities have learned some lessons worth sharing. Their stories are found in this final section.

Enabling Citizen Energy: How Raleigh Opens Up Opportunities for Innovation What happens when a group of committed citizens organizes to inspire and spur innovation in their city?

That’s what’s happened in Raleigh, North Carolina, over the last two years, when a handful of citizens built a one-time, three-day event into a multi-year effort that has led to an “open government” resolution and mobile apps that make life better for everyone in the city. If you are hoping to understand the evolution of city engagement, Raleigh is a great example. Below is a quick sketch of their story.

C I TY C AMP R ALE I G H It all started with an interview of Raleigh’s former mayor, Charles Meeker, in February 2011.

Jason Hibbets, an active citizen and the community manager for OpenSource.com, interviewed Mayor Meeker to learn about his vision for Raleigh as it pertained to technology and open government. When asked what it meant to be an open city, Mayor Meeker said that there were three key ingredients: willingness to share information, willingness to receive information, and the right attitude to be innovative, creative and try new things. He also noted that, “Citizens need to be willing to adapt to the future.”

Over the next few months, Hibbets and a dozen other future-oriented citizens organized Raleigh’s first CityCamp, an unconference designed to bring together local government

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CityCamp Raleigh is an unconference designed to bring together local government officials, municipal employees, experts, programmers, designers, citizens, and journalists to share perspectives and insights about their city.

officials, municipal employees, experts, programmers, designers, citizens, and journalists to share perspectives and insights about their city.

The first CityCamp Raleigh occurred in June 2011 and hosted 200 registrants, 20 sponsors and 15 speakers for three days of talks, workshops, and hands-on problem solving, to re-imagine the way the web, applications, technology, and participation will shape the future of their city.

In his book, “Open Source All the Cities,” Hibbets discusses the profile of the original group of citizens and their motivation for leading this initiative: “Organizing an unconference like CityCamp is easy if you’ve got passionate people with the right talent, leaders with a strong vision, and the right organizational tools chosen by the team. Typically, it’s a group of volunteers who come togeth-

er and self-organize into a community of passion.

The team that I helped organize did an awful lot of planning for an unconference. And we faced a big challenge from the start— none of us had ever been to a CityCamp, much less planned one. Furthermore, none of us had even been to an unconference. The desire to improve our city with open government, open data, manageable transparency, and useful technology

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to bring together city employees, developers, and citizens to collaborate on solutions drove the planning team to a successful event.”

The group worked together to get sponsors, speakers, a place to meet and promotion to potential participants. They built a website, launched a presence on social media and developed a project plan with weekly milestones to keep the momentum going. They used Facebook and Google Docs to communicate and organize by subcommittees (marketing, speakers, sponsors, etc.) and met weekly to hold one another accountable and sustain the energy.

It’s also worth noting that the group included a City Councilor as co-chair and the City of Raleigh IT Director on the Planning Committee. Their presence offered a bit of political savvy to the team, but Hibbets noted, “If this was run by a city department, I don’t think we would have pulled the threeday event off with less than 12 weeks of planning. The red tape would have been impossible to cut through.” It was the combination of both passionate citizens and committed public servants that made CityCamp a success.

Of course, CityCamp isn’t just about meeting and talking, though these are important ingredients. CityCamp is designed with a default to ac-

For more info, visit: http://citycampnc.org/

For more info, visit: https://trianglewiki.org/

tion. Here are four things you can do now if you like the idea of CityCamp and want to get involved: Join the online community: http://forums.e-democracy. org/groups/citycamp Organize a Meetup: http:// w w w. m e e t u p. c o m / G o v Loop/

Recommend CityCamp to your local officials (both career and elected government) Start-a-Camp: http://citycamp.govfresh.com/start-acamp/

TR I AN G LE W I KI

One of the CityCamp planning committee members, Reid Serozi, felt that he’d found other like-minded citizens at the event - he’d “found his tribe.”

At the event, Serozi suggested that the group should adapt an open source software called LocalWiki to build a citizendriven website for the central North Carolina region known as “The Triangle.” The point of the site would be to collect people’s knowledge of the area. From personal perspectives on local landmarks to reader reviews of community events, Triangle Wiki could be-

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come the hub for “unofficial” information about the city.

Serozi launched the wiki by invitation only to a small group of citizens who started building out pages, getting a head start on content, learning the software and working out any unexpected issues that could slow down the process. One of the real keys to its early success was the Triangle Wiki Day, which was hosted in February 2012 where around 50 people worked side by side to produce dozen of pages of content in a day. The event served as the website’s soft launch of trianglewiki.org and included a keynote from Raleigh City Councilor Mary Ann Baldwin, lending official support to the endeavor. At-large Raleigh City Councilor Russ Stephenson and Raleigh Planning Director Mitchell Silver also attended the event in a show of support from local government.

Within 30 days from Triangle Wiki Day, the site topped 1,000 pages of content and continues to grow over time.

The group has hosted several other content sprints and edit parties over the ensuing months, and even started a regular newsletter, in order to foster ongoing energy and enthusiasm for the project. “In late 2012, the group started an awareness campaign called “Edit your city.” Individuals from the Triangle Wiki community are creating “Edit your

city” posters and taking pictures around the Triangle and sharing them on social media.”

The beauty of Triangle Wiki is that anyone can contribute - participants don’t need to have any special knowledge of working with code. They just need to have an interest in their community and an ability to share what they know in their niche.

If you are interested in learning more, please visit LocalWiki.org

CO D E FO R AME R I C A BR I G ADE The most recent evolution in Raleigh’s citizen engagement endeavors is the formation of

a partnership with Code for America to create a “Brigade” - a group of passionate local citizens committed to making a difference by gathering civic data, hosting events like hackathons and unconferences, and, ultimately, standing up apps.

Code for Raleigh’s first project was an Adopt-A-Shelter web application that instantly displays the adoption status of all city bus shelters. Think of it like the “adopt-a-highway” programs - only moving the process to a digital landscape in order to see quickly where there’s a need for new citizen adoptions.

In a blog post announcing the app, Raleigh’s transit administration David Eatman, said “It’s an interactive way for resi-

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Engage with Colleagues To join the conversation about opening up to innovation, please go to: Challenging Local Leaders to Engage and Empower Citizens Understanding Local Government Innovation and How It Spreads

dents to see which bus shelters have been adopted. We are delighted that citizens from Code for Raleigh have stepped up to offer this technical resource to encourage participation in this City program.”

you’d like to set up a similar scenario in your city, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

If you have a group of committed citizens in your community and would like to help them start a Brigade, you may learn more at http://brigade.codeforamerica.org/

2. Is there an active developer community that regularly hosts hackathons or works in a common space?

REPL IC AT I N G R AL E I G H ’ S SUC C E S S : 6 I D E A S TO SPA R K I N N OVAT I O N Perhaps the most important lessons from Raleigh are that this kind of success is both replicable and sustainable. If

1. Who are the most active citizens / groups in your community?

3. Who are the key local government leaders - both career employees and elected government officials - that would be energized by such a venture? (Note: they don’t have to be IT people, though that helps!)

4. What objectives or projects in your strategic planning documents could gain

strength and momentum with greater citizen involvement or could benefit from a webbased or mobile application?

5. What public datasets are readily available? What other datasets can be made available after working to clean them up?

6. Are there any smaller projects that serve as low-hanging fruit - a paper-based or other outdated process that could be transitioned to an online medium?

These are six questions to get you thinking about opportunities to leverage citizen energy that spurs innovation and helps the overall community, building on the dedication of a committed few.

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Mobilizing a Movement: How Online Community Connects Neighbors in Need On average, the city of Boston sees 32 inches of snow each winter. That means Bostonians are stuck shoveling more than 2.5 feet of snow from their driveways, stoops and sidewalks each time the thermostat dips below 32 degrees.

That is an enormous task for the fit and healthy - but what if you are elderly, sick or disabled, and you can’t physically shovel?

Delivery’s Engagement Services division. “Someone tweeted him that his dad couldn’t get out of his driveway after a big snowstorm hit New Jersey. The Mayor asked where the guy lived, and showed up and dug him out. I thought ‘that is awesome.’ Because he had so much influence on Twitter other people showed up to help dig this guy out. I realized I could do that, too. That is how SnowCrew started.”

A healthy community is one that lifts up and empowers others to action, and helps neighbors in times of need – especially when needs fall outside of traditional government services. That’s where citizen-led efforts like SnowCrew come in. The Boston-based online platform connects snowed in people with neighbors willing to help shovel them out.

But Porcelli quickly realized that one person alone could only do so much.

“SnowCrew started after I heard the story of Mayor Corey Booker,” said Joseph Porcelli, a former Bostonian and Director of Gov-

“I didn’t want to become a bottleneck where everyone had to come through me to get help. So I started looking at ways to use technology to get other people involved. We are currently using SeeClickFix.com, which allows people who are elderly, sick or disabled to fill out a request form online asking help shoveling. People who live near them get notified that they need help.

The portal also includes a map

of the locations. We can also send out a mass message asking from volunteers around the city.”

SnowCrew has been clearing snow for three years now. The program has been a big success. Porcelli says last winter alone he and his crew were able to dig out more than 60 homes.

With a program as successful as SnowCrew, you would imagine that the city would want to be involved, but Porcelli says the city faces some major legality issues. “The city loves what we are doing with SnowCrew, but they can’t have the request form on their site for liability reasons. Think of it this way: if a volunteer is out shoveling and accidentally dings a person’s car, who is liable? The city. Or if a person falls while shoveling, the city is liable. They can’t take that risk.”

SnowCrew isn’t the only program that Porcelli and his team of other volunteers are working on. They’ve also created Neighbors for Neighbors, which was founded in 2004 with a simple goal: connect people who live, work, and serve in the same neighborhood and city, and provide tools for them to communicate and to collaborate around common interests. The online platform includes more than 200 groups that address everything from crime prevention techniques to tree planting committees.

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Engage with Colleagues To join the conversation about citizen-led initiatives, please go to: Dealing With Legal Issues Around Online Moderation Policy Engaging Citizens Through Established Conversations How Can We Improve Citizen Engagement Initiatives? Here Are 5 Ways

If you’re looking to start your own online community that bridges neighbors online and in-person, consider these three steps below.

and activities. Can you set up an online community for them to join so that they can build and sustain relationships between in-person meetings?

3 W AY S TO S P U R CI T I Z E N LED I N IT IATI V E S L I K E SNO W C RE W O R N E I G H BO R S FOR N E IG H B OR S

2. When citizens reach out to you for constructive activities, help them! Make them part of the team. Citizens have expertise on a variety of issues.

Tap into that energy and give them the resources they need to serve each other more effectively.

1. Connect people that care about a common cause or interest. You know the citizens that show up for similar events

3. Give citizens small actions that can be completely

quickly or easily. Compensate for people not having enough time, confidence, skill, tools or the support to be dedicated full-time. Identify those microactions that they can take and still make a difference when combined with the micro-actions of many others.

When citizens decide to organize in these “can do” moments, government can be a powerful partner that builds upon their efforts and accomplishes far more than either entity can do alone.

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Overcoming Budget Constraints: How Crowdfunding Supplements Tight Budgets Just as we began this guide talking about taxes, we end with an example of creative budgeting that is occurring in communities across the United States – instances where citizens have decided that they “can do” something about the budget priorities that are important to them even when government is not using their tax money to do so.

Politicians and public servants face tough decisions when it comes to allocating tax dollars - and not everything that’s worthwhile can make the cut.

That’s why states and cities create apps and web-based portals where citizens can take a crack at running the numbers for themselves. Of course, that’s just one way to get citizens involved in tackling tough budget situations. Once citizens understand that not everything can be funded with limited resources, how can lo-

cal governments engage them in the process of prioritizing those projects when faced with budget shortfalls?

Unlike the current method of holding a public hearing about the local budget, which normally sees very low citizen involvement, communities must get creative in how they engage citizens in governmental decisions. That’s where crowdfunding comes into play.

One particular example of crowdfunding is with Citizinvestor, a site dedicated to connecting citizen ideas to their governments. Citizens can pitch ideas about various local projects from new dog parks to renovating a historic hotel, and then pledge to support the funding out of their own pocket beyond the taxes they already pay. Essentially, a group of citizens can mobilize and engage with their

local government to provide services and projects that are wanted but may not be fundable through the city’s budget.

Local governments partner with Citizinvestor, at no cost, and encourage them to use the platform as a way to reveal budget priorities and open up opportunities for citizens to lead the charge in getting money for what matters to them. A petition is formed once a citizen submits a project and once a petition reaches a threshold of signatures, the crowdfunding begins and the local government is contacted to assist moving forward. It’s important that municipalities become partners with Citizinvestor because then programs can be verified and donations are eligible for tax-deductible status.

Municipalities have received these petitions and crowdfunded projects with excitement.

City officials have seen lines of communication opened between their residents and collaborated with them to provide what they want. For example, a citizen in Florida noticed the need for a dog park in their neighborhood. After successfully getting the required number of signatures, a meeting was established within 48 hours with the city council and then became invested in crowdfunding the money to build this new park.

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Tony Mulkey, Standards Coordinator for the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation, says this in regards to the dog park petition: “Our experience with this platform is new, but we can see the possibilities for better communication with the community.

With the Seminole Heights dog park petition, we had already known about the desire about the project through requests made through other means.

The petition definitely helps the community come together to deliver a more unified message to the department. We have scheduled a community meeting to pursue the matter further.”

This is a clear example of an innovative way for governments to engage citizens, especially

those citizens who are already motivated to better their community.

What makes the crowdfunding method stronger than an individual citizen who tries to get city hall to take an action is the ability to show community support. An additional benefit is the low risk nature of the platform - unless a project is fully funded, the contributors do not pay.

Crowdfunding is not the only way to gauge and implement citizen opinions – nor should it stand alone as a tool to educate citizens about budgeting.

Some state and local governments are engaging and encouraging citizen involvement in the budget process in different ways. Hampton, Virginia, with a population of 138,000,

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hosts 800-person live events with keypad polling, telephone surveys, and traditional town hall meetings. In Seattle, WA, an interactive online game is used to gauge public support on spending areas like public safety and human services.

Similarly, the state of North Carolina engaged their residents through an interactive game challenging them to “Balance the Budget.” The goal of these activities is to make the public understand the complexity of budgeting and the tradeoffs that policymakers encounter, and to provide feedback on budgeting priorities to government officials.

When citizens take action and government cooperates, either through crowdfunding or by grappling with and giving

For more information, visit: http://www.citizinvestor.com/

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feedback on budgets, there is potential for local governments to further engage the citizens and exercise creativity in the ways it accomplishes community priorities.

6 ST E P S TO STAR T I N G A CRO W DF UN DIN G I N I T I ATIV E What if you want to test the concept of crowdfunding? Below are six steps, adapted from the Crowdfunding Incubator, that your organization can use to help citizens make the case for their preferred projects.

1. Create a clear Business Plan Summary: Cover the basics and keep it short. It should be brief enough that it could be completely presented or read (either on a website, slideshow or PowerPoint) in less than 10 minutes. Section headings might include: Project Overview Problem, Challenge or Need Proposed Solution Promotion, Education, Outreach

Project Leaders, Partners and Advisors Project Time Line Application of Proceeds (minimal funding and “dream come true”) Project Summary 2. Identify all of the key stakeholders. Brainstorm all of the possible people in the community that would experience an impact from the project – positive or negative.

Make a list of individuals and associations, then prioritize them based on size and influence.

3. Conduct strategic outreach to influencers. Based on your prioritized list, be sure to start from the top and work your way down. As you share your plan, ask for ideas and connections.

4. Instill a sense of urgency.

If you can, design your crowdfunding program such that you have a relatively short time to raise your tiny minimum, and that subscription remains open after that point to some wonderful maximum.

Remember Parkinson’s law:

“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” This adage is true for every endeavor with a timeline.

5. Give contributors varying levels of participation.

Don’t leave the giving amount open-ended. Offer clear choices at differing levels. Greater amounts should, theoretically, get greater rewards than contributors of smaller amounts.

6. Create a competitive environment. Is there a way that you can get neighborhoods or associations to pool their resources and compare themselves against other groups?

Consider leveraging the power of gaming in order to build momentum and foster friendly competition.

In austere budget environments, crowdfunding creates one more “can do” moment that puts purchasing power back in the hands of citizens.

When done in partnership with government organizations as part of prioritization and planning process, the impact on a community can be substantial.

Engage with Colleagues To join the conversation around crowdfunding, please go to: Can Governments Crowdfund (Some of the Time) Rather Than Tax?

GOVERNMENTCITIZENENGAGEMENT

Collaborating With “Can Do” Moments: 4 Core Questions “Can Do” moments may be hard to spot if citizens don’t deliberately make you aware of them.

Be intentional about looking for local news stories to see what citizen-led initiatives are making waves. Once you identify something where you have official information or resources, ask yourself these questions: 1. How can we leverage our communications reach to help citizens spread the word and build momentum for movements that advance key government initiatives?

2. What resources have we already created that can contribute to educational or promotional activities led by citizens?

3. What bandwidth do we have to send staff members, as appropriate, to participate in events or activities that build goodwill and lend our moral support?

4. How can we educate citizens about political or policy hurdles that could hinder their progress, and help them avoid or overcome those potential pitfalls?

The biggest opportunity for government in a “can do” moment is to educate, support and collaborate. This is a unique chance for government to establish trust and stand shoulder to shoulder with citizens, demonstrating that we’re all, in essence, citizens striving to make our communities better. Don’t miss that moment.

“Can Do” Pivot Points EDUCATION: Tutoring / Mentoring ENVIRONMENT: Community Clean Up HEALTH: Exercise Events INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Hackathons PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Volunteer Events RECREATION: Coaching / Teaching

Can you think of other “can do” moments for citizens?

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SUMMARY

Let’s return to our original question:

What’s the point of citizen engagement?

Based on the seven stories above, it’s clear that every moment – whether it’s “must do”, “should do” or “can do” – provides an opportunity to streamline government and move citizens to a new level of meaningful engagement in the process. From placing refund information at the fingertips of taxpayers to empowering citizens to open their pocketbooks for municipal projects that are important to them, there’s no end to the number of innovative ways that government can make life better for the citizens they’re called to serve.

1 . S H I F T TH E FO C US .

Instead of asking how to encourage civic engagement, consider the best ways to give people opportunities to define and solve problems themselves.

2 . S TAR T YO UN G .

Don’t wait till high school to begin developing the basic skills that young people will need to be effective problem-solvers.

So how do you get started?

3 . I N VO LVE ALL C O MMUNI TY INSTITUTI O N S .

Consider the recommendations of a report by the Case Foundation called, Citizens at the Center: A New Approach to Civic Engagement:

Engage faith-based organizations, schools, businesses, and government agencies in public deliberation and problem-solving.

GOVERNMENTCITIZENENGAGEMENT

4. U S E T E C HNO L O GY TO CR E AT E A N E W KIN D OF “ P U BL I C CO M M O N S. ”

7. E NC O UR AG E MO R E FUN DI N G FOR THESE APP ROAC H E S .

Leverage technology’s power to encourage, facilitate, and increase citizen-centered dialogue, deliberation, organizing, and action around a wide variety of issues.

Many funders may be reluctant to support long-term, local efforts, preferring to support bigger initiatives with a more immediate “payoff.” Attracting more funding will require demonstrating the concrete results of local deliberation and action.

5 . E X P L ORE AN D CR E AT E N E W M E C H A NISM S .

Don’t assume that traditional venues like town hall meetings are sufficient to truly get different types of people to engage and share perspectives. Look at where people are already interacting (such as neighborhood organizations, schools, and workplaces) and consider other approaches, structures, and venues.

6. C ON D UC T R I G O RO U S R E S E AR CH ABO UT WH AT W OR K S AN D W H Y. While considerable research has been conducted on the levels of volunteering, voting, community service, and political participation, there is a need for more evaluation about the motivating forces behind such behaviors -- and what approaches are effectively solving community problems.

8. H E LP C O MMUNI TI E S MOVE FROM D ELI BE R ATI O N TO AC TI O N. Deliberation should serve as a means to the end of communities being able to take action collectively in ways that reap results they can see and experience.

This advice certainly reinforces the stories and advice shared in this guide, and we look forward to hearing about your own stories of innovating at the point of citizen engagement.

Please take a minute to share them on GovLoop should you seize a moment to make a difference in your community.

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ACKOWLEDGEMNTS

We would like to thank the following individuals who were interviewed for this guide:

Ellen Belluomini, LCSW, Leader, Educator, Trainer and Blogger at Social Works Digital Divide

We would also like to acknowledge the efforts of the following members of the GovLoop team who contributed to the guide’s development:

Lead Writer: Andrew Krzmarzick, GovLoop Director of Community Engagement

Maury Blackman, CEO, Accela Scott Burns, CEO, GovDelivery Suzanne Ludlow, Maryland

City Manager, Takoma Park,

Writer: Emily Jarvis, GovLoop Online Producer Writer: Bryce Bender, GovLoop Graduate Fellow Lead Designer: Jeff Ribeira, GovLoop Senior Interactive Designer

Tony Mulkey, Standards Coordinator, City of Tampa Parks and Recreation

Designer: Carrie Moeger, GovLoop Design Fellow

Joseph Porcelli,

Editor:

Founder, Neighbors for Neighbors and Director, GovDelivery and GovLoop Engagement Services

Jordan Raynor, Co-Founder, Citizinvestor Mike Silvia, Director of Online Experience and Operations Management, Internal Revenue Service

dent

Steve Ressler, GovLoop Founder and Presi-

Editor: Pat Fiorenza, GovLoop Senior Research Analyst

For more information on this guide, please contact Andrew Krzmarzick, at andrew@govloop.com

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ABOUT GOVLOOP Location GovLoop is headquartered in Washington D.C., with a team of dedicated professionals who share a commitment to connect and improve government.

GovLoop 734 15th St NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 407-7421 Fax: (202) 407-7501

GovLoop’s mission is to connect government to improve government. We aim to inspire public sector professionals by acting as the knowledge network for government. The GovLoop community has over 65,000 members working to foster collaboration, solve problems and share resources across government.

GovLoop works with top industry partners to provide resources and tools to the government community. GovLoop has developed a variety of guides, infographics, online training and educational events, all to help public sector professionals become more efficient Civil Servants.

The GovLoop community has been widely recognized across multiple sectors. GovLoop members come from across the public sector.

Our membership includes federal, state, and local public servants, industry experts and professionals grounded in academic research. Today, GovLoop is the leading site for addressing public sector issues.

GovLoop’s report, Innovating at the Point of Citizen Engagement: Making Every Moment Count is sponsored by Accela and GovDelivery.

If you have questions on this report, please feel free to reach out to Andrew Krzmarzick, GovLoop Director of Community Engagement at andrew@govloop.com

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RESOURCES

GENERAL GovLoop Citizen Engagement http://www.govloop.com/citizen-engagement

GUIDES Crafting a Comprehensive Digital Government Strategy http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/new-report-crafting-a-comprehensive-digital-government-strategy

Identifying the Promise of GIS for Government http://www.govloop.com/geographic-information-systems-guide

Re-Imagining Customer Service in Government http://www.govloop.com/page/re-imagining-government-customer-service

The Social Media Experiment in Government: Elements of Excellence http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/the-social-media-experiment-in-government-elements-of-excellence-

TRAINING: Redefining Citizen Engagement http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/dorobekinsider-live-redefining-citizen-engagement

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Talk to Me: Dr. Ted R. Smith on Engaging Citizens through Established Conversations http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/talk-to-me-dr-ted-r-smith-on-engaging-citizens-through-establishe

What Citizens Really Want on Your Website http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/know-what-citizens-really-want-on-your-website

BLOGS How to Engage with Gov 101 - with Gavin Newsom http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-engage-with-gov-101-with-gavin-newsom

3 Kinds of Government Open Data: Ready, Easy and Hard http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/3-kinds-of-government-open-data-ready-easy-and-hard

13 Tips on Building Meaningful Online Engagement http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/beyond-cats-kardashians-13-tips-on-building-meaningful-online-eng

AustinTexas.gov: Award Winning Site Increases Accessibility and Expands Audience http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/austintexas-gov-award-winning-site-increases-accessibility-and-ex

Civic Engagement and Open Innovation: Engaging Stakeholders in 2012 http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/civic-engagement-and-open-innovation-engaging-stakeholders-in

Communicating Risk via Twitter http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/communicating-risk-via-twitter

Government Competitions Redux: TopCoder and the Power of Crowdsourcing http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/government-competitions-redux-topcoder-and-the-power-of-crowdsour

How Can We Improve Citizen Engagement Initiative? Here’s 5 Ways. http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/how-can-we-improve-citizen-engagement-initiatives-here-s-5-ways

How to Get Citizens to Dig Each Other Out After a Snow Storm http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-get-citizens-to-dig-each-other-out-after-a-snow-storm

Identifying The Promise of GIS for Government: Citizen Engagement http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/identifying-the-promise-of-gis-for-government-citizen-engagement

Millennials: Civic Engagement and Civic Tech http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/millennials-civic-engagement-and-civic-tech

Open Government: A Time for Self-Assessment (White House) http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/03/29/open-government-time-self-assessment

Philadelphia Hires First Ever Director of Civic Technology http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/philadelphia-hires-first-ever-director-of-civic-technology-meet-t

The Impact of Mobile on Citizen Engagement http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/the-impact-of-mobile-on-citizen-engagement

What’s the Status of Gov 2.0? Expert Panel Weighs In http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/what-s-the-status-of-gov-2-0-dorobekinsider-s-expert-panel-weighs

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734 15th St NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 407-7421 Fax: (202) 407-7501