Community Engagement
The benefits of public participation include increased quality of the decisions being made, minimized cost and delay (you save money and time by addressing issues up front), consensus building, increased ease of implementation, understanding public concerns, avoiding confrontations later, and developing engaged participants. (Lecture at the USC Price School by Katherine Perez-Estolano, “Participatory Methods of Planning”, 9/2/13)
No matter how you decide to move forward with your project, you will want to engage the community in some way. First, you must determine who you wish to engage with and what your goal is for engagement. From there, you can determine at which points in the development process to engage and select the most relevant forms of engagement.
No matter how you decide to move forward with your project, you will want to engage the community in some way. First, you must determine who you wish to engage with and what your goal is for engagement. From there, you can determine at which points in the development process to engage and select the most relevant forms of engagement.
1. Stakeholder Analysis: Whom to Engage
Identifying and analyzing the individuals, groups, organizations and networks who may be your stakeholders is a critical step, not to be overlooked. Who your stakeholders are depends on your project’s purpose. You will have to decide whether to start engaging stakeholders to help define your project, or whether you will wait to engage stakeholders until the project is up and running. You may want to engage some stakeholders in the visioning process and hold off with others until the project begins. We recommend that you engage with neighbors before the project ever breaks ground, in order to avoid controversy.
In identifying the various stakeholders affected by the project, you should analyze the potential relationship between the Ghettostead project and the stakeholders being invited to participate. As a starting point, the following are stakeholders who have been identified as having an interest in the outcome of the activities in the Ghettostead. Regarding food access, distribution and entrepreneurial activities in South Los Angeles and specifically the Harvard Park area, immediate neighbors and residents within the vicinity of the Ghettostead are a major stakeholder. Consider people you know and how they fit into your stakeholder list. There are issue-based and geographically-based stakeholders to consider. The entities listed below provide a starting point.
In identifying the various stakeholders affected by the project, you should analyze the potential relationship between the Ghettostead project and the stakeholders being invited to participate. As a starting point, the following are stakeholders who have been identified as having an interest in the outcome of the activities in the Ghettostead. Regarding food access, distribution and entrepreneurial activities in South Los Angeles and specifically the Harvard Park area, immediate neighbors and residents within the vicinity of the Ghettostead are a major stakeholder. Consider people you know and how they fit into your stakeholder list. There are issue-based and geographically-based stakeholders to consider. The entities listed below provide a starting point.
Government
There are numerous local government entities that represent the site area and are tasked to oversee the wellbeing of their constituents. The following list is of the local government stakeholders (source: Empowerla.org)
Community Organizations
There are several organizations that have roles in the food access system in South Los Angeles:
Churches
These organizations play a key role in the distribution of food, whether it be hot meals or groceries:
|
Conducting the Analysis
Filling out a matrix is a common way to conduct a simple stakeholder analysis. Stakeholder groups appear on one axis and criteria or attributes appear on the other.
Matrix Worksheet
Matrix Worksheet
2. Goal(s) of Engagement
Community engagement can be a tool to get information to the public, get information from the public, or both. Remember, the public cares about values and priorities, and it is most effective to engage the public in those kinds of decisions (Creighton, 2005). Consider what level of engagement you need in order to:
· assure participation from the stakeholders you wish to be involved
· achieve legitimacy · avoid roadblocks from unhappy parties, such as legal or political roadblocks |
a. Getting information to the public
This consists of sharing information with stakeholders on what the project is, what will happen, when, etc. Examples of ways to get information to the public include notices, door-to-door canvassing, information online, in newsletters, or posting information at the site itself (such as a sign in the front yard).
b. Getting information from the public
If you wish to solicit feedback, opinions, suggestions or ideas, your goal is to get information from the public. This allows for you to attain greater buy-in through the participation process, but it comes at the expense of sharing the power in terms of what the site or project will become. You should only seek information that will be used in some way. For example, if you are willing to have the project’s direction and goals influenced by stakeholders, that is great, but do not collect information or feedback on what people think the project should become if their feedback will not be taken into consideration. You could also get information from the public for other purposes, such as to evaluate what hours to be open, which services people would most use, etc. Examples of getting information from the public include surveys, interactive meetings such as open houses or charrettes, or contests (such as a contest to name a program, design a logo, etc.). In order to get useful information from stakeholders, they must be informed first. Often, tactics for getting information from the public either follow information sharing, or combine both getting information to and from the public, such as a presentation followed by interactive discussion.
At this juncture, please reflect and answer the two questions below on communicating information.
This consists of sharing information with stakeholders on what the project is, what will happen, when, etc. Examples of ways to get information to the public include notices, door-to-door canvassing, information online, in newsletters, or posting information at the site itself (such as a sign in the front yard).
b. Getting information from the public
If you wish to solicit feedback, opinions, suggestions or ideas, your goal is to get information from the public. This allows for you to attain greater buy-in through the participation process, but it comes at the expense of sharing the power in terms of what the site or project will become. You should only seek information that will be used in some way. For example, if you are willing to have the project’s direction and goals influenced by stakeholders, that is great, but do not collect information or feedback on what people think the project should become if their feedback will not be taken into consideration. You could also get information from the public for other purposes, such as to evaluate what hours to be open, which services people would most use, etc. Examples of getting information from the public include surveys, interactive meetings such as open houses or charrettes, or contests (such as a contest to name a program, design a logo, etc.). In order to get useful information from stakeholders, they must be informed first. Often, tactics for getting information from the public either follow information sharing, or combine both getting information to and from the public, such as a presentation followed by interactive discussion.
At this juncture, please reflect and answer the two questions below on communicating information.
Do you wish to get information to stakeholders? yes no
Do you wish to get information from stakeholders? yes no |
3. At which points to engage with stakeholders?
You should consider your project’s timeline and determine at which points in the process you need to engage with stakeholders. If your only purpose is to get information to the public, consider at what point stakeholders need to know what is happening. For example, if you wish to notify neighbors before breaking ground, be sure to allow enough time that they can express concerns or get involved. If you wish to involve stakeholders in any decisions or choices, plan to engage with them in advance of when the decisions need to be made.
4. Choosing the most relevant form(s) of engagement for your purposes and timeline
You want to choose the most robust and relevant forms of engagement within the constraints of the size, scope, budget and timeline of the project. Remember-- you will have limited person-hours to commit and must ensure plenty of time to spread the word about any event you want stakeholders to attend. It is advisable to begin promoting an event 3-4 weeks in advance, with a special push in the week leading up to an event or meeting. Interactive surveys or open houses can be alternative ways to solicit feedback on a rolling basis.
The following methods might be appropriate for the size, scale and purposes of your project. For a more robust list of methods, we recommend James Creighton’s The Public Participation Handbook: Making Better Decisions through Citizen Involvement (2005).
The following methods might be appropriate for the size, scale and purposes of your project. For a more robust list of methods, we recommend James Creighton’s The Public Participation Handbook: Making Better Decisions through Citizen Involvement (2005).
Select Methods for Getting Information to the Public:
1. Briefings Briefings can take the form of personal visits or small group meetings. This is a great way to make sure you get in touch with key individuals who may be sensitive to the project, such as neighbors who might be concerned about new people coming to the neighborhood. 2. Feature story Feature stories in local outlets such as KCET “Departures” or Intersections South LA, can provide in-depth, persuasive and personal perspectives on the project for the local community. 3. Internet A simple website, which can be created quickly through a platform like WordPress, can be a central location to share information on the project, to build support for the project, and to solicit feedback, such as through an online survey link. Social media is another easy and important way to reach out, particularly if you want to target youth. Consider creating a Facebook page with updates and event information. Instagram can be an effective tool for engaging youth or residents in documenting the need for the project by taking and posting photos of food access in the neighborhood. 4. Presentations to community groups You should leverage the community organizations which already exist, whether simply to keep them in the loop or to seek partnership. We recommend that you attend an Empowerment Congress Central Area Neighborhood Development Council meeting to share information about the project. This is the council which serves the site. They meet every fourth Monday of the month, and their planning meeting is the first Thursday of each month. More information can be found here: http://empowerla.org/eccandc/ 5. Exhibits and displays Posting a sign or display on the property’s front lawn is a great way to catch the attention of anyone who walks, bikes or drives by the property and is interested in what is happening at the site. You could also use this space to post information on any public events, such as a tour, kick-off block party, or workshop. Select Methods for Getting Information from the Public: 1. Kick-off event We recommend a kick-off event, perhaps a block party, which includes a tour of the site, information and education on lack of fresh food access in the neighborhood, and opportunities for people to provide feedback on the importance of various potential elements of the site, such as trainings, youth-focus, delivery of food to seniors, particular foods to grow, etc. 2. Advisory group and or task force If you would like more sustained feedback, consider creating an advisory group or task force that can be an ongoing part of the project. This could include a combination of local experts-- neighbors, residents, potential programming users, along with experts in the field-- members of the LA Food Policy Council and similarly interested organizations such as LA Green Grounds or RootDown LA. 3. Coffee Klatch A Coffee Klatch is a small meeting in a private home. It is often employed as a participation tool when there is a contentious issue. If you think that neighbors are (or will become) upset with the disruptions or changes caused by the Ghettostead project, a Coffee Klatch is a good way to explore these issues. 4. City walk You can help sensitize people to the area through a local asset tour to better understand what already exists in the neighborhood and how serious the lack of fresh food access really is in the area. 5. Open house Hosting an open house for feedback is a great way to share information on the different issues and what the options are. Consider having several booths or stations where people can learn about and explore the different issues. For example, you could have 3 booths: community engagement, education, and business development. Each booth could include information on potential elements. For example, elements in community engagement might include.
Participants can learn about each element and help prioritize what is needed most in the neighborhood, what would be most successful, and what would be most used.
6. Multiattribute utility analysis (MAUA) This is a method of decision analysis to help weigh alternatives with several factors and could be employed during the open house or similar exercises. Participants can allocate 100 points total amongst the alternatives to show choice and level of preference. Alternatively, you can create forced choice questions and aggregate the scores. A forced question example would be: “Do you want Ghettostead to work with at-risk youth?” (yes or no). 7. Charrette A charrette is an intense, multi-day participatory design and planning tool to take several iterations of feedback from stakeholders and employ design professionals to turn that feedback into alternative proposals. This is a great way to ensure thorough feedback and to make a decision quickly, but it requires a good deal of preparation and, more importantly, requires several days of participants’ time. 8. Surveys Surveys can be used at events, online (on your website or Facebook page), on through door-to-door solicitation to gather feedback instead of, or in addition to, events or meetings. Surveys can be used to gather feedback without having to plan an event. You should also consider surveys in terms of pre/post project evaluation. |
A Note on Language: 63.1% of residents in the Ghettostead’s census tract speak Spanish at home, so you should seriously consider providing bi-lingual materials and having translators at events.