Local officials in California are finding that effective and inclusive public engagement can lead to improved local agency decision making, a more informed, involved and supportive community, innovative and cost effective services, and greater trust and confidence in local government.
This section of the Institute's website helps local officials and their communities to make good and strategic decisions about the application and use of public engagement. Offerings include: how-to guides and tip sheets (available for downloading), local stories from throughout the state, best practices, video presentations and more.
The public engagement web pages are organized into ten sections:
On April 21, 2011, local officials and community-based organizations in the South San Joaquin Valley came together for frank and facilitated discussions on ways to improve public engagement efforts in their communities.Read more »
Local officials are increasingly using a wide range of public engagement strategies to help them inform, consult with and deliberatively engage residents on topics such as land use, budgeting, housing, sustainability, health and environment, public safety and much more.
While there is a growing body of literature and experience about how to engage the public, there are few practical tools to gauge the success of these approaches. Recognizing that local officials and staff have limited time and resources, the Institute for Local Government has created these online Rapid Review Worksheets to help local governments assess how well their public engagement processes worked.Read more »
One of the “indispensable competencies” for local government leaders is the ability to communicate through stories, according to Frank Benest, former city manager of Palo Alto and consultant to local governments. Benest uses storytelling as a tool to help local officials with strategic decision-making, because stories provide a compelling way to convey who you are and where you are going.Read more »
A road map to guide government officials and staff in establishing consistent, effective and high quality public involvement across Portland's city government.Read more »
A series of plain language descriptions - in English and Spanish - of common land use terms and actions. Useful for public information and engagement efforts.
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