Building community connections and understanding through equitable, innovative community engagement and meeting people where they are
A People-First Approach to Public Outreach, Stakeholder Engagement, and Community Involvement
Designing an inclusive process that values diversity
Planning efforts are enriched and strengthened when all members of a community come together to build something they believe in. We connect with as many people as possible, where they are, through hosting events on nights and weekends, meeting in neighborhood gathering places like churches and parks as well as events at town halls, farmers markets, and civic centers. We provide outreach services in multiple languages and seek an array of perspectives. As a result, we engage a diversity of stakeholders from mainstream to underrepresented groups.
Promoting equity through words and actions
Respect is one of our core values, which is reflected in an equitable community engagement process that prioritizes listening and building trust with constituents. We do not merely invite historically marginalized or underserved groups to engagement activities—we actively work to make sure they can feel welcome and safe when sharing their feedback.
Creating ownership within the community
Our overarching goal is to guide clients and stakeholders through an engagement process where they feel seen and heard, so that everyone has a meaningful place in the community’s future. We embrace and foster processes that are highly interactive, allowing the community to take ownership of the plan, goals, and objectives.
Our Process
Successful and meaningful community engagement is dependent upon providing multiple opportunities for people to share their perspectives and aspirations.
Steering Committees
Interested volunteers stay informed and engaged throughout the entire project process.
Stakeholder Interviews and Focus Groups
Small-group meetings bring together people with similar interests, knowledge, or history.
Community Ambassadors
Passionate partners and local experts to engage greater numbers of people and target key demographic groups.
Surveys
A combination of online tools and printed material to reach as many people as possible at their convenience.
Public Workshops
Real-time, two-way interaction that encourages participation, self-expression, and investment.
Engagement Kits
On-the-go tools to be shared with and used by Community Ambassadors that mimic the activities and materials presented at workshops.
Social Media
Real-time information sharing that promotes conversation and coordination among community members as well as with community leaders.
Project Website
A one-stop shop for the latest facts, figures, and project progress updates.
Design Charette
In-person, highly interactive, hands-on visual exercise where community members draw, design, build, and shape the future of their built environment.
Public Meetings and Adoption Hearings
Presentation and receiving direction at regularly-scheduled public meetings of the Planning Board or Council/Board of Commissioners.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
