Reimagining Local Government slides

Reimagining the Civic Infrastructure of Local Government

Thursday, February 25th, 2016

Matt Leighninger

Engagement infrastructure…

…the laws, processes, institutions, and associations that support regular opportunities, activities, and arenas that allow people to connect with each other, solve problems, make decisions, and be part of a community.

February 25th, 2016Reimagining Local Government

How have citizens* changed?

● More educated● More skeptical –

different attitudes toward authority

● Have less time to spare

● Better able to find resources, allies, information (Internet)

* citizens = residents, people

MAP 1

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/world.html

MAP 2


Three minutes at the microphone


Three minutes at the microphone

● The status quo and default structure● No discussion outside the agenda● Oriented to getting comments in the

record● Easy to disrupt● Even the physical layout makes

people angry

THICK ENGAGEMENT: Informed, deliberative, emotional, full of choices for groups to make

THIN ENGAGEMENT: Fast, easy, full of choices for individuals to make


Thick engagement: Small-group processes● No more than 12 people per group; ● Facilitator who is impartial (doesn’t give opinions);

● Start with people describing their experiences;

● Lay out options; ● Help people plan for

action.


Thick Engagement: Encouraging Citizen Action






Thin engagement: Citizens gathering data


Thin engagement: Citizens generating, ranking ideas


Thin Engagement: Coordinating work by citizens


Thin + thick engagement:Sustaining community connections


Treating citizens like adultsGive them:● Information● Chance to tell

their story● Choices● Legitimacy● Chances to take

action● Good process● Food and fun!


Long-term Impacts of Sustained Participation Lower corruption Lower inequality Lower infant mortality Higher trust in gov’t Higher tax compliance Higher completion rates

for gov’t projects Officials more likely to

be reelectedWampler and Touchton 2014, Peixoto 2014, Spada 2012


“Portsmouth Listens” - Portsmouth, NH

● Ongoing process since 2000

● Several hundred participants each time

● Addressed a number of major policy decisions: bullying in schools, school redistricting, city’s master plan, balancing city budget, whether to build new middle school


JANE ADDAMS SCHOOL FOR DEMOCRACY WEST SIDE OF ST. PAUL, MN

● 50-200 people in “neighborhood learning circles” every month since 1998

● Involves recent Hmong, Latino, Somali immigrants● Young people involved in circles and other activities● Cultural exchanges - food, crafts, storytelling● Has resulted in new projects, initiatives, festivals, and

change in INS policy

“CREATE BUCKHANNON” BUCKHANNON, WV

Ongoing process since 2009 Weekly lunch, using open space process, called

“Meet and Eat” Have created a park, a weekly summer music

festival and market, a city plan, various downtown improvements and safe biking and walking routes


“THE TOWN THAT RUNS ON TWITTER” – JUN, SPAIN

Uses Twitter for all questions, requests, complaints, policy discussions

25% of town residents participate Twitter also being used for publicizing social and cultural events,

booking medical appointments, following youth sports teams


Range of incentives Public employees

participate, interact with citizens on specific problems

Strong leadership by government

JUN, SPAIN – WHY DOES IT WORK?

Crowdsourcing and voting on policy proposals

Multichannel approach

360,000 votes cast for 3,600 proposals

Impact on health, other policies

“THE GOVERNMENT ASKS” – RIO GRANDE DO SUL, BRAZIL

Commitment from gov’t to adopt budget;

Wide range of ways to be involved; inclusive

Part of a robust civic infrastructure – preceded by PB – officials get re-elected

Critical mass of participants

“THE GOVERNMENT ASKS” – WHY DOES IT WORK?

Engagement Building Blocks

Disseminating Information

Gathering Input and Data

Enabling Small-Scale Decision

Making(individuals,

families, groups, neighborhoods)

Enabling Large-Scale

Decision Making

(communities, cities, regions)

Discussing and Connecting

Encouraging Public Work


Practice: Better public meetings Stronger networks, online and off, for recruitment and

dissemination of information Better use of social media to raise interest, discussion

before and between meetings Clear avenues for public to present ideas for the

agenda At the meeting (or as a pre-meeting), a format

featuring small-group discussions Proposed guideline: Electeds cannot vote, act, or make

decisions until information from meeting is made public


Structure of engagement: Legal frameworks


Planning for participation infrastructure

The book:

bit.ly/PP21CD

Free resources (slide decks, skills module, readings) are

available under the “Downloads” heading at:

bit.ly/PP21CDresources

The skills module can be downloaded directly at:

bit.ly/PPskills


Connecting… [email protected] on Twitter: @mattleighninger,

@PublicAgenda on LinkedIn: Matt Leighninger www.publicagenda.org Facebook: PublicAgenda

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Reimagining Local Government slides