Citizen-to-Citizen engagement
Citizen360 provides opportunities for
web-savvy citizens to participate in civic
matters even if they don't have the time
(or patience) to sit in meetings or read
through Council packets
Citizen360 approach is designed to
promote meaningful, constructive,
INCLUSIVE civic participation
process is complex; opportunities for meaningful input not clear
public meetings inconvenient; often dominated by “squeaky wheels”
requests for public input perceived to be perfunctory because officials only listen to *elites*
Citizens become discouraged from
participating in civic matters because
of common structural problems --
engagement *by design*
Citizen360 provides a “safe, well-
lighted place” for sharing questions,
ideas and information online
Citizen360 projects work with
officials/ governing authorities to
identify opportunities where citizen
input can make a difference
“Show your work” model – contributors provide
links to background material/ supporting evidence
suggestions often contradictory with no consideration of trade-offs
problems with many online forums
no accountability; easy to initiate – or perpetuate – misinformation, rumors,
personal attacks
random comments are accumulated but never build toward anything
questions are posed but never answered
Citizen360 approach
each forum topic/ activity is designed to be worthwhile; in-synch with official decision-making process
“info outpost” provides venue where contributors can clarify assumptions, address trade-offs
forum initially moderated by volunteers to help participants stay on topic; system of rewards will promote “social monitoring”
frame questions
provide context
manage
expectations
• relevant
• in synch with official actions
• tie-in with info outpost
• “show your work”
• rationale
• time frame
• follow-up
Citizen360 approach:
participation opportunities designed to be worthwhile
online Participation forum
is NOT about opinions or a
platform to air grievances
or launch attacks on public
officials or fellow citizens
Citizen360 plans to incorporate
social incentives and rewards
to encourage constructive
contributions on project platforms
Citizen360 project-related
authority points &/or
social rewards
just as it is common for departmental “silos” to arise in large organizations, so too
“citizen silos” have a narrow focus
Each group promotes their own
interests; directs demands toward
central authorities
special interest factions in a community can result in “citizen silos”
placed
hand-picked committees often rely on “usual suspects”
Centralized, top-down control over citizen
outreach tends to reinforce
citizen silos, and
constrain the
flow of
information
interest
skills
Beyond “citizen silos”
monitor social media,
identify potential participants,
make connections
Citizen360 reaches out
social media monitoring + outreach Cal Ave
example
Citizen360 approach includes
on-going connections Cal Ave
example
Citizen360 outreach provides
Each project has a
unique SMS keyword.
Everyone who
subscribes to the
keyword receives
timely project-
related updates.
City staff receive many questions from the
public via email which are answered
one by one.
Citizen360 values the untapped potential for
good ideas and insights
that can arise from
shared knowledge
When citizen input is directed only at
City Hall, citizens lose the benefit of
seeing what's been asked
and how their own questions
might shed light on
otherwise overlooked areas
ask questions out loud
help build shared knowledge base
individuals can post
ideas, questions, and
topics they would like
to have discussed
“info outpost” provides a shared
venue where contributors can
post background information, link to
official documents; clarify assumptions
greater transparency
can reduce redundancy
not all questions are created equal
participants can build on the ideas of others by adding comments
and/or voting for a question or idea
Citizen360 approach recognizes that
online participation forum
provides convenient way
not only to ask questions,
but to indicate which questions/ ideas are
considered most important
what questions would you ask design candidates (+ link to RFP)
question re bike station linked to relevant “info outpost” entry
instructions included info re who would receive input + question/ voting end-date
manage expectations
frame questions
provide context
participation opportunities designed to be worthwhile – Cal Ave example
Cal Ave
example participation forum
Citizen360: Each project has its own
Citizen360 uses a “toolkit” approach -- meaning that
different forum programs/ platforms may be used
depending on the needs of a particular project.
The Cal Ave pilot project used Google Moderator to
gather and rank citizen-submitted questions.
Cal Ave
example “show your work”
each item can include a link to an
“info outpost” entry where visitors
can find background information +
supporting references
Constructive input vs. opinion-fest
anyone can view forum activity
another form of transparency
elected representatives and city officials
have the authority -- and ultimate
responsibility -- to set policy,
allocate resources, and
implement decisions
crowd-
sourcing
decisions
Citizen360’s online
participation forum helps
bring forward questions
and ideas for consideration
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identify opportunities/
frame questions
contributors *show work*
public participation
summarize input/ share with city
input incorporated into process
in-synch with official process
authority
points/
social
rewards
constructive citizen input incorporated into official process
Cal Ave
example
“no excuses” approach toward citizen engagement
• limited ways to participate; in-person meetings inconvenient
•top-down control over outreach tends to rely on “usual suspects”
•centralized input does not promote sharing, or build knowledge base
Structural problems
•online forum + “show your work” model
•social media monitoring + active outreach
•citizens ask questions “out loud”; build on the ideas of others
C360 approach •more people can participate
•new voices; broader based acceptance
•greater transparency, more manageable input, more efficient use of time
benefits
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Local government can’t *bestow*
engagement upon its citizens.
If we expect more from local government,
we should
expect more from ourselves
local government can adopt policies to
encourage and support transparency
and citizen involvement, but
it’s up to individuals to become
informed
and participate