Community Engagement

Table of Contents

x

Community engagement during planning processes offers a venue for residents, stakeholders, and the public to voice concerns and guide decisions. 

Community engagement involves a wide range of demographics in a community, whether in age, race, ethnicity, ability, gender, income-level, etc. Typically, the majority of input during a hazard mitigation planning process comes from stakeholders and technical experts to advise on the complexities of hazards exposures and mitigation projects needed. Engaging the community is a plan requirement, although it is often difficult for planning teams to get meaningful engagement from community members.
 
Read More

When engagement is thorough and robust, it is because the planning staff acted intentionally. As outlined below, there are steps planners should consider to increase the level of engagement. 

Read More

Longmont, CO - Resilience for All

At the end of 2016, the City of Longmont, CO, in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, started their Resilience for All (RFA) program by identifying and eliminating barriers between the Latinx population and local resources provided by the City. The project engaged members from recovery organizations, shelters, city and county employees, faith groups, and other communities in the City to imagine what an inclusive resilient community looks like. From the identified barriers, the RFA program created a list of nine recommendations delivered to the City. This program is a good example of visioning with a diverse community that equipped the City with actionable steps to make the city’s response to hazards more inclusive. The recommendations include:

  • Provide the connection, develop guidance, and attempt to alleviate and/or remove the barriers that clients face when accessing services/resources.

  • Embrace word of mouth as a trusted source of referral and connection to resources.

  • Determine collaboration between department resource agencies. Professionals must work together and streamline the lines of communication that will allow clients to access resources.

  • Provide existing bi-lingual emergency resources to all community partners currently working with the multi-cultural organizations.

  • Exchange resources with local community organizations that would provide services/resources that general Emergency Services may not provide i.e. legal resources for transgender folks.

  • Create a safe [local] neutral point of resource for consumers to formalize complaints.

  • Finance nonprofits that focus on outreach teaching English.

  • Financially recruit, reward, and retain cultural brokers in local agencies and the community.

  • Implement programming such as bi-literacy seal or bilingual pay scales.

  • Community engagement expands the data inputs in the planning process. Community input is fine-grained data that is locally grounded which secondary data sources oftentimes does not capture. 

  • Greater diversity of contributors yields a more holistic understanding of community concerns and viewpoints.

  • Community engagement provides a space to dialogue about complex and challenging issues around hazard mitigation. 

  • Incorporating community needs into plans is foundational to building trust, a critical resource in times of crisis. 

  • Quality public engagement is also tied to higher public opinion of both the plan and the jurisdiction.

  • Greater levels of public participation increase plan quality, including among hazard mitigation plans. 

  • Inclusive community engagement facilitates educational awareness of hazards.

  • Planners are not typically trained in community engagement and may need additional training. Consider taking a class in order to hone skills on facilitation, balancing participation, creating a space where people feel listened to and stay curious about the process. 

  • Constrained timelines often present during a hazard mitigation plan update process.

  • Some communities may lack awareness of the hazard risk. If this is the case, plan for additional meetings or opportunities to engage. 

  • The technical nature of the subject matter can be difficult for planners to explain without jargon. Take time to consider the language to use and for residents to process and interpret information.

Common Participation and Outreach Elements

  • Formal public hearings 

  • Open meetings

  • Workshops or forum

  • Call-in hot lines

  • Citizen advisory committees

  • Household survey

  • Interviews with key stakeholders

  • Website/internet/email

  • Data acquisition and data management

  • Brochures or other literature 

  • Newsletters

  • TV/Radio

  • Video

  • Education and training in several languages

Key Facts

Administrative Capacity

Planner lead with help from community leaders

Maintenance

Public engagement plans should be audited every time they are used to ensure inclusivity

Adoption Required

No

Associated Costs

Staff time for public outreach activities

Additional Resources

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events