Building civic infrastructure - NMIFC keynote

Building Civic Infrastructure:
Engaging residents in more
effective, sustainable ways

New Mexico Infrastructure Finance Conference
Taos, New Mexico
October 25, 2012

The Deliberative Democracy Consortium

Slides available at:
www.slideshare.net/mattleighninger

Guides:
http://bit.ly/M1pvMp
http://bit.ly/iwjgqn

“What drove me to try planned,
structured public engagement
was my awful experience with
unplanned, unstructured public
engagement.”
─ John Nalbandian,
former mayor,
Lawrence, KS

Three minutes at the microphone

Retrieved from Cincinnati.com, July 27, 2012

The context:
How have citizens* changed?
 More educated
 More skeptical – different
attitudes toward authority
 Have less time to spare
 Better able to find
resources, allies, informatio
n

* “citizens” =
residents, people

The context:
Families with young children
 Have the most at stake in community success
 More motivation to engage, but even less time
 Want to engage in community, not just politics

The context: Increased use of the Internet

Successful tactic: Proactive recruitment

 Map community networks;

 Involve leaders of those networks;

 „Who is least
likely to
participate?‟

 Use online as
well as f2f
connections;

 Follow up!

Successful tactic: 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.

Successful tactic: Framing an issue

 Give people the information they need, in ways
they can use it
 Lays out several options or views (including
ones you don‟t agree with)
 Trust them
to make good
decisions

Successful tactic: Many levels of action

Building civic infrastructure - NMIFC keynote

Successful tactic: Online tools

Particularly good for:
 Providing background information
 Data gathering by citizens
 Generating and
ranking ideas
 Helping people
visualize options
 Maintaining
connections
over time

In other (fewer) words, the key
success factors are:
 Diverse critical mass
 Structured
 Deliberative
 Action-oriented
 Online and f2f

This work challenges the thinking of:

Progressives Conservatives

 Experts don‟t make  Electeds don‟t make
all decisions all decisions
 Forces gov‟t to be  Raises perceptions of
more accountable gov‟t
 Gov‟t not enough to  Free market not
solve problems enough

Strengths of quality public engagement

Good for: Making policy decisions, plans
Catalyzing citizen action
Building trust
Fostering new leadership

Limitations of quality public engagement
(as we practice it today)
 Lots of work for temporary gain
 Inefficient – every organization on its own
 Community moves back to „politics as usual‟
 „Engagers‟ set the agenda, not the „engaged‟
 Limited impact on equity
 Trust, relationships fade
 Laws on participation out
of step with practices

New model ordinance on public
participation

Available at www.deliberative-democracy.net
Developed as a collaboration of:

What is civic infrastructure?

The regular
opportunities, activities, and arenas
that allow people to connect with
each other, solve problems, make
decisions, and be part of a
community.

Building blocks for civic infrastructure:

Building block:

Helping
neighborhood and
school groups
become more
- effective
- inclusive
- participatory

Building block: Hyperlocal online forums

 More sustained
 Larger, more diverse numbers of
people
 Easier for „engagers‟ – recruitment
doesn‟t have to start from scratch
 More open to ideas from the
„engaged‟

Building block: Youth leadership

Don’t forget: Fun

“Sometimes you need a
meeting that is also a party.
Sometimes you need a party
that is also a meeting.”
─ Gloria Rubio-Cortès,
National Civic League

“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 a change
in INS policy

Participatory Budgeting in Brazilian cities

 Commitment from gov‟t to adopt budget;

 Wide range of ways to be involved;
 A carnival
atmosphere;

 Started small,
now huge –
60,000+ people

“Kuna Alliance for a Cohesive
Community Team” Kuna, ID

 Recurring input-gathering process, used on
all major decisions
 Organized by Kuna Alliance for a Cohesive
Team (Kuna ACT), in collaboration with local
government
 Issues include: school funding, downtown
development, planning and growth
 500 participants annually (city of 6,000)

“Kuna Alliance for a Cohesive
Community Team” Kuna, ID

Outcomes:
 New comprehensive plan
 Passage of school bond issue
 Improvements
made to
downtown
 New strategy to
market community
as hub for “Birds
of Prey” area

Building civic infrastructure:

 Is relatively inexpensive (mainly political, not
financial capital)
 Is a cross-sector job
(not just
government)
 Has other
economic benefits

Resources
• www.participedia.net
• www.deliberative-democracy.net
• www.soulofthecommunity.org
• www.everydaydemocracy.org
• www.publicagenda.org
• www.kettering.org
• On Facebook: “Deliberative
Democracy Consortium” group page
• The Next Form of Democracy

Why build stronger civic
infrastructure?

1. Make engagement easier, more efficient
2. Build trust
3. Give residents more control of the agenda
4. Better address inequities
5. Increase community attachment and
economic growth
6. Increase residents‟ sense of legitimacy and
“public happiness”

What is your vision for civic infrastructure?

Building civic infrastructure - NMIFC keynote

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