Created by Diane Miller December 21, 2015 Task Force on Community Engagement Meeting Notes: December 17, 2015 1 12/23/2015 TFCE12.17.15Notes_V1.docx Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................... 2 Members in Attendance .................................................................................................................................................... 2 Decisions Made ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Action Items ........................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Citizen Comment ............................................................................................................................................................... 3 Themes/Discussion of Survey Data ................................................................................................................................... 3 Themes/Discussion of Workgroup Input ........................................................................................................................... 4 Additional reflections on potential recommendations ..................................................................................................... 6 Meeting Evaluation ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 2 12/23/2015 TFCE12.17.15Notes_V1.docx Executive Summary On December 17, 2015 nine of the currently 12 appointed members of the Task Force on Community Engagement (TFCE) members attended the regularly scheduled TF meeting at the Street-Jones Building. Natalie Gauldin, Director of Friends of Austin Neighborhoods (FAN) addressed the group and encouraged the Task Force to continue to distribute the Community Engagement Survey to renters and other underrepresented populations so that the results more fully represent the diversity of Austin. She advised that FAN would assist the Task Force in the distribution of the survey to attempt to gather a more representative sample of voices. The group approved the November 19, 2015 meeting minutes. Mike Clark-Madison reported on the preliminary results of the English-language community engagement survey, including toplines from all respondents and cross-tabs for each of the stakeholder groups identified in question one, plus for respondents whose race/ethnicity is not “Caucasian or White” and those under 45. He also presented the data from the coding of responses to open-text questions based on “nodes” identified in the Task Force’s key elements of effective community engagement “bridge” diagram. Additional nodes were created to capture other recurring themes in the data and in total, 15 were used. The group reviewed and discussed the survey data and identified the specific needs that the responses revealed. Each of the Task Force Workgroups then provided a summary of the methods used and the input gathered from their specific focus area groups, which included business, civic and nonprofit groups, under-represented populations, neighborhoods, city department staff and Boards and Commissions. The group discussed their major take-aways from this input process and identified the needs identified through this process. Based on Task Force review of the input gathered, to follow are the major themes of the needs that should be addressed to improve the City’s community engagement efforts: 1) Make information clear, relevant and easily accessible. 2) Make it easier for people to give input in ways that are convenient, accessible and appropriate for them. 3) …
Summary of TFCE Needs Assessment Discussions Needs assessment summary.docx Compiled from TFCE Discussions by D Miller 12-22-15 1) Make information clear, relevant and easily accessible. a. Disability accommodations i. Make the information accessible to those with special needs. b. Foreign-language access c. Notification of public hearings at Council meetings d. District / Neighborhood-centered engagement alternatives. i. People want information about what is happening in their district or what directly affects them. e. Virtual/online participation i. There is not an online tool that meets everyone’s needs and the City’s website is not meeting needs. f. People are not aware of communication and engagement tools. g. People want multiple channels and the City as a whole needs to provide multiple channels. h. Being able to filter for information on issues you care about, having curated information, not a “fire hose”. i. Find ways to maximize the impact of City communication that is put out by our strategic partners, e.g. neighbors and other organizations j. A decentralized system results in inconsistency, information being scattered and hard to find, reinventing the wheel each time and no city-wide database of people who engage and what they care about. k. There is a need for localization of information and sources need to be trustworthy. l. There is an issue with the timeliness, consistency and accuracy of information. m. The community registry could be a good tool but it is not. 2) Make it easier for people to give input in ways that are convenient, accessible and appropriate for them. a. Disability accommodations b. Foreign-language access i. Spanish translation needs vary – need to train more people so there is more capacity for translation and interpretation. ii. Use culturally relevant methods including multiple language access c. District / Neighborhood-centered engagement alternatives. i. Every district is different. District-based outreach plans would help. d. Virtual/online participation i. Create opportunities for participation that don’t require people to physically attend meetings and events. e. Need to meet people where they are at and with groups they are already involved with. a. Shouldn’t always have to have them come to the City. f. We need to offer a variety of methods and times for people to engage. i. In some cultures, the mom needs to be home in the evening. ii. It takes too much time to participate, especially for those with families. g. Choose tools and techniques that fit the norms, …
1 Created by Juli Fellows, 1/14/2016 Initial summary on Recommendations from Bloomfire.docx Brief Summaries of Initial Thinking on Recommendations as of Jan 13, 2016 Theme 1: Make information clear… 1. Redesign the City website to make it easier to find information, including working well in a mobile interface. Improve the search function. Perhaps Salt Lake could be a model. 2. Move the "connect with the city" tab on the front page to the top right, and get rid of the "best managed city" tab. Add City Council tab. 3. Improve the community registry - work with Code for America volunteer brigade to develop a better interface for this data. 4. Provide closed captioning for ATXN (public access tv) live streaming service. Make ATXN available on an over-the-air channel. 5. Real website translation into Spanish. Set an appropriate population percentage threshold for translating the main pages of the website into other languages. Documents posted to website could be translated on request. Promote Austin311 heavier in Spanish speaking neighborhoods, 6. Expand the role of neighborhoods in City Government, perhaps making a Department of Neighborhoods, like Seattle. 7. Utilize re-usable meeting signs to get the word out, where there is a community meeting. 8. Designate public places in each community where public meetings can be held, that are properly equipped for such the purpose. Whenever possible, these locations should have bus service. 9. Introduction to Austin City Government for newcomers, perhaps a "Welcome to Austin" video that is easy to find on the website. 10. The map of agenda items prototype posted to Bloomfire could be really cool and useful, but more physical addresses would have to be included to make it really useful. It would be cool if the map generated emails to the Community Registry, using a similar radius as the Public Notices require. 11. Expand CityWorks Academy to include online and virtual classes and modules. Request each department that participates in the program to do a video presentation for their department, or perhaps film the presentations at CityWorks 2016. 12. City staff who deal with the public should also be more familiar with how the city works. 13. Develop a Community Engagement Handbook for both staff and residents to use. Clearly outline when community engagement is needed, provide guidelines to set expectations for both sides, and help ensure more consistency and measurable results across departments . 14. Create a central …
