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Nurturing community engagement (also called public engagement, public participation, or public involvement) is a fundamental civic goal.
We're working to create an engaged city that brings you and other people together to:
- Address issues of common importance
- Solve shared problems
- Create positive social change
What's community engagement?
Community engagement gives you opportunities to participate in making City decisions that affect or interest you.
Involving you helps us make better decisions, plans, or projects that:
- Maximize benefits
- Minimize negative impacts
- Satisfy a wide range of stakeholders
- Are easier to carry out
Your role in the decision-making process
Understand your role in the decision-making process with the spectrum below, and hold us accountable to the process.
The spectrum outlines our objectives and promises to you for each type of engagement process we deliver.
Some processes use multiple types of engagement for different groups or at different stages.
Greater influence on a decision comes with greater responsibility and commitment on your part.
Our core values for public participation
We apply the following values from the IAP2 when we design public engagement processes.
If you participate in one of our public engagement processes, hold it accountable to these values.
- We believe that people who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.
- We promise that the public's contribution will influence the decision.
- We promote sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decision-makers.
- We seek out and facilitate the involvement of people potentially affected by or interested in a decision.
- We seek input from participants in designing how they participate.
- We provide participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way.
- We communicate to participants how their input affected the decision.
