Redesigning resident engagement
A look ahead at Civic Hall Toronto’s next member event series
After wrapping up our successful series on data, we were eager to select a topic for Civic Hall Toronto’s next event series that would be just as informative and applicable for our members.
Resident engagement seemed like the perfect fit.
Of course, the topic itself is nothing new for our Civic Hall Toronto members. Local government is already gathering feedback from the public through consultations, meetings and online surveys.
But the way in which residents are being engaged is long overdue for change.
Conventional public meetings mainly consist of one-way communication — from the city to its residents — or are designed such that the only the loudest voices in the room get heard. They also often don’t represent the city’s diverse population; inaccessible meeting times and locations, complex jargon, and lengthy required readings mean marginalized groups (or simply anyone who can’t be at City Hall at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday) can be left out of the conversation.
Our members are eager to learn about new engagement strategies that can help them get better, more diverse and more actionable feedback. And we’re keen to explore how digital tools and methods, and the principles of human-centered design, can improve both the experience and outcomes of engagement.
So, between now and the end of 2019, we’re bringing local leaders in resident engagement to Civic Hall Toronto, and inviting them to share their insights and practices with our community. Here’s what our members can expect…
Better engagement with underrepresented populations
We soft launched the series a few weeks ago by bringing in two staff from Toronto’s Civic Innovation Office. Design Strategist David Jibodu and Design Researcher Jennifer Ma have been exploring how the City could better connect with underrepresented populations and involve them in decision-making processes.
They began by talking to residents and City staff to get their thoughts, attitudes and ideas on public engagement. They quickly discovered there is a large group of people who are interested in engaging with the City, but find the current process to be inaccessible.
One of the potential solutions that came out of this process was an online Civic Participation Portal. By creating a one-stop shop for everything the City is trying to get feedback on, residents could provide their input without having to go to a meeting in person.
David and Jennifer used both digital and paper prototypes to quickly test different features and designs for the Portal with over 50 people. By testing directly with residents, they generated a list of key features that could reduce barriers to engaging with the City.
Moving towards a co-creation model
We’re also offering members a training workshop on October 24 with Lisa Brody Hoffman, the Director of Public and Community Engagement for City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam.
Lisa will be discussing how public servants can apply a human-centered design framework to engage residents more effectively and meaningfully. Drawing from her extensive experience, she’ll demonstrate how to shift engagement from consulting residents on policies and programs to designing with residents. The result is a more collaborative and iterative process that leads to better outcomes for both staff and residents.
Challenges and opportunities for public participation
On October 31, Daniel Fusca, from the City of Toronto’s Parks, Forestry & Recreation division, and Jay Wall, the Principal and Creative Director of RallyRally, will be sharing their perspectives on how to make engagement activities more valuable for both residents and staff.
As Manager of Public Consultation, Daniel has extensive experience leading engagement processes for the City. He’ll discuss some of the challenges involved in connecting with residents and provide examples of engagement done well. Jay will share how better design and accessible messaging can encourage public participation.
While working with Daniel and others at the City on TOcore, the 25-year vision for downtown Toronto, Jay’s team created a set of resident profiles — each with their own stories. These representations of 16 Torontonians were based on the lived experiences of residents, and helped staff better understand the needs of the people who live, work, learn and play downtown.
Co-designing inclusive cities
OCAD’s Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) is at the forefront of designing more accessible and inclusive engagement processes. Their Co-Designing Inclusive Cities project consisted of several co-design sessions with people at the margins — residents who are often not consulted in changes that impact their communities — to help create Sidewalk Toronto’s accessibility and inclusion principles.
On November 21, Sepideh Shahi and Lisa Liskovoi from the IDRC will be sharing their process and the lessons that emerged from those sessions. In particular, they’ll demonstrate why it’s important to bring consultation to residents; meeting people where they’re at can help public servants meaningfully engage with a more diverse and representative set of Toronto’s population.
How you can get involved
The events above are designed for Civic Hall Toronto’s government members, but just like we did with our data series, we’ll be capping off the series with a public event towards the end of the year. It’s an opportunity to get more voices involved in the conversation and connect people from inside and outside of government who are passionate about public engagement.
We’ll be posting details soon, so stay tuned!
Civic Hall Toronto is a non-profit program that enables government innovators, entrepreneurs, technologists and residents to share, learn and build solutions together.
To learn more about membership, events, and other programs, visit civichallto.ca.
