use new technology to help engage your constituents

http://youtu.be/NGyCLMwIld0

I've put together a resource page on citizens academies at http://www.sog.unc.edu/programs/citizensacademies/
It would be great if some of you who work with citizens academies would check out this site and offer any feedback. We are still adding and revising content and would welcome suggestions.

"Join the Conversation" with Fulton County, GA tomorrow evening during our first-ever live Tele-Town Hall meeting! Citizens can talk directly to their County leaders about the 2012 budget and maintaining our quality of life here in Atlanta-Fulton County in the midst of economic challenges. Watch live on Fulton Government TV or online at www.fultoncountyga.gov/citizensense.

Our City Council unanimously endorsed the civil public discourse initiative of the ABA. Copies have been forwarded to our local state legislators and the Wisconsin Governor's office. Link to the resolution and background on the ABA resolution and supporting report: http://www.eauclairewi.gov/news-section/2658-city-council-promotes-civil-public-discourse

The Eau Claire City Council will consider a resolution at our next meeting to endorse the ABA resolution and to sponsor consideration of a resolution of support at the annual League of Wisconsin Municipalities in October. The ABA reports notes: "Incivility leaves citizens frustrated, disillusioned, and reluctant to participate in democratic governance. It is well-established that democracy cannot function effectively under these conditions. Without a social structure that supports tolerance, a basic level of trust, and a spirit of community, political institutions become hollow. Government becomes less efficient, effective, and responsive." People learn the skills needed for democracy in the context of their local communities and local government institutions. Our profession and our local governing bodies have much to share regarding the practice of civil public discourse and could provided well-grounded support for future efforts to carry through with the intent of the ABA resolution.

Last week the American Bar Association's House of Delegates unanimously adopted a resolution on civility as a foundation for democracy and the rule of law. The resolution and the accompanying report are worth reading. Here is the url: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/dispute_resolution/civility.authcheckdam.pdf

We've embarked on a broad-reaching citizen engagement effort here at Fulton County (Atlanta), pretty much on a shoestring. We're anticipating a ~$30M shortfall in 2012 and the Board has elected to maintain the same millage rate we've had for the past 11 yrs. Therefore, we're using this as an opportunity to start a conversation w/ citizens around their priorities for maintaining our quality of life even as we face persistent economic challenges. We've gotten encouraging feedback and participation from citizens and Commissioners thus far. See the following links for information on our fledgling effort:

www.fultoncountyga.gov/citizensense
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYF3nMQJiPY

I've been considering this issue a fair amount in light of the work ICMA has been doing on 311/CRM technology for the past 5 years and observing how popular the technology is with citizens who want to simply and easily connect with their local government. I think traditional citizen engagment techniques -- workshops, public hearings, newsletters -- must be supplemented these days with new techniques to reach citizens where they are. Putting up educational displays in the grocery store, conducting public opinion surveys on issues at the local ballpark, maintaining a robust web presence that allows citizens to report problems or request a service online are just a few of options local governments need to consider if they want real citizen input.

To Sarah's point below, if you ask for citizen engagment, make sure you have a plan in place for letting citizens who responded know what you've decided to do. It's not just about asking for input, but also communicating how you used that input.

Edward,
If your civic engagement strategy will include online engagement, then check-out how elected council members are using Peak Democracy's online public comment forums -- for example, in Berkeley CA: http://www.OpenTownHall.com/for/Berkeley. These online public comment forums have the order and decorum of public hearings, so they are civil and insightful (as well as legal). Also, these online forums can be easily integrated with the social media component of your strategy (i.e. Facebook and Twitter).