Plan your public engagement process

Effective public engagement is not easy to achieve. This roadmap helps organizations get to where they want to go. Get started by reviewing The Toolkit. It’s filled with ideas about structuring your process and loads of hands-on activities you can try. Interested in reading about 21st century engagement practices in depth? Check out The Guide for a deep conceptual review or go directly to the five Case Studies for specific examples. And for a really unique experience, play The Game as a team building exercise for those leading your engagement process. Effective public engagement is a long road. Enjoy the trip!

Get Started

The Toolkit

The Toolkit’s assessment gauges what stage of the process you’re already in and then gets you started (wherever you’re at!) with a series of strategic activities designed to facilitate a more transparent, inclusive, and creative public engagement process.

The Guide

Read this guide to understand how to navigate public engagement in the 21st Century. Based on lessons learned from the second cohort of the City Accelerator program, this guide informs the basis of The Toolkit and provides a detailed background on best practices for public engagement for city officials nationwide.

The Game

Chart the Course is a tabletop game that guides players through an entire public engagement planning process. The game gives teams an opportunity to explore different engagement tactics, role-play possible outcomes with stakeholders, and reflect on the implications of their actions.

The Case Studies

Learn from the public engagement stories of Albuquerque, Atlanta, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Seattle. As part of the City Accelerator program, each city tackled a pressing issue and discovered new ways to engage the public along the way.