Porter, Casey

English

UNH Scholars' Repository

  How Can We Engage People Without Being in Person?  When you think about community engagement, you might visualize people                                gathering together in a room for a community forum, charrette or focus group.                 The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated social distancing and avoiding gathering large groups of people together. There are many different tools and methods to                                                                                                     engage people in a socially distant manner. For example, some methods, like community forums, focus groups or key informant interviews, can be transitioned to a virtual setting. Importantly, not all engagement activities need to be virtual. Select different tools for different purposes and use multiple tools to meet different needs or reach different audiences. This information brief will provide some ideas and considerations for implementing community engagement tools when not in person.  Community Engagement is                 the process of gathering input, such as needs, ideas, needs,              values, opinions, from                                    community members to                              inform decision-making. Here are some considerations:    Is now the right time to engage the community? Community engagement is important right now – citizens want to              connect and share their input. However, it is important to think about your particular project and purpose of engaging                  the community. Is it appropriate and sensitive to proceed at this time? Or are there other more pressing issues that are taking up time right now?  It is important to first gauge and determine if  your community is ready to engage on the topic.    What tools do you already have that might work? Can these be adapted? For example, you may have already used focus groups or key informant interviews in the past.                                                                                                                                                                While these typically have been used in-person, it is              feasible to conduct  an interview over the phone  or Zoom, or a focus group  using a videoconferencing platform.   What are tools you have used in the past that can                 be re-evaluated?  You may have used television,                     radio and mailings for community outreach and                    engagement in the past. Some of these tools can be             updated or adapted.   What new tools would you like to explore? Moving  your engagement activities outside of the typical                 room setting may provide an opportunity to try new                                   technology, like Story Maps or a virtual community                       engagement platform.  Tips for Successful Community Engagement   Take the time to develop a comprehensive outreach and engagement plan to clearly identify your goals, your audiences and the engagement tools you will implement.   Consider your capacity and budget. Some engagement tools, like key informant interviews or posters can be implemented quickly and without a budget. Other more complex tools require more time and funds.   Offer multiple opportunities for people to engage. Choose a mix of virtual and low-tech tools to reach a broad group of people.   Consider equity and inclusion and which tools might work best for which audiences.   Take time to test your community engagement tools, especially virtual engagement tools. Be prepared to adjust and make them more user-friendly, and be prepared to troubleshoot.    For more information about community engagement,                                                                                                                                         check out our Community Outreach and Engagement Information Brief.   Developing a Community                                              Outreach and Engagement Plan  These questions are key to developing a community outreach and engagement   plan:   What are the goals of the community engagement? Determine and be clear about how the data you collect will be used. Who will make the ultimate                     decision? Will data be analyzed and used in a report to inform decision-          making? At what points in the process will you need to engage the                                       community?   What kinds of information do you need to collect for your project? For example, does your project require the collection of new ideas, spatial-based data, demographics, stories, or prioritizing existing ideas? You will likely need to collect multiple types of data and there are different tools best suited for the different types of data.   What groups of people would you like to engage? Identify specific groups of people that may be hard to reach and                consider how best to reach them. Engaging with different groups requires specific effort and investment.   What tools will you use for marketing and outreach? Marketing engagement opportunities is critical to gathering input. Think about how your audiences typically receive news and updates. Consider using both print and digital: newsletters, mailings, newspaper articles, social media and posters.   What tools will you use for gathering input? There are a variety of engagement tools that you will choose based on your community engagement goals, type of data you would like to collect, and which groups you would like to gather input from.   As with any community engagement work, it is important to develop an outreach and engagement plan. A plan helps to determine your goals, identify which        specific groups would like to reach and be deliberate about selecting which tools you will use to conduct outreach and engagement.   Casey Porter Community & Economic Development Program Manager  University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension casey.porter@unh.edu More Information: The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity educator and employer. UNH, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and New Hampshire counties cooperating.  August 2020 Creative Ways to                                Engage your Community During Social Distancing  Casey Porter, Community & Economic Development Program Manager   There are many different engagement tools, which can be categorized as thin or thick engagement. Thin engagement tools, like surveys or posters, allow participants to provide their input in a quick and convenient way. Thick engagement tools, like community forums or focus groups, provide opportunity for participants to brainstorm, discuss and deliberate together. Both types of engagement tools are valuable and it is important to select a variety of tools to encourage broad participa-tion. The following are a description of several engagement tools:  A common challenge of community engagement work is finding a way to conduct outreach and engagement with everyone in the community. Due to a need to practice social distancing, it is necessary to provide new and different ways for people to engage. These new engagement tools also provide an opportunity for new and different people to participate.                   However, it is important to consider how these changes in community engagement methods might impact people who                normally participate in person. It is key to consider equity and inclusion, especially with regard to virtual engagement tools. Address how to offer engagement for multilingual communities, for those who are hearing impaired and for those with lower digital literacy. Some may not feel comfortable using virtual tools, or may have limited access to broadband. When developing web-based tools, consider the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to help make your websites as accessible as possible. In addition, it is important to offer different methods of engagement in order to reach a varied audience,                   implementing both low-tech and virtual methods.  Social Media This tool can be used for both outreach and engagement. It can be a particularly useful tool for raising awareness about                   projects, events and how and where to get engaged. As an engagement tool, it is important to use this tool wisely. Social media needs to be managed and can be difficult to keep track of participants and monitor discussion threads.  Surveys Surveys can be used to gather information about attitudes about a           particular topic, issue, problem or opportunity. Surveys can utilize           multiple choice, ranking or open-ended questions. It is important to test your survey questions to ensure you are asking the correct                 questions. Surveys can be conducted online using tools like Qualtrics   or Survey Monkey, or can be conducted on paper through the mail.   You might consider distributing a survey through already existing    channels like a community newsletter, Facebook page or utility bill.  Focus Groups Focus groups provide an opportunity to gather the opinions or ideas of a small group of community members. Depending on your goals, you might choose to engage one group at a time, for example, a group of business owners, a group of long-time residents or parents. This format allows dialogue and discussion between participants. Focus groups can be held in-person or virtually through a video conferencing platform like Zoom.   Key Informant Interviews Key informant interviews provide an opportunity to gather in-depth information about a topic or issue from specific individuals that may represent different groups. These interviews can take place in-person but are also well-suited to a phone call or video conference call.  Art  Community Engagement Tools Engaging the community through art is another tool to gather  input from kids and adults alike. You may ask people to take              photos of their favorite place, or to draw their vision for the              future. If your town was designing a new park for example, you might distribute an outline of the park and have people sketch in what things they would like to see in the park. Take photos of all of the art and share on your website or Facebook. You can also decorate vacant storefronts with art or post in town hall for             community members to see.  Interactive Maps Polling allows you to obtain immediate feedback on an issue  or idea. Participants can vote for a particular option or give             feedback on whether they agree or disagree on an issue using their phone or a web browser. There is also polling software that    allows open ended questions. You can implement polling in a public meeting that is being live streamed where anyone can          participate immediately, or set up a poll that can be answered over a period of time. There  are many online polling websites, like PollEverywhere and Mentimeter.  Online Polling If you would like to gather input about a particular place or location,             it can be useful to use an interactive mapping tool. You may ask                           participants to share their favorite spot on main street or gather specific information about where a park needs improvement. An example of an interactive mapping platform is Esri’s Story Maps.    Community Engagement Platforms More advanced community engagement platforms are useful for a project or an initiative that requires interactive commenting and brainstorming and multiple  engagement tools packaged together. These platforms can include information, interactive maps, polling and voting results, and online discussion forums. There are many options, including: Bang the Table, Slido, Engagement HQ, Social                       Pinpoint, The Hive, Ethelo, Civil Space.  Fostering Broad Participation                                            in Community Engagement Posters Posters can be used to elicit ideas by asking questions and providing a space or post it note for people to write. Posters can also be used to rank ideas through the use of sticky dot voting. These can be posted in high traffic areas like the post office, town hall, library, coffee shops, or even at an outdoor kiosk.   

Creative Ways to Engage your Community during Social Distancing Information Brief 8.25.2020

https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2215&amp;context=extension

Creative Ways to Engage your Community during Social Distancing Information Brief 8.25.2020

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