Public engagement is an exercise in building trust, fostering the relationship between the public and the organizations that serve it. In many cases, this engagement is required by either federal, state, or local regulations for the development of new
projects, so providing opportunities to inform and involve the public and other interested stakeholders both fulfills these requirements and continues the dialogue between the public and community leadership. At Dewberry, we help our clients with public
engagement for a variety of projects, including transportation improvements, municipal site developments, and local and state resilience plans.
Evolving with the Times
As with many things in 2020, public engagement in a time of social distancing has been forced to evolve, in many cases replacing the traditional in-person component with online tools to keep the public involved. Fortunately, there were already a multitude
of online public engagement options available to keep the public informed and to allow for interactive participation. Many of our clients were already using project websites, recorded video presentations, and interactive survey options. With the option
of in-person public meetings not possible in 2020, our clients also began holding virtual public forums to promote continued public engagement.
Internally, our team of public involvement specialists recently held roundtable webinars to educate our staff on how to hold successful virtual public meetings, so that we can all help our clients as they continue to shift to online engagement. Our discussions
focused on these key recommendations:
- Preparation is key: Knowing your audience will help identify any internet or technical capability issues, which will guide the format of your meeting. Offer an audio-only option for those who may not have internet access and can only
join the meeting by phone. Conduct a meeting rehearsal at least a week in advance to work out any issues with the meeting platform or presentation.
- Have tech support ready: Your meeting team should include at least one person focused entirely on technical support. This allows the project team to focus on the presentation and project-related questions.
- Be nimble: In 2020, we have learned the importance of adapting quickly! Be ready when things don’t go exactly as planned- whether there are problems with a video, difficultly uploading large files, or other technical issues.
Providing a platform for the public to view information after the meeting is a way to address concerns when problems arise during the meeting itself.
As meeting platforms have evolved to allow for more interaction, they provide more opportunity for participation by those who either might not attend or who may not feel comfortable speaking at an in-person meeting. Tools such as polling, chat boxes for
questions and comments, and separate virtual “rooms” for focused discussion can be used, allowing participants to get the full meeting experience. Our public engagement specialists are advising clients on the technical and security requirements
that they need to consider when selecting a virtual public meeting platform, and how they can hold effective meetings within these platforms.
Though it can be tough to name the positive aspects of 2020, our remote work environment has pushed the use and acceptance of virtual tools into the forefront. This shift has given us more options to reach the very audience that we serve, and to verify
that our public engagement efforts generate the meaningful dialogue that’s needed to create a successful project."
Beth Smyre
Forging Ahead: Hybrid Public Engagement
Moving forward, virtual meeting skills and experience will continue to be useful client public engagement tools. As 2021 progresses, some clients will cautiously begin to request hybrid public meetings that include both in-person and virtual components. Hybrid
public meetings allow the comfort of an in-person event, while providing the opportunity to significantly increase public input through a virtual 24-7 format that an interested participant can join at their own convenience. We have seen our
public participation and community involvement increase ten-fold through the use of virtual meetings, and we encourage our clients to embrace the use of virtual public meetings in their future public engagement efforts.
With the shift to virtual public engagement options, public involvement plans now have a new set of tools available to reach more people than ever before, and we should expect that the public will want online options that give them the flexibility to
participate when, and how, they want. While the central tenant of public involvement – knowing your audience – hasn’t changed, practitioners should now consider issues of internet connectivity and technical ability in the initial
stakeholder research process.
Though it can be tough to name the positive aspects of 2020, our remote work environment has pushed the use and acceptance of virtual tools into the forefront. This shift has given us more options to reach the very audience that we serve, and to verify
that our public engagement efforts generate the meaningful dialogue that’s needed to create a successful project.
Additional Resources
For additional information on conducting and planning for virtual public engagement meetings, check out these resources: