Digital communication has truly transformed public participation but it’s not an automatic or comprehensive solution to working with the public. It does not solve everything. Thus, it is important to choose your digital tools wisely in order to promote the collaborative process. What’s In Your Toolbox? When I look at my digital toolbox I think… read more →
OK, so this may not be the most politically correct headline for a blog today, but I will stand by it. For over 20 years, before cell phones made the effort moot, Ma Bell and later AT&T used this slogan to get people to call long distance. It turns out to be more than just… read more →
It was that first night, after a few hundred public meeting attendees started hollering at me about the things they were scared of or mad about, that I became very seriously interested in risk communication. I was barely aware of the term prior to then and only a select few academics were researching, writing about,… read more →
The thesis of this article is that the best, most effective crisis management team is You. And your neighbors and your community. Us. The Tribe. About a year ago, I read Sebastian Junger’s wonderful book, Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. What an evocative concept … tribe. A… read more →
Citizens Advisory Boards are convened by government agencies to seek advice over time. Members are typically selected from diverse perspectives. As a cross-section of the broader community, they commit to spending time together to develop agreement on the advice they will provide to the sponsoring agency they serve. Documenting the Citizens Advisory Board’s advice is… read more →
For those of us who love ice hockey, ’tis the season! As a fan of ice hockey and my work, it struck me that a hockey match is kind of like a public meeting that, if facilitated properly, can end up being a satisfying experience for most. Like many public meetings, participants are the opposing… read more →
Whew! The holidays are behind me. As I reflect on the past several weeks, I realize that preparing for a house full of family around the holidays is a lot like preparing for a public meeting. Anticipation. We all know that the actual time needed for planning and designing a public workshop or meeting is… read more →
Facilitation Training Every person who attends a meeting is an individual and it is essential that you not assume everyone is the same. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an assessment tool designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. The questionnaire was created by Katharine Cook Briggs… read more →
In September, TPC presented a session at the IAP2 Annual conference in Montreal to explore key issues facing the future of public participation. When everyone is connected to everyone else and opinions can be posted to the world from your phone, does anyone really care about coming together to talk about issues anymore? Do those… read more →
For the past thirty years, I have specialized in angry people. As a public participation specialist, I am often called in to communities that are hurting. People are facing real problems—living next to hazardous and radioactive waste sites and other environmental issues, seeing property diminishment from development, loss of jobs and income, threats to health,… read more →