This 2012 book by Adam Kahane of Reos Partners was published by Berrett-Koehler (San Francisco). People who are trying to solve tough economic, social, and environmental problems often find themselves frustratingly stuck. They can’t solve their problems in their current context, which is too unstable or unfair or unsustainable. They can’t transform this context on their own—it’s too complex to be grasped or shifted by any one person or organization or sector. And the people whose cooperation they need don’t understand or agree with or ... (continue)

This Policy Research Report (2013) from the World Bank analyzes community development and decentralization projects, showing that such projects often fail to be sensitive to complex contexts – including social, political, historical and geographical realities – and fall short in terms of monitoring and evaluation systems, which hampers learning. Citing numerous examples, including projects and programs supported by the World Bank, the authors demonstrate in this 300-page book that participatory projects are not a substitute for weak states, but instead require strong central support to ... (continue)

This guide from the Institute for Local Government offers local officials an overview of the benefits and opportunities for effective and inclusive public engagement in regional transportation planning in California, especially with regard to the preparation of sustainable communities strategies required by SB 375. The guide contains approaches that go beyond the minimum public participation requirements, because plans based on full and effective public engagement will more likely be responsive to local and regional needs and have public support. The Institute for Local Government (ILG) is ... (continue)

Here’s a great resource from our friends at Project for Public Spaces (PPS), outlining the qualities of successful public spaces.  PPS is NCDD’s fellow partner in CommunityMatters. Learn more about PPS’s approach to community building and design at www.pps.org. Great public spaces are where celebrations are held, social and economic exchanges take place, friends run into each other, and cultures mix. They are the “front porches” of our public institutions – libraries, field houses, neighborhood schools – where we interact with each other and government. When the ... (continue)

Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit planning, design and educational organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public spaces that build stronger communities. Our pioneering Placemaking approach helps citizens transform their public spaces into vital places that highlight local assets, spur rejuvenation and serve common needs. PPS was founded in 1975 to expand on the work of William (Holly) Whyte, the author of The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. Since then, we have completed projects in over 2500 communities in 40 countries and all 50 US states. Partnering ... (continue)

The Institute for Local Government offers the following general tips to help guide effective public engagement relating to public safety realignment as part of the 2012 Institute for Local Government Public Engagement Program. Here’s an excerpt, on “clarifying goals” when approaching public engagement: 1. Clarify Your Public Engagement Goals. Determine the intended goal(s) of your public engagement meetings or other activities. Do you want to inform the public about public safety realignment, its requirements and its impacts, answer questions, and/or ask residents or others to ... (continue)

One of the National Issues Forums Institute’s issue guides, Preparing Today’s Kids for Tomorrow’s Jobs: What Should Our Community Do? outlines this public issue and several choices or approaches to addressing the issue. National Issues Forums do not advocate a specific solution or point of view, but provide citizens the opportunity to consider a broad range of choices, weigh the pros and cons of those options, and meet with each other in a public dialogue to identify the concerns they hold in common. From the ... (continue)

A new guide can help citizens and local leaders decide how to make their communities more engaging, inclusive, participatory, and powerful. Planning for Stronger Local Democracy is built around two lists: the questions to ask about your community in order to take stock of local democracy; and the building blocks you might consider as part of a comprehensive, sustainable strategy for vitalizing civic engagement in your town. This is a publication of the National League of Cities and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, and can be ... (continue)

A facilitated group process developed by Yellow Wood Associates in St. Albans, Vermont that integrates systems thinking into strategic planning, identifies key leverage indicators and aligns actions to achieve goals. You Get What You Measure® is an inclusive, values-based process. (continue)

While there is a growing body of literature and experience about how to engage the public, there are few practical tools to gauge the success of these approaches. Recognizing that local officials and staff have limited time and resources, the Institute for Local Government has created online Rapid Review Worksheets to help local governments assess how well their public engagement processes worked. Learn more and download the worksheets at www.ca-ilg.org/rapidreview. (continue)