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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-16-006 - Update on Community Engagement Initiatives REPORT TO: Finance and Corporate Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: February 8, 2016 SUBMITTED BY: ,519-741-2200 x7231 PREPARED BY: Josh Joseph, Community Engagement Consultant,519-741-2200 x7221 WARD (S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: January 15, 2016 REPORT NO.: CAO-16-006 SUBJECT: Update on Community Engagement initiatives ___________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATION: For information only. BACKGROUND: The City of Kitchener has a strong tradition as a municipal leader in community engagement. In February 2014, Council approved the Open Government Action Plan which included recommendations for open data and e-participation as key components of 2014 work. The Action Plan outlined now govern The Participation principle focuses on improving public participation, mobilizing citizens to engage in public debate and provide input and contributions that lead to more responsive, innovative and effective governance. To achieve a greater degree of public participation, the Action Plan identified that, between 2014 and 2017, Kitchener would undertake key initiatives including: Developing framework and toolkit for community engagement. E-Participation researching approaches to online participation which will enhance public s website and implementing new online participation approaches. Further to this work in September 2014, Council approved the E-Participation Executive Summary, which provided direction on the establishment of an e-participation platform for the City of Kitchener and identified technological and staff resourcing considerations that required funding if the report recommendations were to be achieved. During the 2015 budget process, Council approved a strategic initiative to fund a new e-participation/community engagement position and the purchase of an e- participation platform to launch to the public. During subsequent discussions about priorities for the 2016 business plan, Council highlighted a desire for acomprehensive engagement review to look at where in the organization public engagement is occurring, current practices and policies, consistencies, gaps, challenges and potential improvements. *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. IF1 - 1 This project is now included as a priority within the 2016 business plan, as is the plan to acquire and implement an e-Participation platform. As per the recommendation within the E-Participation Executive Summary, a Community Engagement Consultant has now been hired (November 2014), a permanent position approved through budget and filled through an internal hire. This report is intended to update Council on the current status and timing Preliminary planning for the comprehensive Community Engagement Review Future development of Community Engagement Policy Acquisition and implementation of an E-participation platform REPORT: Community Engagement Review: to assess their current status, gaps, challenges and how they can be improved. Additionally, the comprehensive review will inform the development of a formalized community engagement policy for the City. It is anticipated that the comprehensive review may also lead to other future potential actions, including: Updating the Community Engagement Framework and Toolkit Providing training to staff on how to effectively plan and deliver community engagement activities Encouraging the preparation of Community Engagement Plans for all major projects and initiatives that will involve the community Improving coordination and communication for engagement events Enhancing communication with citizens acknowledging input received and action taken Utilizing additional methods for seeking input Consultation with internal and external stakeholders will play an important role in the community engagement review. To make it as easy as possible for anyone to participate, consultation activities will include: Individual and group interviews with internal and external stakeholders Online survey Ability to provide feedback through email, by telephone and via regular mail The City will promote its efforts through a social media campaign, advertising and posters/flyers in City facilities. Tables 1 and2 on the following pages include a list of internal and external stakeholders to be consulted. The Mayor and Councillors will also be consulted as part of the Community Engagement Review. IF1 - 2 Table 1: External Community Stakeholders Arts and Culture Advisory Committee Compass Kitchener Advisory Committee Cycling and Trails Advisory Committee Downtown Action Advisory Committee Economic Development Advisory Committee Environmental Committee Advisory Committee Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee Heritage Kitchener Advisory Committee Youth Action Council Mayor's Advisory Council for Kitcheners Seniors Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee Kitchener-WaterlooMulticultural Centre The Working Centre Additional stakeholders and members of the public will be able to provide input through the online survey, social media campaign and hard copies of surveys in City facilities and community centres. Table 2:Internal Stakeholders (City of Kitchener) DepartmentDivisionInterview Group Group 1: Corporate Customer Service Group 2: Corporate Communications and Marketing CAO & Administration Group 3: Strategy & Business Planning Group 4: Chief of Staff/Office of Mayor Group 5: Special Events CAO Group 6: Business Development Group 7: Kitchener Market Economic Development Group 8: Downtown Community Development Group 9: Arts and Culture Group 10: Building & Permits Building Group 11: Bylaw Enforcement Bylaw Group 12: Program and Resource Services Group 13: Older Adult Services Group 14: Children's and Youth Services Community Programs and Services Group 15: Volunteer Resources CSD Group 16: Community Resource Centres Group 17: Aquatics and Athletics Group 18: Neighbourhood Strategy DCAO & Administration Group 19: Aud & Arenas Enterprise Group 20: Development Review Planning Group 21: Long Range and Policy Planning IF1 - 3 Group 22: Site Development and Customer Service Group 23: Engineering Design and Approvals Group 24: Development Engineering Engineering Group 25: Engineering Construction Group 26: Stormwater Utility Group 27: Operations (Roads) Group 28: Operations (Parks, Fields,Trees) INS Operations Group 29: Operations (Sewers & Traffic Operations) Group 30: Design and Development Group 31: Transportation Planning Transportation Services Group 32: Parking Enterprise Group 33: Utilities Management Utilities Group 34: Financial Planning Financial Planning Group 35: Service Coordination and Improvement FCS DCAO & Administration Group 36: Employee Strategies and Recruitment Human Resources Community Engagement Policy: In 2008, the City of Kitchener adopted a framework and toolkit to help Council, staff and the community understand the various methodsand purposesof community engagement. The framework includes four different ways that the public can be involved, participate in or influence the decisions taken at the municipal level. While City staff continuesto consult this frameworkand toolkitto inform its public engagement activities, to date, no formalized Community Engagement Policy exists. Table 3: City of Kitchener Community Engagement Framework INFORMCONSULTCOLLABORATEENTRUST To provide the public with To obtain public input into To partner with the public in To address the needs of the balanced and objective priorities or decisions, usually various aspects of the public and place the final information to assist them in at one point in the project planning and decision-decision in their hands. understanding the problem, planning or implementation making process usually alternative, or solutions.process.including the development of alternatives and identification of the preferred solution. Through completing a comprehensive community engagement review, the City of Kitchener can develop aformal Council policy that: Upholds the view that involvement of the community and key stakeholders in planning and decision making for the city is fundamental to effective governance Provides direction and guidance to ensure that consistently, communicate consult and engage the community is fulfilled. Addresses key existing gaps. The objectives of a formalized community engagement policy will include: Building Framework and the Community Engagement Tool Kit. IF1 - 4 Identifying clear consistent guidelines for City Staff, Council and the public to facilitate a coordinated approach to community engagement. Informing the Kitchener community about the Citys approach to consultation and engagement activities so that citizens know what to expect. Facilitating Council decision-making that is open, transparent, responsive and accountable to the community. e-Participation: Expectations of government are changing. In a world where individuals can earn a degree online, bank at home, share pictures and talk to family and friends in real-time, we expect government to be just as accessible. Citizens also expect to be able to actively and easily participate and contribute ideas that make our communities better. E-participation, a rapidly-growing element in local government communications and engagement, essentially refers to use of online technology tools to strengthencitizen participation in democratic decision-making processes. E-participation platforms centralizedonline forums that house all of a ement opportunities in a single placeenable citizens to participate in various ways online, including: Develop new solutions Provide input on new and redesigned services Provide input on city priorities Provide input on services and the decisions that impact them most Review and edit key documents, policies and strategies Implementing electronic means to engage with citizens is a recognized priority of Council and has a strong base of community support evidenced by the findings of the CipenGovernment consultation and the 2014 Environics citizen survey. For example, the Environics Survey found that - making, but they expect the City to come up with new ways of doing this, particularly online. Research into approaches in this area was a keyfirst priority withinOpen Government Action Plan. In recent months, the City of Kitchener and Region of Waterloo have spearheaded the formation of a region-wide e-Services collaboration group, which looks at how local municipalities can partner to provide or improve on the delivery of online services to citizens. The group, which includes representation from all local municipalities, has spent several months exploring the potential for a single e-Participation platform to be used across Waterloo Region. All municipalities agreed that there would be substantial benefits, including cost savings and ease of use for citizens, if this partnership could be achieved. After considerable discussion, negotiation and research, Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo Region have recently jointly signed a two-year agreement to acquire the Peak Democracy Open Town Hall online civic engagement platform which has been in use by the City of Waterloo for the past several months. Supply Services Division provided guidance on the agreement and confirmed that given the dollar amount, a formal request for proposals submission was not required. The municipalities based their collective decision on factors including: Ease of use for citizens: Because the single tool pulls from the same population database, citizens will be able to use a single log-in to access consultations occurring across Waterloo Region municipalities. IF1 - 5 Efficiency: In 2014, the City of Waterloo conducted substantial research and an RFP process for an e-Participation platform, and found that Peak Democracy was one of the most robust in terms of capabilities, flexibility, training, support, customer service, and cost. The City of Waterloo shared these findings with the all municipalities resulting in efficiencies in researching and evaluating e-Participation platforms. Cost Benefit: The e-Services collaboration group was able to realize a cost savings for each municipality by partnering with the other municipalities. References: The City of Kitchener participated in reference calls with other Canadian municipalities currently using Peak Democracy, including the cities of Edmonton and West Vancouver. They reported a similar positive experience to the City of Waterloo. Specifically, the cities found the tool robust enough to meet the various needs of their organizations and the platform has been well received by the public. Flexible and responsive to change: e-Participation platforms are new and evolving, and the strength of Peak Democracy is the ability to be flexible in responding to municipalities suggestions on how to improve the platform. Some of the benefits of the new e-Participation platform for citizens include: Single log-on that enables citizens to access consultations at municipal or regional level Easy to use functionality and mobile access is available Ability to add comments to posted topics that can be viewed by all users Ability to view and editCity documents within the document itself Ability to drag and drop pre-determined items on a map for geospatial purposes Easy to use budget visioning and priority tools Use of video and other graphics to simply difficult concepts Dashboard and search tools to look up specific topics and projects Subscription options so citizens can receive notifications as new information is posted Citizens automatically receive a message about how their feedback will be used and next steps With the platform acquired, key additional initiatives to be undertaken prior to the public launch of the program include: Development of a training plan for appropriate internal staff Development and implementation of a project launch plan including an inventory of corporate community engagement initiatives that will populate the platform at launch and beyond. Development of additional policies and criteria that will govern internal and external use of the tool, including: Criteria that describe what City projects are eligible and appropriate for e- Participation and what topic type is most appropriate for a given project. User guidelines to address comment monitoring, issue reconciliation, records retention and privacy concerns. Governance protocol that describe the roles and responsibilities of the Community Engagement Consultant, City staff and Peak Democracy staff in delivering e- Participation initiatives. Timelines: Below is the timeline for engagement activities related to the launch of the e-Participation platform (April 2016), the Comprehensive Community Engagement Review (August 2016) and the development and delivery of the Community Engagement Policy (October 2016). Prepare & Internal & Content Development circulate draft Deliver Launch of the External Acquire e-Development, of Public Community Community e-Stakeholder Participation Criteria & Awareness / Engagement Engagement Participation Interviews & Platform Policies Launch Plan Review to Review to platform Survey (Jan 2016) (Jan - Mar (Jan - Mar stakeholders Council (April 2016) (Jan - May 2016)2016)(May - July (Aug 2016) 2016) 2016) IF1 - 6 ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: Strategic Priority: Open Government Strategy: 1.3 Create more opportunities for citizen dialogue on community issues and introduce new ways for people to get involved in decisions that affect them. Strategic Action: Community Engagement Review, Implement E-Participation Platform FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: A comprehensive communications plan for the Community Engagement Review is not yet complete but it is anticipated that there will be a minimal cost for some advertising related to the public promotion of thereview. The cost for the two-year agreement for the Peak Democracy e-participation platform is $30,728.66. All costs are allocated within existing budgets. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: INFORM -Participation platform, and its comprehensive community engagement review, through a comprehensive public awareness plans that will involve CONSULT Internal and external stakeholders will be consulted as part of the Community engagement practices, processes and policies. Additionally, both the review and the launch of an e-participation platform are intended to create more opportunities for citizens to participate in civic decisions and see their opinions shape positive change in the community. CONCLUSION: There are a number of potential benefits associated with community engagement supported by research and experience including enhanced quality of decisions, greater understanding and consensus built among stakeholders, increased ease of implementation, intentional anticipation of public concerns and an increase in civic capacity. By enhancing opportunities for involvement, engagement and dialogue, the City can strengthen the connection and understanding among citizens in our community, between our community and city government, and between the City and other orders of government. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, CAO IF1 - 7