Sustaining Public Engagement – Best Practices and Resources

Publications, best practices, reports and other resources to help counties and cities sustain public engagement in local governance over time.

Guide on strategic communication for public engagement by the Institute for Local Government, outlining a 3-step process.

Effective Public Engagement through Strategic Communication

Strategic communication is an essential tool for effective public engagement.
This tip sheet offers advice on communication strategies before, during…

Overview of local government public engagement: passive, active, sustaining. Describes benefits like improved services and trust.

Three Orientations of Local Government Public Engagement: Passive – Active – Sustaining

A tip sheet to help local officials and their communities consider strategies to develop and sustain a capacity for public engagement as a part of local governance.

Two blue figures pushing large green puzzle pieces.

Approaches to Sustaining Public Engagement

There are many benefits claimed for the effective and inclusive engagement of residents in local planning and decision making. These include residents…

Sustaining Public Engagement: Embedded Deliberation for Local Communities - Every Day Democracy and Kettering Foundation, 2009

This report from Everyday Democracy and the Kettering Foundation, provides insights into how public engagement initiatives can become regular practices, with concrete examples of sustained community-led dialogue and problem solving efforts that draw upon different approaches to public deliberation.

Successful Local Agency Partnerships

These videotaped presentations include insights on the benefits and challenges of city or county partnerships with businesses, community organizations…