It was not surprising that when we polled the audience, fifty-six percent said that they primarily gather community input through in-person meetings. For much too long, government agencies have been siding with the lowest-common-denominator of the digital divide, assuming the job is done because everyone can meet in person. The job is not done. The landscape has changed. Community ideas are not represented by the people with the time to schedule meetings with government leaders. That interaction needs to happen where the citizens are at; today, citizens are online.
During yesterday’s presentation I also delved into the details of the tools involved in creating effective community engagement. Research, preparation, and collaboration are the key purposes for the new integration of iLegislate with our Citizen Participation suite. Here are some of the features we reviewed in during the webinar:
- Mobile Preparation – access agenda packet materials, annotate, take notes, bookmark & email
- Legislative Research – watch previous meetings, research topics
- Paperless environment – reduce paper consumption
- Cloud Sync – prevent data loss & access the latest information
- Community Ideas – access crowdsourced community ideas & analytics
- Public Comment – review a dashboard display of public opinion by agenda before making decisions
Our communities have thousands of members and their ideas, experiences, and opinions are what should form the future. That’s a lot of data. While engagement must remain a personal experience, the data gathered from so many in the community must also be looked at as a whole. The iLegislate + Citizen Participation Suite integration is designed to provide a simple and clear view of both the forest and the trees.
Due to demand we’re offering this webinar again next Thursday, May 23rd, join us if you are interested in seeing how Granicus is working to close the gap between government and citizens. See you there!
