A software company explains why we need to stop talking about online engagement 

Date and Time: 8/30/2022
Location: Cinnabar

Presenter: Tricia Thomas, Content Marketing Manager, PublicInput.com

  

 

 

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION

Although it may be an unconventional train-of-thought coming from a software-as-a-service company, this presentation will dive into where online engagement in the public involvement process has afforded both benefits and drawbacks.

The narrative around public involvement tools has lifted the broad reach of online engagement as an alternative to (or even a replacement of) the traditional public meeting for a variety of understandable reasons. However, in papers published even back in 2005, researchers recognized that conducting outreach and surveying using limited communication channels almost guarantees biased results. At the time, the canary in the coal mine was the decline of response rates in telephone surveying hinting at a much broader problem. Today, participation numbers are dramatically higher thanks to online engagement, but does more people always mean more equity? If we focus too much on collecting input via an online survey, we are still likely to yield a high degree of selection bias. As the title suggests, this presentation will guide attendees into the next paradigm of public involvement - We no longer need to talk about Virtual and Traditional engagement. It can simply be, "Engagement". It will present a case study from NCDOT that outlines how the line between online and offline has blurred in public meetings, interactive signage, targeted social advertising, community canvassing and more.

This presentation will also elaborate on how "mixed-mode” surveying, or the practice of using multiple methods to reach and engage participants, can be employed as a strategy to optimize data collection and reduce survey error.

In looking towards the future of public involvement, our mandate is to provide residents an opportunity to engage, and a piece of that puzzle is online engagement, but let's stop talking about it as THE solution to representative public involvement in the planning process.

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY

Working to help give all people a voice in the decision-making process, Ms. Thomas has a graduate degree in Public Administration and has spent the last 15 years working in local government doing public education and outreach work. Before joining the PublicInput team as the Content Marketing Manager, Ms. Thomas spent 6 years as the Communication Manager for the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.