Welcome to the Public Outreach Planner

Public Outreach Planner - Long-Range Planning

Public involvement strategies and activities for the development of city-wide or department specific plans. This can include but is not limited to comprehensive plans, siting plans for community buildings/resources, recreation planning or any other long-range planning process.

1. Select Appropriate Track

2. Answer Questions and get POP Score

3. Save POP worksheet

4. See POP Project Descriptions

5. Review POP Reference Guide and Outreach Tools

6. Fill out and save POP Reference Guide and Workbook

When filling out this worksheet, consider all City departments who may be involved in this project/effort. Filling out this worksheet collaboratively, in person, with all departments that might be involved will help in developing a more accurate POP score.

Project Name/Number:__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _______________________________________________________

What is the desired reasonable timeline for this effort or an adopted, completed plan?

? The calendar length of potential planning effort is a strong indicator of communication need. History has taught project teams that the public can endure almost anything for a brief period of time, if the appropriate opportunities for involvement and notification are provided. When a process is stretched over years rather than months, a more rigorous public involvement and outreach campaign is typically warranted.

How much outside agency (federal, state, local) and other local government involvement do you anticipate?

? The level of interest and coordination necessary with outside government, including their elected officials, and special interest groups should be considered. Care should also be taken to consider non- and quasi-governmental agencies (such as school districts), environmental and other special interest groups, and neighborhood and other citizen/community groups, as well as the potential for heightened project attention on social media. Close coordination with existing groups will provide a strong foundation upon which other outreach activities can be built, be it coordination with one neighborhood and one city or multiple agencies and organizations.

Historically, how has the general public (individuals and un-organized groups) reacted to projects/improvements/impacts related to the subject matter of the plan?

? Over time, planning teams come to know and recognize geographic areas or special groups of people who have a history of particular reactions to certain planning efforts. This historical perspective is vital to consider in planning for public involvement and outreach. Reviewing project histories and conversing with past project managers or team members is useful in finding out which areas or groups have strong opinions about the City in general or about specific issues relevant to your plan/outreach effort.

What is the potential for stakeholder and/or special interest group interest and/or conflict surrounding this planning effort?

? Many factors are indicators for potential stakeholder conflict in the planning process: tax implications, zoning changes, housing development, historic neighborhoods, city services changes/impacts, etc. All of these provide ingredients for conflict with stakeholders, including heightened attention on social media. Taking these less technical - but no less important - considerations into account can guide project teams in planning appropriate public involvement and outreach.

How much media (social and traditional) attention do you anticipate?

? Considering the history of the issues surrounding your project and similar issues in your community, determining the level of interest it produced in newspapers (traditional and online), radio, television and social media sites can be a good indicator of the public's overall interest. Also, researching the level of media attention a project or similar issue from a different community garnered can be a good indicator of what the reaction to your project might be.

How many people do you anticipate being interested and engaged in this planning effort?

? Considering the amount affected/engaged stakeholders and the likely impacts to them is a sound measure for analyzing outreach need. Care should be taken, however, not to assume too much based solely on the amount of affected/interested properties. While a larger number provides a good case for a larger effort, often intense impacts directly to a small number of stakeholders can be just as demanding in terms of public outreach and involvement.

What is the anticipated level of impact to the public upon plan adoption and implementation?

? While somewhat subjective, this question allows planning teams to consider such factors as zoning changes, access and parking changes, light/noise changes, and taxes/costs of city services in determining public impact. These factors will vary area to area. As such, an overall anticipated impact to the public should be weighed.

What level of impact do you anticipate to minority or low-income populations?

? From a public involvement perspective, outreach to minority and low-income populations often require efforts and resources beyond what might be considered traditional means. For example, low-income populations may not subscribe to the newspaper or have internet, therefore additional outreach in the form of mailers and door-to-door visits may be necessary to effectively involve this public. For many minority populations, English is not a primary language, therefore bi-lingual materials/translators may be necessary. Care also needs to be given to cultural customs and norms. By law, federally funded projects must identify and address disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental effects on minority or low-income populations. Project teams need to consider the local community surrounding a project and determine if either of these populations live in the project area.

Which of the following best represents the level of participation you are planning?

? The IAP2 Spectrum of Public involvement was designed to assist with the selection of the level of participation that defines the public's role in any public participation process. This can be a good tool in assessing how much public involvement you may conduct. Click here to view the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation

Additional Scoring Consideration:

Do the populations affected by this plan have limited access to electronic notification systems and online resources? Adds 0.5 to score

POP SCORE

POP LEVEL

CLEAR FORM

Print this worksheet to PDF once completed. Consider adding the date to your file name and saving in your project folder.

Knowing your recommended POP level, please proceed to the following pages to help you answer these questions:

Is this the appropriate POP level?

The POP Level Typical Descriptions page describes typical impacts at each POP level to better help you determine the appropriate level of public outreach.

How do I actually reach out to the public?

The Tools and Techniques page will help you determine what tools and techniques would be appropriate and effective for your POP level.

POP Reference Guide and Tracking workbook

Click here to download the POP Reference Guide and Tracking workbook. This document contains all information needed to design your public outreach plan as well as the opportunity to track activities and trends.