engage your community
Why it matters
Soliciting input from community members, especially people with marginalized identities, provides indispensable insight that anchors data project design in the needs of those most impacted by public systems. Community input also allows teams to crowdsource ideas for effectively deploying organizational resources and identifying data solutions that maximize public good. A successful community engagement strategy can lead to data projects that build trusting relationships between constituents and the people who serve them.
Checklist
Understand who is affected by the data project, who will drive a project’s success, and who is interested in its impact. This is a good opportunity to revisit the stakeholder work you did earlier.
Prioritize outreach to different groups by assessing the level of project interest and influence for all parties in the stakeholder landscape.
Evaluate how much power and authority your team has to effectively incorporate community input and the resources your team has to work in a participatory way with your community.
Identify and connect with state-level personnel who may have relationships with the interested community members identified and arrange informal conversations, informational interviews, or focus groups.
Co-create and co-evaluate metrics to measure project impact in collaboration with community members.
Key Questions
Do you have the authority to influence project decisions, strategies, and outcomes? If not, who does?
What do you hope to achieve by working in a participatory style? What project work can be done more effectively with others’ help?
Who will have the final say over decisions, and are there legal requirements that restrict certain courses of action?
How ready are stakeholders to work in a participatory way (do they have the desire, skills, authority)?
What outcomes and long-term impact does the community want? What do they consider a success? What are the biggest roadblocks?
Which stakeholders and community groups are you prioritizing?
Are you creating one-way feedback mechanisms, or are you cultivating an ongoing conversation throughout the lifecycle of the project?
What may be missing from your current practice of understanding the performance and impact of your team or organization?
Tools + Resources
A Guide to Effective Participation (David Wilcox)
Levels of Community Participation (David Wilcox)
Data Experience Diagnostic Template (Marc Hébert)
An Introduction to the Data Experience Diagnostic (Marc Hébert)
Foundation of a Successful Data Project: Engaging Your Community (Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation)
Data Walks: An Innovative Way to Share Data with Communities (Urban Institute)
Community Engagement Guide (Metropolitan Area Planning Council)
About the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation
The Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University brings together students, expert practitioners, and extended networks to work on projects that solve societal challenges using data, design, technology, and policy. Our projects test new ways for public and private institutions to leverage data and analytics, digital technologies, and service design to help more people.
About the national governors association
The National Governors Association is the voice of the leaders of 55 states, territories, and commonwealths and supports governors in their work to develop innovative solutions to today’s problems. Through the NGA Center for Best Practices, Governors work with policy teams to identify priority issues and deal with matters of public policy and governance at the state, national and global levels.