Determine Who Needs to be Present

Determining who needs to be present, understanding the dynamics of who will be present, and sending out invites are important steps in the initial phase of planning for the community conversation. This page provides insights for completing each step.

Create a Stakeholder List

Based on your understanding of the project, who is involved, and who should be involved, the following categories can get you started on making a list of possible participants in the community conversation.

City
Commerce
Businesses
Entrepreneurs
Economic Development Agencies
Nonprofit Organizations
Community Leaders
Education Institutions
Researchers
Data Analysts
Others

Stakeholder Analysis

It is important to understand the dynamics and relationships of stakeholders in order to mitigate any issues and leverage conversations during the community conversation.

Below are some questions to reflect on after you have gathered your stakeholder list.

What are the internal and external interests of the stakeholders related to the creative economy?
What relationships do the stakeholders have with each other? (partnerships, collaborations, etc.)
What power dynamics exist within the group of stakeholders?
Is it preferable to have one conversation or two separate conversations?
- - Combined: Some stakeholders could shy away from speaking up about sensitive topics infront of government officials.
  - Separate: There could be a loss of opposite point of views and lack of a two-way discussion

Sending Out Invites

The invitation is sometimes the first point of contact for stakeholders. Dedicating time to think about the content of an invitation in regard to language and images used could affect the level of interest and response. The invitation should be welcoming for stakeholders to show up and contribute.

The invitation to the conversation meeting should also communicate a clear purpose. The images below are an example of an invitation created using Canva (a free online graphic design platform) that could be sent out to stakeholders. The goals and intented outputs for each day of the community conversation are also mentioned to give stakeholders a clear idea of what to expect. The agendas for each day could also be included or outlined elsewhere such as on a reservation platform (e.g. Eventbrite, Google Forms, etc.).

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