ENGAGEMENT TOOLS AND
TECHNIQUES
COURSE 301
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The Tools We Will Explore Today
 Range of public engagement—from
informing to full participation
 Catalogue of public engagement
techniques
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Range of Public Engagement
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Range of Public Engagement
 Range (continuum from informing through
participation) we discussed in Module 101, consists
5 steps1. Organize for participation
2. Identify and get to know the stakeholders
3. Pick an appropriate level of participation
4. Integrate public participation in the decision
process
5. Match the participation tools to objectives
throughout the process
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
 4 stages to use Tools and Communications in Public
Engagement1. Informing people through outreach and
organizations
2. Involving people face-to-face through meetings
3. Getting feedbacks from participants
4. Using special techniques to enhance participation
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/public_involvement/publications/techniques/chapter
00.cfm
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
1. Informing people through outreach and
organizations:
a. Including people who are underserved by
transportation
b. Bringing a core participation group together
c. Providing Substantive Information and Establishing
Methods of Communication
d. Taking Initial Action Steps
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/public_involvement/publications/techniques/chapter
01.cfm
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
1. Informing people through outreach and
organizations (cont’d)
a. Including people who are underserved by transportation
 Tailoring public involvement for race, ethnicity,
minority, low income, low literacy and low English
proficiency


Tailored outreach means selecting and adjusting public
involvement techniques to effectively connect with the
people affected
People with disability

Accessibility, sign language interpreters, listening
assistance, text telephone, accessible format of material
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
1. Informing people through outreach and
organizations (cont’d)
b. Bringing a core participation group together
 Community based organizations


A group of individuals organized by and for a particular
community of people based on shared interests and/or
attributes
Civic advisory committees

A representative group of stakeholders that meets
regularly to discuss issues of common concern
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
b. Bringing a core participation group together
(cont’d)

Citizens on Decision and Policy Boards


Community people serve on policy and decision-making
committees and boards
Collaborative Task Forces

A collaborative task force is a group assigned a specific
task, with a time limit for reaching a conclusion and
resolving a difficult issue, subject to ratification by
official decision-makers
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
c. Providing Substantive Information and Establishing
Methods of Communication
 Contacts Lists- Name and information of the
affected and interested people
 Information Materials- objects, documents, and
presentation materials that use words and visual
images—pictures, maps, graphs, and visual
simulations
 Key Person Interviews- one-on-one talk about a
specific topic or issue with an individual recognized
or designated as a community leader
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
c. Providing Substantive Information and Establishing
Methods of Communication (cont’d)
 Video Techniques- recorded visual and oral
messages to present information to the public,
primarily via tapes or laser disks (example: DVD)
 Telephone Techniques- two-way medium to obtain
information and to give opinions
 Media strategies- inform customers about projects
and programs through newspapers, radio, television
and videos, billboards, posters and variable
message signs
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
c. Providing Substantive Information and Establishing
Methods of Communication (cont’d)
 Speakers' Bureaus and Public Involvement
Volunteers
d. Taking Initial Action Steps
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
2. Involving People face-to-face through meetings:
 Meetings- formal and informal- are backbone of a
participation program
 Provides time and place for face-to-face contact and
both-way communication which are two dynamic
components of engagement
 Options for organizing meetinga. Determining the type of meeting
b. Selecting an organizing feature for a meeting
c. Taking initial action steps
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/public_involvement/publications/techniques/ch
apter02.cfm
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
a. Determining the type of meeting (cont’d)
 Public meetings/hearings
 Present information to the public and obtain
informal input from community residents
 Public hearing is more formal event
 Open houses/open forum hearings
 Informal setting in which people get information
about a plan or project
 Participants can comment on a proposal for the
formal transcript of the hearing
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
a. Determining the type of meeting (cont’d)
 Conferences, workshops, and retreats



Conference is a highly-structured program of
presentations and discussions with an overall theme
Workshop is a task-oriented meeting organized
around a topic or activity involving small group
Retreats are workshops held in non-traditional
settings for conflict resolution and communication
b. Selecting an Organizing Feature for a Meeting
 Brainstorming

Freethinking forum to generate ideas
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
b. Selecting an Organizing Feature for a Meeting
(cont’d)
 Charrettes

Meeting to resolve a problem or issue
 Visioning

Series of meetings focused on long-range issues
 Small group techniques

Fewer than 20 members to participate actively
c. Taking initial action plan
 Plans to make meeting successful
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
3. Getting Feedback from Participants
 Feedback- positive and negative- provides new ideas
and perspective
 Steps to reach people and get feedbacka. Establishing places people can find information and
interact
b. Designing programs to bring out community
viewpoints and resolve differences
c. Taking initial action plans
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/public_involvement/publications/techniques/ch
apter03.cfm
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
a. Getting Feedback from Participants
 Establishing Places People Can Find Information and
Interact
 Project website





Dedicated to information about a specific program
or project hosted by the lead agency
Hotlines
Agency telephone lines that receive inquiries from
the general public
Drop-in center
A place for give-and-take exchange of
transportation information within a neighborhood
or community
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
b. Designing Programs to Bring Out Community
Viewpoints and Resolve Differences
 Focus groups
 Focus group is a small group discussion with
professional leadership
 Public opinion surveys
 Public opinion surveys assess widespread public opinion
 Facilitation
 Guidance of a group in a problem-solving process
 Negotiation and mediation
 Alternative dispute resolution processes designed to
resolve a conflict
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
c. Taking initial action steps
 Find specific ways to solicit feedback from
community people, resolve differences, an
integrated results into planning and development
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
4. Using special techniques to enhance participation:
 Aim is to involve the largest possible segment of the
population
a.
b.
c.
d.
Holding special events
Changing a meeting approach
Finding new ways to communicate
Taking initial action steps
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/public_involvement/publications/techniques/c
hapter04.cfm
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
a. Holding special events

Transportation fairs


A day-long event used to interest community members
in transportation and in specific projects or programs
Games and contests


Special ways to attract and engage people who might
not otherwise participate
Includes board games, card games. Computer
simulations, raffles, contest on essay, poster or design
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
b. Changing a meeting approach

Improving meeting attendance


Objective is to attract more people in public
participation
Role Playing


Participants act out characters in a predefined
"situation" dealing with controversial aspects of
transportation planning or project development
Site visits

Trips taken by community residents, officials, agencies,
and consultants to proposed or actual project areas,
corridors, impacted areas, or affected properties
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
b. Changing a meeting approach (cont’d)

Non-traditional meeting places and events

Locations such as shopping centers, elderly drop-in
centers, county fairs, neighborhood fairs and block
parties, and sporting events are used for meeting
c. Finding New Ways to Communicate

Interactive television


Person-to-person technique that allows two-way
communication with telephone or computer
Teleconferencing

Telephone or video meeting between participants in
two or more locations
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
c. Finding New Ways to Communicate (cont’d)
 Interactive displays and kiosks


Similar to automatic teller machines, offering menus
for interaction between a person and a computer
Visualization Techniques


Methods used to show information in clear and easily
understood formats such as maps, pictures, or displays
Mapping through Geographic Information Systems

Combine traditional maps with layers of related
information in an electronic format
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
c. Finding New Ways to Communicate (cont’d)
 3D Visualization


Helps perceive forms and shapes of an interim or final
project design or concept
Visual Preference Surveys


Assists the community in determining which
components of a plan or project environment
contributes positively to a community's overall image
or features
Handheld Instant Voting

Participants may express a preference for an issue or
idea under consideration and have their preferences
recorded
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Range of Public Engagement
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
c. Finding New Ways to Communicate (cont’d)
 Plan or Text Markup Software


Computer application that allows the user to provide
comments, notes, hyperlinks, or other text or graphical
modifications to an existing drawing, plan, document,
graphic, or other form of electronic media
Remote Sensing Applications

Combination of hardware and software that allows for
the processing of information about land, water, or an
object, without requiring any physical contact between
the sensor and the subject of analysis. Example: using
Google Earth to show existing location
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
c. Taking initial action plan
 Evaluate whether special techniques are needed and
why
 Determine the appropriate special technique
 Assure necessary funding
 Evaluate approach with community advisors
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Catalogue of Public Engagement Techniques
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The Tools We Explored Today
 Range of public engagement—from
informing to full participation
 Catalogue of public engagement
techniques
37
Sources and Resources
 US Department of Transportation
 Public Involvement Techniques for Transportation Decision
Making
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/public_involvement/publications/techniques
/chapter00.cfm
 Smita Rakshit for the Urban and Regional Studies Institute at
Minnesota State University, Mankato
 http://sbs.mnsu.edu/ursi/
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