Inside P2 006: Making your online engagement accessible to more people


Do you launch online public engagements to extend the reach of your public consultation beyond those who can attend in-person meetings? If so, I’ sure that you are always looking for ways to make your online engagement accessible to as many people as possible.

This episode of Inside P2 focuses on six steps you can take to make your online public engagement more accessible:

  1. Design for mobile first
  2. Design for the social media generation
  3. Optimize for page speed
  4. Make it accessible
  5. Make it available in different languages
  6. Present information that is relevant to the visitor

You’ll hear about each of these steps in this episode, which includes a recording of a presentation I made on making your engagement more accessible at the 17th Conference of the International Observatory on Participatory Democracy.

 

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Inside P2 is produced by Joseph Thornley. I’d love to know what you think about the topics in this podcast, topics you’d like me to cover in future podcasts and people you’d like to hear from.

You can contact me in several ways

Keep listening. Keep considering what you hear. Keep responding.

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IP2 005 IAP2 launches a National Dialogue on polarization in public discourse


IAP2 USA President Leah Jaramillo talks about the IAP2’s National Dialogue initiative, its focus and objectives, its origins, where it will happen and its culmination at the IAP2 North American Conference in September.

We seem to live in times in which the volume has been turned up and the listening has stopped. In the wake of the US election, opposing camps have built polarized world views based on conflicting arrays of alternative facts.

The members of the US chapter of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) experience the disfunction of public discourse on a daily basis in their work promoting and facilitation public engagement with government.

Now, IAP2 USA is organizing a National Dialogue among its members and interested community groups to discuss the current environment for public participation. The dialogue will take the form of meetings across the summer culminating in a discussion at the IAP2’s North American Conference in Denver in September.

In this episode of Inside P2, IAP2 US President Leah Jaramilo talks to Joseph Thornley about this initiative.

One more thing

I neglected to ask Leah in the interview who had contributed to the development of the concept. She send me a note after our interview to let me now that, “The IAP2 USA Board members who were involved in developing this as a program for national distribution are Kit Cole, Cathy Smith and Wendy Green Lowe. Thanks are also due to IAP2 USA Executive Manager, Amelia Shaw & Staff for all their assistance and to Lewis Michaelson who co-facilitated the pilot event in San Diego with Wendy Green Lowe.”

Thanks all round to these folks for making this initiative happen.

Resources

It’s your turn

Inside P2 is produced by Joseph Thornley. I’d love to know what you think about the topics in this podcast, topics you’d like me to cover in future podcasts and people you’d like to hear from.

You can contact me in several ways

Keep listening. Keep considering what you hear. Keep responding.

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Reviews on iTunes help others to find this podcast. If you like this podcast, please review Inside P2 on iTunes.

Inside P2 004: Bob Joseph on Working with Indigenous Peoples


In this episode of the Inside P2 podcast, respected corporate trainer Bob Joseph talks with Joseph Thornley about working effectively with indigenous peoples.

Bob Joseph on working with indigenous peoples

Among the highlights of our conversation:

  • How Bob’s career as a trainer was launched through a serendipitous encounter when he was working as a sports fishing guide in Campbell River, BC.
  • Interest in working effectively with indigenous peoples spans the globe. Bob’s work has taken him not only across Canada and the U.S., but also to places like Peru, Guatemala, New Caledonia, and even Switzerland.
  • The organizations interested in understanding how to work with indigenous peoples includes national, state and local levels of government plus natural resources companies, including forestry, gas, mining, and utilities.
  • Where do trainees come from within the organizations? Public relations people, P2 practitioners, environmental specialists, customer service groups, legal departments. Some organizations have also set up aboriginal affairs departments.
  • Bob has noted that many people who are new to this aren’t sure what to expect. We see indigenous people around us, but may not be aware of what we have to learn. And there is a lot to learn.
  • Language can be a barrier to working effectively with indigenous people. Bob holds up the use of “stakeholder” as a term that can bring discussions to a stop when used with indigenous peoples.
  • Research. Research. Research. There is much to learn about indigenous people before you reach out to them. Indigenous communities are contacted frequently by outside groups and they have limited resources to respond. So, prepare well to make the most of your time and to avoid common mistakes.
  • Be straightforward about your naivety in dealing with a community. Acknowledge that you may make mistakes and indicate your openness to guidance to avoid these.
  • Indigenous peoples are not a homegenous entity. Our view of the communities may be shaped by national legal frameworks that imposed a framework on indigenous peoples that masks their true culture, distinctions and history. Be aware that indigenous communities are diverse and distinctive. Avoid trying to apply a blanket solution to them.
  • The biggest mistake you can make? Answering too soon. Aboriginal peoples have oral histories. Their cultures are based on listening and understanding. When dealing with indigenous peoples, learn to listen carefully at a pace that allows for thought and elaboration. To answer too soon can be interpreted as disrespectful.

Resources

IAP2 Third Tuesday

A panel of three leaders in the Canadian Federal Open Government community will talk about Open Government and Public Engagement at the next IAP2 Third Tuesday on May 25:

  • Laura Wesley, Executive Director, Consultations and Public Engagement, Privy Council Office
  • Melanie Robert, Executive Director, Open Government and Information Management, Treasury Board Secretariat
  • Dhurata Ikonomi, Acting Executive Director, Community of Federal Regulators

Find out more and obtain tickets.

It’s your turn

Inside P2 is produced by Joseph Thornley. I’d love to know what you think about the topics in this podcast, topics you’d like me to cover in future podcasts and people you’d like to hear from.

You can contact me in several ways

Keep listening. Keep considering what you hear. Keep responding.

Subscribe

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Reviews on iTunes help others to find this podcast. If you like this podcast, please review Inside P2 on iTunes.

Inside P2 003: The best of times and the worst of times for open government


On this week’s Inside P2, we talk about the shutdown of open.gov, the opening of the Canada School of Public Service armchair sessions to the general public, the IAP2 North American Conference agenda, and P2 learning opportunities you can participate in.

Farewell Open.Gov

The news coverage focused on the Trump administration’s decision to not publish Whitehouse visitor logs. But what fewer noticed was the announcement that Open.Gov would be shut down. And fewer noticed that open.whitehouse.gov has turned into Whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/disclosures. A URL can speak volumes about mindset.

Canada School of Public Service opens Armchair session to the general public

For those who wonder how public servants are being trained to embrace the culture of open government, we had a chance to peek behind the curtains at the Canada School of Public Service Webcast its armchair session “Open Government Starts with you.” Check out the Twitter Moment to get a sense of the discussion.

See you in Denver?

The IAP2 North American Conference agenda has been announced. We’ll profile different sessions and interview presenters in future episodes of Inside P2.

Learn P2 online

IAP2 USA has announced two new online courses – Choose the Right Tools and Participatory Budgeting.

When in Ottawa

Learn how to engage with indigenous peoples at the next IAP2 Third Tuesday #3tYOW session with Bob Joseph.

It’s your turn

Inside P2 is produced by Joseph Thornley. I’d love to know what you think about the topics in this podcast, topics you’d like me to cover in future podcasts and people you’d like to hear from.

You can contact me in several ways

Keep listening. Keep considering what you hear. Keep responding.

Subscribe

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Reviews on iTunes help others to find this podcast. If you like this podcast, please review Inside P2 on iTunes.

Inside P2: Professional development opportunities you shouldn’t miss


On today’s episode of Inside P2 (Inside Public Participation), I highlight some of professional development resources you may want to take advantage of in the coming year.

I cover conferences that will give you insight into today’s best practices in P2 and also provide you with the opportunity to meet face to face with other P2 practitioners from across North America and even Australasia and Europe. I also talk about the IAP2, a professional association that will deliver professional development and networking opportunities. And I point to other online P2 resources you should bookmark.

Links to resources mentioned in this episode:

Conferences

Association

Online Resources

It’s your turn

Inside P2 is produced by Joseph Thornley. I’d love to know what you think about the topics in this podcast, topics you’d like me to cover in future podcasts and people you’d like to hear from.

You can contact me in several ways

Keep listening. Keep considering what you hear. Keep responding.

Subscribe

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Reviews on iTunes help others to find this podcast. If you like this podcast, please review Inside P2 on iTunes.

Inside P2 episode 1: Why IP2, the IAP2 North American Conference and “All Things P”


Why the Inside P2 podcast

Welcome to Inside P2, the podcast for public participation practitioners hosted by me, Joseph Thornley.

Each week I hope to talk to you about best practices, case studies, and research in effective public participation. Sometimes I’ll be on my own. Sometimes, I’ll have guest hosts. And sometimes, I’ll post interviews.

The format of the show will include both a discussion of a principal topic or interview along with one or more brief #IP2Noted items, quick hits on things P2 that I’ve noticed around the web.

I’m also hoping to be joined from time to time by guest hosts who have a unique perspective on on P2. So, if you have some insight or experience that you’d like to share and are willing to illustrate it with case studies or original research, I’d love to feature you either as a guest host or as an interviewee. If you’re interested, please email me at [email protected] or tweet to @insidep2podcast.

#IP2Noted

Finally, this week’s #IP2Noted segment covers:

IAP2 Conference, public participation in Montreal The IAP2 North American Conference is being held September 28-30 in Montreal. I attended this conference in Portland last year – and found it to be the best conference of the year. It’s smallish – 250 people – with two full days of speakers with practical experience. I learned a lot last year and I’m looking forward to attending again this year. The early registration fee is in effect now. Check out the conference Website. If you are a public participation practitioner looking for an opportunity to meet other practitioners and learn from them, this conference may be what you are looking for.

The MandarinAll Things P and public participation has launched All Things P, an online hub dedicated to news and insight about public engagement in Australia. The Australians have been at the P2 game for some time. In announcing the launch of All Things P, Mandarin Publisher Tom Burton writes:

All Things P recognises the need agencies have to rapidly develop their engagement and campaign management skills.

We are bringing together some of Australia’s best practitioners in the fields of communications, user and interface design, engagement, clear communications, marketing, campaign design, analytics, brand management, stakeholder management and modern public affairs management.

Their insights, from the practical to the strategic, will help build a strong community of practice around public sector engagement.

Australia has been a P2 hotspot. So, this site should be useful to anyone interested in P2.

It’s your turn

I’d love to know what you think about the topics in this podcast, topics you’d like me to cover in future podcasts and people you’d like to hear from.

You can contact me in several ways

Keep listening. Keep considering what you hear. Keep responding.

Subscribe

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Reviews on iTunes help others to find this podcast. If you like this podcast, please review Inside P2 on iTunes.