heierbacher iap2 presentation pdf

9-23-09

A New Era of Public Engagement?Sandy Heierbacher, Director of NCDD

Thursday, September 3, 2009

“Public engagement”

✤ distinguishing from public participation and civic engagement

✤ right end of the P2 spectrum (involve, collaborate and empower - not inform and consult)

✤ dialogue and deliberation


2009

✤ Obama’s memorandum

✤ on transparency

✤ public participation

✤ and collaboration


✤ Generated excitement, hope✤ Generated cynicism, concern✤ Set some things in motion in our field

Open Government Initiative


✤ NCDD

✤ IAP2

✤ Co-Intelligence Institute

Core Principles for Public Engagement


W.H. Informal Listening Session

✤ March 2009

✤ Meeting with Beth Noveck and other reps of WH Open Government Initiative

✤ 12 organizations represented (NCDD, IAP2 included)


Champions of Participation

✤ Late March 2009 meeting about Open Government Directive

✤ Reps of 23 federal agencies and offices present


W.H. Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation

✤ May 5, 2009 W.H. press release on $50 million to identify and expand effective, innovative non-profits

✤ Office “will coordinate efforts to enlist all Americans –individuals, non-profits, social entrepreneurs, corporations and foundations – as partners in solving our great challenges.”Sonal Shah


Office of Public Engagement

✤ May 11, 2009: W.H. Office of Public Liaison becomes Office of Public Engagement

✤ Obama speaks of the office’s expanded mission...

“This office will seek to engage as many Americans as possible in the difficult work of changing this country, through meetings and conversations with groups and individuals held in Washington and across the country.”


✤ May 21, 2009: Leaders of dozens of civil society organizations contacted by OPE and told our organizations’ and networks’ participation was vital to this online public engagement process.


1600 Posts by June 1st✤ NCDD community got involved in force

✤ My post on Core Principles for Public Engagement being adopted by federal agencies was 6th in votes

✤ Others in our field in top 20...

✤ AmericaSpeaks’ Joe Goldman and Suzanna Haas Lyons (with proposals that emerged from the Champions of Participation meetings)

✤ Christine Whitney Sanchez, on Promise USA (proposal for a national network of citizen conversation)


A “Birther” Takeover


Yet...

✤ The report on Phase I called the “Grassroots/Local Civic Participation/Deliberative Democracy” group (us!) “the largest and most well-prepared group in the Brainstorm: they were early to the table and augmented their ranks as the dialogue proceeded.”

✤ The Core Principles for Public Engagement were listed in the report in full


✤ graphic that shows how we mainly have been working outside/around government


✤ Jointly owned structures and processes

✤ Build on existing resources

✤ Establish your own definition of success

✤ Cultivate and support public engagement practitioners

What else can we do?


Get Ready

✤ Are we ready to step in when we’re needed?

✤ Are we equipped to make the case for this work?


heierbacher iap2 presentation pdf

News & Politics