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Background: As part of its 2008-2010 Strategic Business Plan, the Mecklenburg Board of
County Commissioners directed that a study be conducted to develop recommended goals,
strategies, performance measures and accountabilities to support the Boards vision for citizen
involvement in community governance.
Board Vision: We will have a local government that is highly efficient,
effective, accountable, and inclusive. Partnerships between government, the
private sector, the faith community and others will bring together people from
diverse backgrounds to address and solve community problems.
Although the Boards vision has been reflected through its Community & Corporate
Scorecard (see box below), there is no defined business strategy and no accountabilities for
achieving the desired result other than having various advisory committees appointed by the
Board.
Community & Corporate Scorecard Link:
Desired Result: Enhance Citizen Involvement
Corporate Strategy: Seek citizen participation in policy development and
decision-making
Measures:
Advisory Committee Diversity
Citizen Satisfaction with Input Opportunities
Having citizen advisory committees remains important, but there are many other equally and/or
more effective methods of enhancing citizen involvement. Based on available (and somewhat
limited) performance measures, the level of citizen satisfaction with opportunities to provide
input is below acceptable performance standards (red light) for the last two years, the only
years that citizen satisfaction in this area has been measured.
Study Findings: Funded by private grants with in-kind support from Mecklenburg County, a
study conducted by The Lee Institute identified several findings regarding citizen involvement
in Mecklenburg County. A summary of the key findings are below (detailed findings are
provided in Attachment 1):
The primary relationship between government and residents is that of service
vendor/customer. The strong dynamic of this relationship inhibits the much needed
relationship of residents as owners of the community and government as the agent
of the owners
Many people dont believe their involvement will affect change
Mecklenburg Countys current approach to citizen involvement is insufficient to
achieve the Boards vision because involvement options are limited and inconvenient
Citizen involvement begins with public awareness
People want to be involved and engaged in their community and government but need
help doing so
People generally define their community as their neighborhood, so citizen
involvement activities must included targeted efforts at the neighborhood level
MeckConnect
MeckConnect Mission: To build and sustain effective participation of Mecklenburg County
residents in the governance of their community.
Core Principles: These principles will guide all Mecklenburg County citizen
involvement/community engagement efforts.
Mecklenburg residents are owners of the community
Mecklenburg residents have a right and responsibility to participate in the governance
of the community, and are willing and able to do so
Comprehensive citizen engagement results in better governance of the community
Residents from all areas and representing all facets of life in Mecklenburg County
must have ample opportunity and access to participate in the governance of the
community
Mecklenburg residents have the right to choose how to participate in the governance of
the community
Mecklenburg County government has a responsibility to foster, encourage and enable
citizen engagement by offering multiple, convenient ways to participate through the use
of technology and in person (high tech and high touch).
Citizen involvement is a learned value that requires ongoing efforts for sustainability
In general, Mecklenburg residents consider the community as their neighborhood.
The impact of increased citizen involvement and its benefits can and will be measured
Desired Results:
Mecklenburg residents consider themselves owners of the community
Mecklenburg residents believe citizen engagement is their right and responsibility
Mecklenburg residents are satisfied with the variety, ease and quality of citizen
engagement opportunities
Mecklenburg residents are satisfied that their participation in citizen engagement efforts
made a meaningful impact on the community.
Mecklenburg residents participate in citizen engagement opportunities
Mecklenburg residents actively vote in elections
Business Strategies: MeckConnect will employ the following business strategies to achieve
the desired results identified above. Below this list of business strategies are supporting key
tactics, tools and primary accountabilities for each strategy.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Step 1
Identify
project or
activity
Step
5
Consult with
Citizen
Engagement
Coordinator
Step
4
Step 2
Assess
No
potential
potential
community impact
impact of the
project or
activity
NO
YES
Step 3
Plan to meet
minimum
legislative
requirements
Step 6
Some potential
impact
Step
7
If no consultation
or engagement is
warranted, it is
recommended
that a record of
this decision be
made
Assess level of
engagement needed
Step 9
Identify tools
and methods
for the
engagement
Step 10
Consult with
Citizen
Engagement
Coordinator
as needed
Step 11
Develop community
engagement plan
Step
12
Implement the
plan
Step
13
Develop and leverage new and existing partnerships and alliances with other
organizations to build an institutional community engagement network.
Partnerships & Alliances
MeckConnect began as a partnership between Mecklenburg County and
The Lee Institute, with grant funding provided by Foundation for the
Carolinas, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, and The John S. and James L.
Knight Foundation. Ideally, these partnerships will be sustained in some
matter (e.g., funding, data sharing, etc.). In addition, there are
opportunities for partnerships and alliances between Mecklenburg
County and the following organizations and others:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee
Center for Civic Leadership (Foundation For the Carolinas)
Community Building Initiative
City of Charlotte and other Mecklenburg municipalities
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Mecklenburg Ministries and other faith community organizations
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission
Neighborhood Associations
Summary
Some elements of MeckConnect begin in early January, 2010. This includes leveraging,
strengthening and expanding existing practices and resources to inform and consult with
Mecklenburg residents. For example, on January 6, 2010, the County Manager began meeting
with various groups throughout the community to discuss the same type of information he is
providing the Board regarding the current state of and outlook for the community. In addition,
these meetings offer an opportunity for the County Manager and County staff to hear directly
from residents about what is going on in their lives and neighborhoods and to learn what they
consider important, as well as to find out how residents want to be more involved in local
government and their community.
Consistent with the MeckConnect findings, these meeting are being coordinated by the
Countys Public Service & Information Department (PSI) -- in partnership with all
County departments -- to occur where people are already gathering (i.e., intact groups),
such as neighborhood association meetings, advisory committee meetings, civic clubs, as
a few examples. In addition, PSI staff is using electronic social media and other means of
communicating with residents to inform them of the meetings, what was discussed (hightech/high touch), and to solicit additional meeting opportunities.
Still, full implementation of this plan requires Mecklenburg County to enhance the
collaborative form of citizen engagement in more substantive ways. This involves
implementing two major new initiatives (Develop & Sustain Volunteering; and Establishing &
Sustaining Neighborhood-based Citizen Councils). A first step in this effort will be
designating a Citizen Involvement Coordinator to assume accountability for the day-to-day
implementation of the key elements of this plan.
A critical component is the support of the Board of County Commissioners and senior
management of the County. The elected body must support citizen engagement and the
resources needed to develop and sustain engagement at all levels (inform, consult, collaborate
& empower). The first step in this support is approving changes to the Boards Community &
Corporate Scorecard to add the desired outcomes and strategies proposed in this document.
Furthermore, the Board would need to support the County Manager in assigning accountability
and resources to this effort.
Neighborhood-Based Councils
A MeckConnect Strategy
Background
Creating an active program of Neighborhood-Based Councils is a long-term, comprehensive
strategy to directly engage the residents of Mecklenburg County in the governance of their
county. The establishment of Neighborhood-Based Councils is grounded in the following core
principles of MeckConnect:
Mecklenburg residents are owners of the community
Mecklenburg residents have a right and responsibility to participate in the governance
of their community, and are willing and able to do so
Residents from all areas and aspects of Mecklenburg County must have ample
opportunity and access to participate in the governance of the community
Citizen involvement is a learned value that requires ongoing cultivation efforts for
sustainability
In general, Mecklenburg residents consider the community as their neighborhood
1. A Very Engaged Group: a pre-existing group that is already engaged in work with local
government. Will be identified through County and City departments. (Examples:
Citizens advisory panels, neighborhood organizations)
2. A Group that is engaged in working towards the public/common good but not with
government. (Example: religious groups)
3. A Group that is engaged with each other but not directed towards public good.
(Example: book clubs)
4. A Virtual Group consisting of individuals primarily connected through blogs, message
boards or other online communities. (Example: Charlotte Mommies)
The MeckConnect Planning Team researched and conceptualized models for citizen
engagement and strategies for field-based data gathering. Then, a set of discussion groups
were organized and facilitated. The facilitation model was similar to that of a focus group;
dialogue was encouraged around a small set of questions during a 60-90 minute meeting. The
qualitative data from the focus groups were analyzed using an axial coding process. As is true
with all focus groups, it is important to remember that the qualitative data cannot be
extrapolated to quantitative outcomes. For example, it is not accurate to make quantitative
assumptions concerning the types of people who participated in the focus groups.
In order to collect a set of quantitative data, paper surveys were administered to discussion
group participants. Questions were developed based on Susan Jakes Community Assets
Survey.
Results from the MeckConnect Community Assets Questionnaire were analyzed at the
conclusion of the discussion groups. Highlights include:
Respondents reported feeling more able to affect change and work collaboratively for
the greater good within their immediate neighborhood. Average responses to the
question, I know I can make a difference in my community were consistently higher
on the neighborhood level as compared to the community of Mecklenburg County as a
whole.
Neighborhood leaders seem more accessible to and cooperative with - their
constituents. However, respondents, on average, reported a greater lack of strong
leadership at the neighborhood level than the county level.
Responses to the question, I know how to work with others to solve problems
consistently scored higher with neighborhood communities than the County
community. These responses seem to support the discussion groups theme that there is
a lack of understanding about ways individuals can engage with, and affect change in,
local government.
MeckConnect also precipitated the creation of MecklenBlog, a blog that was used in
conjunction with this pilot and is being considered by County staff as an ongoing aspect of its
two-way communication with residents (and anyone accessing the County web site).
Anecdotal data indicates that this has been helpful in increasing feelings of ownership of
government and signifies the Countys support of participatory governance.
A discrete set of resources and information both local and national- have been identified
which will be of specific help as Mecklenburg County considers the continuation of this civic
engagement plan. In addition, these resources will help inform other civic engagement efforts.
What Did People Say?
Being involved and engaged in the community is a widely held value for many different types
of people who invest their time in many different types of groups. However, the importance of
being involved and committed for most people relates to their efforts in the civic, i.e. volunteer,
arena. Few people identified engagement as it relates to their connection to local government.
In addition, when asked specifically about citizenship, few participants connected a view of
being a good citizen with direct participation and relationship to government. Many discussion
group participants, in fact, reported a lack of understanding of ways to get involved with
government.
For most respondents, community equated to their neighborhood or where they lived. This is
significant when designing a future scaled-up approach that the strategies may need to be
focused at that micro-level. This also impacts on the selection of locations for civic
engagement. Many people identified the fact that government often asks people to come to
them in order to be engaged (i.e., come to a public meeting) as a barrier.
Because there is such a focus and commitment to the civic arena for people who are engaged,
the active civic institutions are potential partners.
Participants were clear that becoming more connected to government would have to relate to a
high possibility/probability for demonstrated change. People who are engaged expect for their
investment to have a real impact.
Overview of Findings
1. Current Approach to Engaging Citizens with County Government is Insufficient
Vending Machine relationship (i.e. residents put-in their tax dollars and receive
services)
Involvement and engagement options are limited and inconvenient
People dont believe their involvement will affect change
Engagement is organized at macro-level
2. Community = Neighborhood
People consider their neighborhood as their community
People seek involvement at this level, except with local government
Community involvement is personal (e.g., helping my neighbors and my
neighborhood)
People often get involved because someone asks
County government not seen as connecting at neighborhood level
3. Involvement and engagement Begins with Awareness
People need more than information to understand the potential impact on them
People often unaware of how to engage with local government (and/or dont like
the options)
Too often, outreach is through news media and other mass communication
People use technology as means to gather information and to connect in person
4. To Be Engaged, People Want:
To be asked to participate
Multiple, convenient ways to engage
Safe, convenient place to gather
To connect with people in person on something meaningful
To believe their involvement will affect change they can witness
Definition
Strategies, Techniques
Consult
Collaborate
Empower
Techniques include:
Voting
citizen juries (outside the criminal justice/legal
system)
delegated decisions to address community
problems