How to Troubleshoot Apps for the Modern Connected Worker
Thurlow presentation
1. New Tools for Civic Dialogue
Nontraditional Methods in Community Engagement
Kim Thurlow
New River Valley Planning District Commission &
New River Valley Livability Initiative
April 24, 2013
2. Virginia’s New River Valley:
• mostly rural and small
university towns
• Decline in manufacturing
jobs in rural counties
• Troubling health statistics
• Aging population
• 10 topic areas – looking
for intersections
3. Our Outreach Goals
these may sound familiar….
• Broad representation
• Reaching the harder to reach
• Common priorities across region and …..
• Particular needs of communities within region
• Two-way communication
• Build capacity for civic problem-solving
4. • Low accessibility for non-
experts.
• Unclear how citizen input
impacts process or
outcomes.
• Emerging proposals appear
to be “done deals”
Public Meeting
Citizens input is “welcome” at
a public hearing on codes,
bylaws, ordinances and other
things beloved by
bureaucrats.
Tuesday at 6 p.m. in a room
with uncomfortable chairs.
Parking limited.
Civic Access to Public Policy Development
5. The Town Hall
• Who does it work for?
• How does the public perceive its role?
• High stakes, zero-sum outcomes
• Dialogue low, often absent
• Proposal may pass but…
11. Further Collaborations: Sojourn Theater and BUILT NRV
BUILT Game
core values and priorities
key tensions and tradeoffs
obstacles, challenges
potential action strategies
17. NRV Livability Initiative: BUILT NRV
• Individual Priorities
• Collaboration –
Neighborhood/Town
• Integration –
Town/County
A Different Community Conversation: BUILT NRV
18. Participant Reflections - BUILT NRV
“Perspective is a powerful driver behind
choices. Sometimes we make decisions too
quickly without considering the impacts,
however small and unintentional, that they
may have on other people.”
(It made me think…..) “about the importance
of understanding community dynamics,
recognizing that compromises will have to
be made, but working together as a whole it
can be made better.”
19. Kim Thurlow, Livability Initiative Program Coordinator
kthurlow@nrvpdc.org, www.nrvlivability.org
Virginia Tech, Masters of Directing & Public Dialogue:
Jon Catherwood-Ginn, lead researcher, rjginn@gmail.com
Sojourn Theater/BUILT game:
Liam-Kaas-Lentz liam@thecpcp.org
NRV Tomorrow Interactive Survey:
Jocelyn Hittle, PlaceMatters, jocelyn@placematters.org
Contacts and Additional Information
Hinweis der Redaktion
Multiple stakeholder groups - broad representationEquity of engagement – reaching the harder to reachCommon priorities across region and …..Particular needs of communities within regionTwo-way communication elected and staff understanding of citizen needs/concernscitizen understanding of intersecting issues, competing needs, resource limitationsBuild capacity for civic problem-solving
Carol third:b. Moving away from the binary – moving away from pre-packaged solutions. Spirit of play, exploration, possibility.
Carol third:a. Town hall and public meetings- what they were meant to be vs. what they have become - Meaningful conversations where people live vs. typical government meetings/formats. (didn’t altogether abandon traditional formats for outreach).
Create opportunities for citizens to talk with each other.Counting the #’s vs. quality and authenticity
