MetroQuest

Author: Dave Biggs

  • Public Engagement Jackpot | How Your Agency Can Win Big

    Public Engagement Jackpot | How Your Agency Can Win Big

    I was recently joined by the enthusiastic and bubbly Truckee Meadow Regional Planning Agency team, and I’m thrilled to share their amazing success story!! We truly had a great time putting this webinar together.

    Learn how TMRPA in Nevada is making its own luck by going online to engage 1000s. This on-demand webinar offers a detailed look inside the strategies that have made them so successful.

    The stakes are high in planning for regional growth in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County. Truckee Meadows RPA reveals the winning strategy for online public engagement! They show the use of resident survey data in action, providing a clear path to game-changing regional plans.

    Jeremy Smith shares how TMRPA used public engagement to build broad public support for infill development in core areas to stop the sprawl. Lauren Knox tells us how they used 53,290+ survey data points to inform their 20-year Truckee Meadows Regional Plan.

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    Watch this complimentary on-demand webinar to explore effective ways to:

    • Foster inter-agency collaboration with unified engagement
    • Gamify public engagement to create a great online experience
    • Use a multi-phase engagement approach to guide citizens in planning
    • Build resident support and buy-in for transformative scenarios
  • [WEBINAR] Inside CMAP’s Award-Winning Public Engagement Process

    [WEBINAR] Inside CMAP’s Award-Winning Public Engagement Process

    I’d say most of our clients are dealing with challenges around mobility, the environment, and driven by a desire to make their own communities more livable and resilient. These ambitions speak directly to my passions that I try to advocate for in my own community. I see MetroQuest as being one way to help empower better conversations around community and how we move around the globe. I am lucky to be able to work with like-mind clients who value the voice of the public.

    CMAP has built a national reputation as a leader in public engagement. This on-demand webinar offers a detailed look inside the strategies that have made them so successful.

    For the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, award-winning comprehensive plans involve public engagement at all scales, collaboration with 284 communities, and a Local Technical Assistance program that’s admired nationally.

    Join CMAP Deputy Executive Director of Planning, Stephane Phifer, Associate Outreach Planner, Katanya Raby, and Senior Planner, Lindsay Bayley as they take you inside their local approach to online engagement for OnTo2050 – their comprehensive regional plan to improve quality of life and economic prosperity for 8.5 million people. Learn how CMAP used a multi-phased approach to online engagement for a variety of local plans, including the downtown Aurora Master Plan.

    Webinar recording.

    Watch this complimentary on-demand webinar to explore effective ways to:

    • Engage inclusively to build inclusive plans
    • Uncover the ideas, hopes, and concerns of residents
    • Take a multi-phase approach to online engagement
    • Think both locally and regionally for collaborative planning
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    Here what participants are saying about the webinar:

    “One of the best webinars I’ve seen. Very applicable to my work in municipal planning.”

    “Very useful information that others can use as well for their efforts. tackles a common issue with planning projects.”

    “Great presentation on challenges of comprehensive public engagement, as well as several examples on strategies to do it successfully.”

    Watch this on-demand webinar to get inspired!

  • [CONFERENCE] Public Involvement Excellence Showcased at 2019 TRB Annual Meeting

    [CONFERENCE] Public Involvement Excellence Showcased at 2019 TRB Annual Meeting

    The Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) is always one of the best events of the year for transportation professionals. With over 12,000 attendees, a bewildering array of panel sessions, committee meetings, and social gatherings, DC is the place to be in early January.

    Jefferson Grimes, TxDOT at TRB 2019
    Jefferson Grimes, Director, Public Engagement, TxDOT, poster session at TRB.

    This year, MetroQuest was honored to be showcased at the poster session by Jefferson Grimes, the Director of Public Involvement for the Texas Department of Transportation. Jefferson did a wonderful job highlighting their success using MetroQuest surveys on wide variety of projects at all scales throughout the state of Texas.

    With so much going on at the five-day meeting, for those of us focused on community engagement, the TRB Public Involvement Committee (ADA 60) provides a great opportunity to collaborate and learn from peers.

    The high level of dialog between committee members and friends, the quality of the sessions, accompanied by the frank and productive exchanges that occur at these conferences serve to remind me that the TRB Public Involvement Committee is a very special gem.

    This year marked many significant changes to the leadership of the committee, including Claudia Bilotto, Vice President at WSP USA, who will be stepping aside after years of exceptional service as Committee Chair. We look forward to the new leadership coming online soon and thank all those who have volunteered so many hours to create such a rich and rewarding TRB experience for public involvement professionals.

     

    This year, ADA 60 offered an exciting and informative array of research and best practice sessions including:

    • Panel presentation – “What Crowd-sourcing and Social Media Tell Us About Public Engagement: Recent Research”
    • Innovative competition – “Communicating with John and Jane Q. Public” focusing this year on transportation resiliency and sustainability
    • Co-sponsored panel presentation – “Facilitating Equitable Outcomes: The Intersection Between Public Engagement and Equity in Transportation”
    • Poster session – “Innovations in Public Involvement Research and Practice”


    MetroQuest was thrilled to help organize the annual ADA 60 dinner social at the amazing Espita Mezcaleria, just steps from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

     

    A large crowd of public involvement professionals enjoyed delightful conversations and custom designed culinary delights. It was fun to spice things up and chat among friends. Thank you to all the wonderful people who joined us.

     

I came away from this year’s TRB conference with three insights focused on online engagement.

1) For years the debate was on about online tools vs.  face-to-face engagement. Now online engagement is no longer talked about as an alternative to face-to face-meetings, but as complimentary – a critical way to extend and broaden the outreach.

2) In past years, social media was being explored as an online engagement platform with limited success and sometimes disastrous results. Social media is now being discussed primarily as a way to advertise public involvement opportunities and promote project communications. This seems like a more appropriate use of social media for public involvement for transportation agencies.

3) The definition of traditionally underrepresented populations continues to broaden to include more than low income and minority populations. It now extends to many others including people who are just too busy to attend meetings or individuals with a low level of awareness of the issues. This is causing public involvement professionals to lower the barrier to participation dramatically, using “go to them” strategies and focusing more energy on educating people about choices and trade-offs.

Overall, it was another enlightening TRB Annual Meeting that left me re-energized. Looking forward to working with you in 2019 to help foster great community engagement. 

  • [WEBINAR] Transforming Public Apathy to Revitalize Engagement with Dave Meslin

    [WEBINAR] Transforming Public Apathy to Revitalize Engagement with Dave Meslin

    There are very few rock stars in the field of public engagement … so that makes Dave Meslin something of an anomaly.

    Once you hear Dave Meslin speak in this on-demand webinar you’ll understand why his TED Talk on apathy and public engagement has over 1.7 million views!

    Apathy is all around us. Most people have become disengaged not only from politics, but also from the government agencies that make decisions that directly affect their quality of life. Increasingly, leaders are asking themselves “How do we boost public participation?”

    Join me with TED Talk celebrity, Dave Meslin as we explore proven techniques for building a culture of engagement. We try to encourage everyone to recognize apathy as a web of barriers that reinforce disengagement – and show how together we can work to dismantle the obstacles to revitalize public participation.

    This in-depth journey combines humor with many examples of best-practices. The strongest cities have learned how to tap into the collective creativity, passion, and knowledge of their constituents. This webinar charts the course.

    This presentation appeals to all public engagement and planning professionals as well as staff and leaders with planning agencies. For professional planners, APA AICP CM credits are available for watching the on-demand recording.

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    Here are some comments from participants:

    “Exceptional analysis of the challenges of public engagement. Great ideas!”

    “Quite possibly the most beneficial webinar I’ve ever attended. The speakers were both very knowledgeable on the topic.”

    “Great presentation, very engaging, and it helped me step back from the day-to-day to re-think about planning topics from the citizen’s viewpoint.”

    “Outstanding examples of how to improve public participation.”

    “This was an excellent session! It might be the best session I’ve ever attended, including in-person sessions! Great content!”

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  • [WEBINAR] Beyond Facebook: How DOTs Go Online for Real Input

    [WEBINAR] Beyond Facebook: How DOTs Go Online for Real Input

    With attendance at public meeting on the decline, State Departments of Transportation are increasingly looking online to boost public participation in their planning projects.

    While social media seems to be the first place most agencies go for online engagement, they quickly conclude that social media isn’t enough. While Facebook is great for sharing planning projects with the public, it isn’t designed to collect meaningful input for transportation planning.

    Agencies are finding powerful synergies by combining social media platforms with visual and interactive online survey tools like MetroQuest.

    With the recent additions of TxDOT and NCDOT to the MetroQuest subscriber family, and with so many case studies producing outstanding results, we’re thrilled to share these stories with others looking to follow best practices.

    Watch this on-demand webinar to learn how the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities combined social media with MetroQuest to collect actionable public input online from nearly 5,000 residents to inform the Glenn Highway Integrated Corridor Management Study. Joann Mitchell and Heather Edic with Kinney Engineering share how careful preparation, one unfortunate bridge accident, and a compelling online survey resulted in over 80,000 data points to uncover current travel habits, issues, and new transportation ideas for Glenn Highway.

    Nearly 600 planning and public participation professionals registered for this popular live webinar. Did you miss it? Watch the webinar recording to learn how to:

    • Overcome 6 challenges with public involvement
    • Turn social media chaos into structured feedback
    • Collect online survey results that are trustworthy
    • Gain actionable public input to support your plans

    For professional planners, AICP CM continuing education credits are available from the American Planning Association for watching this on-demand webinar. We hope you enjoy it!

    Watch the webinar now
  • [INSIGHTS] Are You Getting Spooked by Public Engagement?

    [INSIGHTS] Are You Getting Spooked by Public Engagement?

    If you feel like you’re facing increasing tensions in your public engagement processes, you’re not alone. Across the country the climate of public discourse has been shifting dramatically. It’s getting spooky out there.

    Planners and public engagement practitioners working for government agencies increasingly find themselves on the front lines of highly polarized debates.

    Are you feeling scared? The good news is there are proven ways to detoxify public engagement, but first, it’s important to understand why contention is on the rise.

    Public discourse in recent years has shifted dramatically for reasons that include:

    • The biasing and organizational impacts of social media,
    • The growing divide between income groups,
    • The polarizing political tensions, and
    • The dehumanization of the opposition.

    While all these trends can play a significant role (and there are undoubtedly others), perhaps the most dramatic has been the influence of social media on public opinion and the mobilization of opposition. We have reached a point where even the CEO’s of social media firms are admitting responsibility. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, this year announced measures to address his firm’s role in the poisoning of democracy.

    News clipping saying: Facebook admits it might be poisoning democracy

    Imagine if ten years ago … you were told that by 2018 the majority of news and information would be curated specifically for people based on their current views and interests and that conflicting information would be made more difficult to find. Creepy!

    This process of curation – which describes your Facebook news feed, your customized search engine results, and other social media streams – is driven in part by a desire to keep your attention and thus, in crude terms, expose you to more advertising. It’s well-known that people tend to navigate away more frequently if exposed to conflicting information.

    The polarizing effect of this curation is only one part of social media’s influence on public discourse. Social media has also provided us with easy access to tools to mobilize like-minded people to influence almost any cause or project. That’s terrifying.

    Things are heating up in the public arena, and yes, we can certainly see the contributing effects of social media.

    The new eBook – Facing Contention: 21 Tips to Detox Public Engagement – highlights key success factors and 21 proven tips that public engagement and planning professionals are using to mitigate some of these tensions and conduct constructive and positive outreach. It’s time to put the ghosts back in the closet.

    Get your copy of the FREE eBook here