MetroQuest

Author: Dave Biggs

  • [WEBINAR] 10 Tips for Successful Online Engagement Every Time

    [WEBINAR] 10 Tips for Successful Online Engagement Every Time

    Transportation agencies of all kinds, from DOTs to MPOs and transit agencies, face many challenges when it comes to public involvement. This new webinar recording showcases three case studies that together create a framework for successful online community engagement that can be easily followed by others.

    You’ll learn about a creative county, an innovative MPO, and a leading transportation planning firm who collaborated to engage 12,000 residents on three transportation projects. Join Amy Elmore from Pasco County, Johnny Wong from Hillsborough MPO, and Jim Meyer from AECOM as they share proven tips for effective online public involvement. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the key tips highlighted in the webinar.

    Watch the webinar now

    1. Start online public involvement early.

    The three case studies effectively demonstrate the benefits of beginning your community engagement as early as possible, well before key decisions have been made. They discuss the types of survey questions best suited for early engagement to uncover key community priorities and issues.

    2. Engage the community in phases.

    The presenters demonstrate how early community engagement results were used to inform and support a second phase of online engagement to allow planners to hone in on a specific recommendations based on initial community priorities. Engaging in phases ensures that the final plan will meet community needs.

    3. Ask survey questions to uncover public priorities.

    The webinar dives into the types of survey questions that are most appropriate for collecting the most actionable public input possible to inform a planning project. In particular, the value of priority ranking questions is highlighted as it generates valuable data that can inform policy directions for both the current planning process as well as subsequent initiatives.

    4. Promote via multiple channels to boost public participation.

    The webinar presenters shared a wide range of valuable tips on how to promote online community engagement surveys, including innovative Facebook campaigns and a wide range of other online and traditional channels for maximum reach. These strategies reveal how underrepresented populations can be effectively targeted to ensure broad outreach.

    5. Monitor online community engagement results and retarget.

    Closely related to multi-channel promotions, the case studies demonstrate how early public engagement results can be monitored to identify possible gaps so that subsequent public outreach efforts can focus on filling in any missing segments of the community.

    Watch the on-demand webinar today for five additional tips! Over 800 planners and public participation professionals registered for this popular webinar. If you missed it, you can still explore these exceptional case studies to learn how outstanding community engagement results are possible on every project. This on-demand webinar will help guide agencies to engage thousands of people online and collect real, actionable community input to support their plans.

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  • [WEBINAR] Online Public Engagement Playbook with Austin Department of Transportation

    [WEBINAR] Online Public Engagement Playbook with Austin Department of Transportation

    Austin, America’s #1 boomtown, is a leader in many areas and now they can add online public engagement to the list! This webinar video is your chance to learn best practices from one of the top online public engagement case studies we’ve seen in 2018. Find out how the City of Austin engaged 5,100+ citizens online to help inform the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, its first locally-focused comprehensive transportation plan.

    Join Liane Miller, AICP and Planning & Policy Manager with Austin’s Transportation Department, as she shares winning elements of her team’s online public engagement playbook. Learn how they combined great online engagement with the right promotional strategy to involve thousands of people, including communities that have been underrepresented in past processes. Discover which of three transportation scenarios earned the most public support.

    Online Public Engagement Playbook On-Demand Webinar

    Watch this complimentary webinar recording to learn how to:

    • Reach more people, even with limited staff
    • Share and collect richer planning information by going online
    • Leverage business partnerships to lower barriers to engagement
    • Mine survey results to build a plan that works for all communities
    • Impress decision makers with a transportation plan informed by the people

    We would like to thank our webinar sponsors: NCDD and APA! An AICP CM credit is available for watching this on-demand educational webinar.

    Over 800 planners and public engagement professionals registered for this popular live event. You can now watch the recording at your convenience.

    Watch the webinar now
  • [AWARD] MetroQuest Celebrates TRB Winner – Congratulations MnDOT!

    [AWARD] MetroQuest Celebrates TRB Winner – Congratulations MnDOT!

    Every year, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) searches for the best public involvement case studies for it’s popular “John and Jane Q. Public Competition.” This year, we are thrilled to share that the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has taken home the grand prize for their innovative public involvement work on their Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan and the Minnesota 20-Year State Highway Investment Plan!  

    The agency used MetroQuest for online public engagement throughout the process, including the use of tablet-based engagement at innovative community events.  

    This year’s theme for the TRB competition, “Communicating the Value of Long-Term Transportation Planning,” is close to our hearts since MetroQuest has become the public involvement software of choice for transportation agencies across the country. We’re pleased to see that our clients are getting the recognition they deserve for their outstanding public involvement results. 

    The TRB calls their effort, “jam-packed with innovative tools and techniques” and cites their success at reaching a broad demographic including underserved communities. Congratulations to MnDOT for an outstanding showcase of how technology can be leveraged to increase public involvement and collect meaningful community input to inform transportation plans.  

    The TRB understands how challenging it is to engage the public on long range transportation plans. 

    “It’s extremely difficult to get the average person involved in long-term transportation planning. After all, developing long-term transportation plans, such as regional transportation plans or strategic citywide mobility studies are much less precise and often have much longer implementation periods than plans for a particular transport infrastructure.…But early and on-going involvement by John and Jane Q. Public is just as crucial for long-term transport planning as for planning specific transport facilities. To stimulate creative thinking and share innovative approaches, the Planning and Environment Group of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) sought best practices in communicating the value and importance of getting the public involved in long-term transportation planning.” 

    Congratulations to MnDOT for your outstanding win! The whole team at MetroQuest is celebrating your success! 

    Here are some resources if you’d like to learn more: 

    MetroQuest Case Studies 

    TRB John and Jane Q. Public Competition  

  • [WEBINAR] Optimizing Online Engagement with MetroQuest

    [WEBINAR] Optimizing Online Engagement with MetroQuest

    Watch this new video to learn how online public engagement can be optimized for your transportation or urban planning projects!

    Online tools are a critical part of the public engagement tool box. This video will help you optimize your online engagement for the best results.

    MetroQuest has become the most widely used online public engagement software and it’s time to learn from the best performing case studies. You’ll learn the critical success factors to help you replicate the exceptional results that agencies and firms have been able to achieve – unprecedented levels of participation, informed public input, and actionable results.

    This comprehensive video is the fastest way to get up-to-date.

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  • [WEBINAR] Public Involvement – How TxDOT Engages Beyond Meetings

    [WEBINAR] Public Involvement – How TxDOT Engages Beyond Meetings

    Hear from TxDOT as we explore how the agency extends its public involvement mission via interactive engagement.

    Getting meaningful public involvement on transportation projects is challenging. The public are not planners … yet they care about local congestion, mobility, and safety. Watch this on-demand webinar to learn how the Texas Department of Transportation embraces innovation to successfully educate and engage residents on projects at any scale.   Hear from Jefferson Grimes, Director of Public Involvement, with Amy Redmond and Julie Jerome from TxDOT as they share innovative approaches to reaching an exceedingly busy and diverse public to collect meaningful input on a variety of transportation projects of all sizes. From broader, long-term studies to smaller, more specific projects, input from online engagement is informing transportation decisions in Texas. The TxDOT team shares strategies and techniques that encourage participation and provide meaningful data in project planning.  

    Watch this complimentary on-demand webinar to learn how to …

    1. Educate the public about the planning process
    2. Collect informed input to help in decision making
    3. Gather input beyond public meetings
    4. Engage diverse populations for projects, large and small
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    Thank you to our sponsors: AASHTO, NCDD, and APA! An AICP CM credit is available for watching this on-demand webinar.

    Over 800 planners and public participation professionals registered for this popular webinar. If you missed the live webinar, you can now watch the recording!

  • [WEBINAR] A Winning Public Involvement Approach for LRTPs

    [WEBINAR] A Winning Public Involvement Approach for LRTPs

    Engaging the public to support a Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) is challenging for even seasons planning and public engagement teams. This unique webinar explores these challenges and presents a detailed case study and summary of best practices to help agencies achieve unprecedented community engagement results.

    You’ll join Trevor Layton, Christina Ignasiak, and Trevor Brydon from SEMCOG for an insider view of their brilliant approach to public outreach. They engaged over 4,000 residents! Learn how they identified local issues with interactive maps, educated citizens using visual preference surveys, and uncovered priorities with online rankings. The result? A 2045 Regional Transportation Plan that reflects local values.

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