In today’s society, the public expects convenient, digital and responsive services, but engagement can be costly and time-consuming. Public sector organisations are struggling to share information and gather feedback from their entire communities, often relying on expensive data collection, town hall meetings and awareness campaigns. Because of a lack of effective engagement channels, people are ready for a more digital government that provides a more streamlined experience.
by Louise Barker
We know that public engagement plays a huge role in creating better places for people. If people feel more involved in the co-creation of public spaces, they'll feel better connected to their local area and community. So how does the public sector ensure it’s meeting people’s expectations?
Well, there are some key principles that lead to effective engagement with the public. With these at the core of their engagement activities, cities and towns can strive towards frequent and productive conversations with everyone in their community.
1. Accessible channels of communication
Making engagement channels as accessible as possible is the first step to effective public engagement.
Traditional channels of engagement, like town hall meetings, are dominated by a select group of people in the community. Data suggests that people living in wealthier areas are more engaged than people living in deprived areas. Additionally, people aged 35-64 are more likely to have engaged in civic consultation in the past year than any other age group. Reasons for this may include difficulties attending in-person engagement meetings, lack of awareness of communication channels or stigma around civic engagement.
But why should people be restricted in how and when they engage with their local authorities? And why should the public sector only hear from a select few in society?
One way to increase accessibility is to bring engagement into the spaces and places people visit and use daily. Imagine a society where people can have their say in the development of their local area, by sharing feedback and receiving information in the very place they’ll be influencing. For example, NHS Royal United Hospital Bath placed interactive feedback points in waiting rooms and has since seen an increase in its feedback rate from 2% to 70%. This has allowed the hospital to make better-informed decisions about potential improvements.
2. Create an experience
Engagement doesn’t need to be formal to be effective. In fact, experiments have proved the impact of fun, unique experiences in driving engagement. Like Volkswagen’s The Fun Theory, where making the act of taking the stairs fun prompted a 66% increase in the number of people using the stairs instead of the escalator.
The same can be said for public engagement. By finding a new and interesting way to engage with its community, Environment Agency has managed to scale its engagement to the equivalent of over 40 in-person events in just 6 months.
3. Deliver a clear message
To maximise public engagement, it’s important to have a clear message. Achieving clarity in your messaging will help to widen access and ensure that the responses from your community are as useful as possible for everyone involved. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue is supporting the local community with home fire safety and has completed over 500 virtual checks so far. Because the purpose of the engagement was clear to the public, this led to increased levels of engagement and helped the Fire Service improve service delivery and support all corners of its community.
The future of public engagement is digital. New developments in technology are helping to improve engagement channels between local government and the public. With tech playing its part, we can expect to see smarter, more people-centric cities, services and spaces in the future.
To find out more about Hello Lamp Post and how we work with organisations to improve service delivery, scale engagement and reduce costs, reach out to a member of our team here.
Louise Barker is Hello Lamp Post’s Head of Community Engagement.
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