From 1 to 500: participatory democracy is expanding!

Hi!

We're thrilled to announce a significant milestone: CitizenLab is celebrating its 500th client this month! The support and trust of organizations like yours have been the backbone of our story, making the expansion of participatory democracy and the adoption of community engagement at scale a global reality.

As we celebrate this milestone, we also find ourselves ushering in October, a month of transition with leaves changing their colors and the end of the year nearing.  So as the year begins to wind down, planning ahead will be your key to unlocking greater success. This month, we’re helping you start this process by zooming in on your audience to define how to best foster an environment of constructive dialogue.

To support you, we’ve penned an article on best practices for moderating your community engagement platform. This is a must-read if you’re looking to elevate the quality of your digital engagement. On top of that, we’re giving you our newly-released Engagement Persona Template worksheet which will help you understand your audience (community) segments more intimately.

Once you've identified the diverse members within your community, it's possible to fine-tune your engagement efforts to ensure fairness and inclusivity. Interested in expanding your knowledge on this subject? We invite you to listen to the latest episode of our "Public Square: Conversations in Democracy" podcast. Our guest, Steve Glangé, from Luxembourg's Ministry of Digitalisation, provides valuable insights into engaging with communities at the national level. 

Now, let’s dive in to discover, explore & learn - enjoy the read!

The CitizenLab Team 🌍

Crafting effective engagement: download our free persona template!

To build a truly inclusive engagement strategy, it's important to understand the needs and preferences of each group within your community. A proven method to achieve this is by developing “engagement personas”. Our template lists the questions to which you need an answer to create your engagement personas.

Get your copy here

Unveiling the secrets to stellar community engagement

Unlocking the full potential of community engagement isn't just about the platform, but the art of moderation. With the right guidelines in place, every dialogue can be a respectful and insightful exchange. 

With platforms like CitizenLab, we see that the ideas shared are genuine, underscoring the power of thoughtful interaction. Dive in to learn how to nurture genuine dialogues, ensure trust, and pave the way for future community projects.

Read on

Inspiring community engagement examples and platforms #10

Through CitizenLab platforms, local governments and organizations are continuously flipping the script, inviting their communities to co-author their shared future. 

We’re happily highlighting a new selection of projects across 6 countries. From reshaping cityscapes and reimagining cultural events to collectively deciding how to spend public funds, these stories are all about action, impact, and making it count. 

Read on

Empowering St. Louis: a community's voice in allocating the Rams Settlement

Join us for an insightful conversation with Yusuf Daneshyar from the City of St. Louis. We're diving deep into their approach to the community engagement process for allocating the Rams Settlement funds and tackling the city's most pressing challenges.

The numbers don't lie: Over 3,500 residents have already registered and shared valuable insights, and the count is still climbing! 📈

Listen to their engagement journey here

Plus, check out our platform in the news

Episode 2 of our podcast: “Public Square, Conversations in Democracy”

This month, Steve Glangé from Luxembourg’s Ministry of Digitalisation and Administrative Reform talks about community engagement on a national level. Join us for an enlightening discussion on multilingual engagement, combining online and offline, and engaging beyond residents. 

🎧 Listen on Spotify

🎧 List on Apple Podcasts