POLICY REPORT
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

Date: June 22, 1999
Author/Local: MWhite/7094
RTS No. 00588
CC File No. 1011

Council: July 6, 1999

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	General Manager of Community Services in consultation with the Public Involvement Review Working Group.
SUBJECT:	Public Involvement Review (PIR) - Implementation Phase Update

INFORMATION

The General Manager of Community Services submits this report for INFORMATION.

COUNCIL POLICY

The Better City Government (BCG) initiative and CityPlan identified public involvement in City decision making as a priority, including improving existing processes where required and establishing a broader set of relationships and links to communities.

SUMMARY AND PURPOSE

This report and additional appendices provide Council with an update on the implementation of the sixteen Public Involvement Directions adopted by Council in 1998. In response to the Directions, several actions aimed at improving public involvement both citywide and at the department level are planned or currently underway. These actions have been laid out in an Action Plan for City Improvements to Public Involvement. Staff responsible for these actions will be reporting back to Council as necessary; the PIR Working Group will report back in one year on the overall progress with implementing the actions.

The approaches and actions build upon the programs and services currently offered by the City. New ideas are being implemented in most cases by using existing resources. Since there are many changes and improvements underway in the City, as the attached Action Plan indicates, not all of these actions are happening at once - some will be implemented over time, in the shorter and longer term. Co-operation among Boards, Service Groups and Departments will need to continue for these improvements to occur.

The Guiding Principles for Public Involvement, adopted by Council in October, 1998, are providing the context for the improvement work, and are being refined as the work proceeds.
Improvements have been organized into the following strategic approaches:

· Individual Departmental Improvements, which includes piloting changes to typical public processes that intensively involve the public;
· Developing a Corporate Framework for Public Involvement, by improving the tools for public involvement, including the creation of a public process guide for staff, and public process information for community groups;
· Improving Public Involvement Skills, including revised training programs and the creation of a group of staff experts in public process;
· Creating Better Civic Awareness, through civics education, a proposed citizen's guide to the City and continued use of the media;
· Improving Ongoing Contact With Communities by using a centralized database of community groups, posting neighbourhood information by local area on the website, sectoring some Community Services staff and developing a community recognition program;
· Creating a Multicultural Outreach and Translation Strategy, some highlights being a policy on translation, revised training and tools for staff who conduct outreach, and a newcomer's guide to the City.

BACKGROUND

In 1996, the BCG initiative identified a review of public involvement as a priority. The review has been undertaken in steps: the first was to investigate and record all the ways in which City processes include the public. The second was to do an independent evaluation of how well the City involves the public. The third step will involve improvements based on the evaluations.

In December, 1996, Context Research Ltd. was hired to do the evaluation. Brian Johnston, the principal of the firm, worked with a staff PIR Working Group composed of representatives from all departments involved with major public involvement activities. The review was widely publicized and anyone with comments on how the public is involved in City decision-making was invited to participate.

In October, 1998, Council adopted the consultant's sixteen citywide Directions for improvement (see Appendix A), and asked staff to develop approaches to implement the Directions. Council also adopted the consultant's recommended Guiding Principles for Public Involvement (see Appendix B).

DISCUSSION

Many of the consultant's recommended Directions, and the approaches to realizing them, are inter-related. In developing responses to the Directions, staff have organized them into strategic approaches. Within each strategic approach are a series of prioritized actions, concrete ways in which public involvement will be improved both citywide and at the departmental level. The responsibility, costs and timing of all the actions are listed in the attached Action Plan (Appendix C). Staff responsible for these actions will report back as necessary; the PIR Working Group will report back in one year on the overall progress with Phase III.

The Council adopted Guiding Principles for Public Involvement provide the context for the improvements and will be refined if necessary as the work proceeds. Improvements will be made in two ways. The first, as described in Section 1 below, is for staff to pilot changes to targeted processes in their own departments. The second, as described in Sections 2 through 6 of the report, is to make changes at the citywide level, improving the framework, tools, and training for staff who undertake public involvement, as well as improving civic awareness and contact with communities. One aspect that is integral to all parts of this improvement work is the strategy for multicultural outreach and translation described in Section 6, as nearly all of the actions discussed in the report form part of the strategy for improving involvement of Vancouver's diverse communities.

1. Individual Departmental Improvements

The Phase II consultant found that while the City does quite well with public involvement, there are weaknesses at certain points in involvement processes, such as how residents are notified, their knowledge and expectations of how their involvement is used, how they are informed of the results of the process, etc. These weaknesses tend to magnify with processes that are more significant and controversial, in particular where neighbourhoods are undergoing a large degree of change.

The City has begun addressing some of these issues through the Development and Building Review (DBR). DBR improvement initiatives include: bringing various parties together early in the process to work through difficulties and resolve conflict; assigning staff to "sectors" of the city, to develop better on-going liaison and contact with communities, particularly around issues of neighbourhood change. These will be developed and reported as part of the DBR improvement process.

(a) Improvement Strategy

Staff will develop improvements to departmental processes with a focus on those which have recurring public involvement. Examples are: rezoning, development applications, traffic calming, liquor license applications, etc. These programs could be recently completed or underway. The goal is to pilot changes so that staff in other areas or departments can adapt and apply the results to the public involvement programs they conduct. Department managers will report back to Council as the pilot work is completed over the next two years.

Existing PIR funds will be available to assist staff with this work, whether that be for consultant time to better determine what changes are needed or for new ideas that staff wish to pilot. A public process guide is also being developed to help staff make improvements (see Section 2).

2. Developing A Corporate Framework For Public Involvement

Council approved several Directions that would improve the corporate framework within which public involvement takes place. Staff feel that this framework would help prevent and better deal with the dilemmas that arise during involvement processes, in particular those related to controversial processes, and provide consistency and clarify public expectations.

(a) Develop A Public Process Guide for Staff

To assist staff with designing public processes and making decisions at key points, a consultant will be retained with existing resources to create a public process guide. This will be based on the six key aspects of public process identified in the Phase II evaluation criteria and Guiding Principles for Public Involvement (see Appendices B and D), namely: defining the mandate, allocating resources, being inclusive and representative, using clear and effective communications, selecting involvement strategies and providing feedback and closure. A draft guide will be produced by the Fall to help departments with their process improvements (Section 1), and will be refined as the improvement work proceeds, taking into account the comments and suggestions from staff and the public.

(b) Create Inventory of Survey Research Resources

Numerous surveys are conducted each year by City departments, yet there is no consistent method for staff to share information on techniques or consulting firms that do survey research. To improve this, the City Clerk's Office will maintain an inventory of recent public surveys and a list of consulting firms who specialize in survey techniques.

(c)Provide Public Involvement Information to Community Groups

While information on community building and organizing, such as the Citizen's Handbook, is available to community groups, it is important to provide community groups with information on what to expect from the City and to increase their capacity to work effectively and represent their communities. A consultant will be retained with existing resources to develop, in consultation with community groups, public involvement tools useful to them.

3. Improving City Public Involvement Skills

Council approved a higher and more consistent level of appropriate skills and expertise in handling differing opinions, and the need to reduce jargon and confusing terminology. By improving training, staff and Council will be better equipped to prevent and deal with problems that arise during involvement processes.

(a) Improve City Training Program

Adjustments will be made to the current public involvement training offered to staff and Council to include any additional focus on: conflict resolution, facilitation, and diversity training. This is being done by liaising with Council and departmental program managers.

(b) Create a Resource Group of Staff Experts

There are a number of staff that possess extensive public involvement experience. The City can build on these resources by recognizing a group of staff experts in public process to provide other staff with advice prior to and during public processes. Individuals or the group will be convened to discuss ideas, provide feedback and provide advice when problems arise. This will help to create a more consistent approach to public involvement throughout the City.

(c) Provide Training for Committees and Boards

All decision making and advisory bodies in the organization will have access to public involvement training. The City Clerk's Office is developing a training and orientation program for Council appointed committees on how to chair meetings and resolve conflict.

(d) Improve Language and Communication

Two actions have been created to improve communication and to reduce the amount of jargon and technical language used by staff. The City Training Program will develop a course in plain language for both staff and managers. The course will focus on how to use clear verbal and written communication when dealing with staff, Council and the public. The second, directed by the City Clerk, is to review Council report language and format to improve the clarity and accessibility of reports.

4. Improving Community Contact

The Phase II consultant noted that the contact between City staff and communities is often on a project by project basis, with contact ending when staff complete a given program or process. As a result of this, communities are sometimes left wondering who to contact and how to get follow-up services, information and resources, and City staff having to re-invent the initial steps for all new involvement processes.

There are already numerous programs and organizations that facilitate contact between City Hall and communities, such as community centre associations, Greenways, Community Visions, the Community Service Grant program, etc. Staff feel that instead of developing a new formal structure for community involvement, the City should build on these and other existing programs, and focus on sharing information and improving ways of communicating with all residents. In addition to the actions developed to improve civic awareness described in Section 5, below are a number of actions that will improve communication and information sharing.

(a) Improve Staff Knowledge and Contact with Particular Neighbourhoods

Initiatives, such as Neighbourhood Integrated Service Teams (NISTs), that improve staff knowledge and contact with specific neighbourhoods should be continued. Staff also support a proposal to sector some Community Services staff to create area generalists. These staff will have familiarity with certain sectors of the City, and will liaise with other staff and communities prior to and during development processes, provide background information and advice to teams processing permits, and develop and maintain community contacts.

(b) Build on the City Website

Overall, the City's website provides a relatively inexpensive opportunity to inform and communicate with residents and community groups. Staff feel that it is vital for the City take advantage of this opportunity and build on the capabilities of the City website in the following ways:

(i) A QuickFind database of community groups is now available on the City website. The database, which is searchable by different criteria (i.e. location and topic of interest), includes key contact information for each group listed. The database is being maintained and will be updated regularly.

(ii) Using existing resources, staff will develop the framework and content for community web pages to be piloted on the City website. These web pages will be areas on the City website where neighbourhood specific information will be posted by staff. For example, residents in a specific community would be able to go to the community's web page and find information on current zoning, development and rezoning applications, road construction updates, crime prevention programs, links to community group websites, etc. Staff will also explore options for residents to provide input and give feedback. The pilot pages will be for the neighbourhoods of Dunbar and Kensington-Cedar Cottage to assist those communities in the monitoring and implementation of their approved Community Visions.

(iii) Staff realize that the ability of the public to retrieve information and to communicate via the City website is contingent upon the public having access to computers and internet service. Statistics Canada estimates that just over 40% of British Columbians have home computers and 18% have internet access. The City has already started addressing the issue of access by placing public access terminals in every library branch. Staff will continue looking for ways to improve access to the City website, including opportunities to partner with other organizations to provide computers for community access.

(iv) The City intends to provide improved internal and public access to its geographical data, such as zoning districts, aerial photographs, address and property data, etc. (subject to Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy constraints). These objectives will be achieved in phases with the first phase being to provide basic viewing capability and the technical platform. The amount of data that can be accessed and functionality will be increased over time.

(c) Create a Community Recognition Program

Recognizing the efforts of citizens is an important ingredient in improving the relationship between City Hall and communities, as well as in building stronger communities. Staff are currently investigating the development of a community recognition program, such as "good neighbour awards", to recognize residents and businesses who make contributions to their communities. Staff are looking for ways for residents and field staff in various departments to be involved in the delivery of the program.

5. Creating Better Civic Awareness And Understanding Of How The City Works

Council approved staff to look at ways the City can de-mystify City Hall and create a higher level of awareness of how municipal government works, and how people can get involved. The following actions have been developed to address this in the short and long term.

(a) Develop Introductory Guides to the City

Acting on one of the key recommendations from the 1995 Diversity Communication Strategy, staff will develop a newcomer's guide to the City. The goal of the publication will be to help newcomers to Canada understand how the City works, what services are available, and instructions for accessing those services.

The Corporate Management Team has also asked staff to explore the creation of a general civic awareness publication - a citizen's guide - that could bring together all the basic information about major City services and programs. This would provide an opportunity for City departments to work together to send out a consistent and useful message to all residents about how the City works on their behalf. A proposal will be reported separately to Council later this Fall. Both of the guides are described in greater detail in Appendix E.

(b) Build on City Hall Tours and Expand the use of the Media

To make new and existing residents more familiar with City Hall, staff will review the feasibility of expanding current City Hall tour programs. Staff will also look for new opportunities to raise awareness through the media, via initiatives such as the Greater Vancouver program. Use of ethnic radio and TV is key to reaching Vancouver's multicultural communities.

(c) Create Community Level Civics Education

Council and the consultant have recognized the importance of civics education at the community level, including awareness of civic processes and services, such as the basics of land use and zoning, transportation planning, as well as, basic skills training, such as how to run a meeting and resolve conflict. As part of the Community Visions program, staff will be offering sessions on these types of topics to help communities understand and to learn how to become involved. This experience will be assessed prior to expansion throughout the city and if successful, will provide templates for other staff to provide civics education through existing programs.

(d) Develop a Civics Curriculum for Youth

The City has already developed the Youthview program as part of CityPlan. A consultant will be hired with existing resources to integrate a civics component into the program to better inform students about urban issues, processes and City services. This will not only help improve overall civic awareness amongst Vancouver's youth, but also help further the City's strategy for improving outreach to Vancouver's diverse communities. Staff are working with the Vancouver School Board to implement this action.

6. Creating A Multicultural Outreach and Translation Strategy

Council approved the development of a more consistent approach to multicultural outreach and translation during involvement processes. In an increasingly diverse city, staff need assistance in identifying the multicultural communications needs of communities, determining who needs to be involved, what communications issues need to be addressed and what resources are needed. The Diversity Communications Strategy, which Council approved in 1995, made several recommendations to improve the way the City communicates with Vancouver's diverse communities, but many recommendations remain outstanding.

While the City has some resources in place to support outreach activities, such as the multilingual phone lines and Chinese media monitoring services, and various programs and staff at the department level, staff are developing a strategy for a more consistent and effective approach to outreach and translation. It builds on remaining recommendations from the Diversity Communications Strategy and includes other actions discussed in this report, including those related to improving civic awareness (e.g. the newcomer's guide) and improving community contact. The Special Advisory Committee on Cultural Communities is supportive of this strategy and will be consulted at key points in the development of these actions.

(a) Improve the Tools and Training for Staff

Multicultural outreach and translation guidelines will be included in the public process guide described earlier. This will be a key tool in helping staff determine who to include in an involvement process and how to get them involved. Where staff determine that barriers to involvement exist for particular groups, translation (including sign interpretation and large prints) may be considered as part of a strategy to level the playing field.

To provide an ongoing resource, staff with experience in outreach will be included in the complement of staff experts in public process. This group could be contacted to provide other staff with outreach and translation advice prior to and during public processes. A list of City-approved translation services and a calendar of important cultural celebrations will also be available and maintained on the City website as ongoing resources for staff.

Outreach assumes more than general communication and translation, it assumes cultural competency within the work team to initiate and sustain involvement of diverse communities. This includes possessing a knowledge of community networks, how to access community resources, and appropriate use of diverse communication channels, such as ethnic media and community groups. To improve cultural competency, staff will look at ways to improve diversity training through the City training programs.

(b) Create a Policy on Translation

While the actions described above will provide guidance for staff in making key decisions about what to translate and when, staff feel that it is important to develop a shared City policy on translation to ensure consistency and to provide a benchmark for decision making. Staff will therefore develop a policy on translation and report this back to Council as a separate action.

PUBLIC COMMENT

The actions in this report have been vetted with the original staff/public working group created early in Phase II to assist with the Review, as well as groups and agencies who participate in the Community Service Grant review process. It has also been sent to all groups and individuals on the Public Involvement Review mailing list. A major component of the implementation of the sixteen Directions will be a continuing dialogue with the public. The improvements to departmental processes will also involve members of the public in the context of these programs.

STAFFING AND FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The resources required to implement the listed approaches build upon the programs and services currently offered by the City. New ideas will be implemented by using existing resources. Coordination of the improvement work will continue to be carried out by the Public Involvement Review Coordinator and the Public Involvement Review Working Group.

CONCLUSION

Staff are implementing the consultant's recommended Directions by pursuing a strategic approach to making improvements to departmental processes, developing a corporate framework for public involvement, improving public involvement skills, improving community contact, increasing civic awareness, and creating a strategy for multicultural outreach and translation. This strategy builds upon the programs and services currently offered by the City, and its success is dependent upon the cooperation of Boards, Service Groups and Departments.

- - - - -

DIRECTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

1. Develop a Set of Guiding Principles. The City should adopt a set of principles that would guide all future public involvement initiatives. These principles should help to develop continuity and consistency in the approaches used by the City. They would also greatly aid any internal or external evaluation of public involvement processes. The public would also be able to use the principles to hold staff and councillors accountable for their actions. A set of draft principles is attached as Addendum 1 to this report to stimulate discussion regarding what the final list could look like. Although simple and brief, the principles could be a powerful public statement and a very useful guiding force. In themselves, they could significantly improve the way the City implements public involvement initiatives.

2. Develop a Policy on Multicultural Outreach and the Translation of Information Materials. The City should develop a consistent approach to the techniques used to reach multicultural groups where language and cultural background may limit involvement. In particular, this policy should address translation of materials into languages other than English and to formats more accessible to those with disabilities (e.g. large print or audio reports). A consistent approach to translation would ensure that a base level of translation is provided in all circumstances where the need is identified. It may also assist in reducing costs for translation in some instances.

3. Train City Staff in Plain Language. The City should further commit to the use of plain language in all public processes. This direction will require expanded training to ensure that staff preparing information have the skills necessary to communicate on the broadest possible basis without the use of jargon or technical language. Additionally, this direction might result in the use of professional editing expertise, either on a staff or a consulting basis.

4. Increase Staff Training for Public Involvement. The City has some very talented people working on public involvement processes. However, the skills and abilities are inconsistent. More training will be required to ensure that all staff involved in planning and implementing public involvement processes have the necessary sensitivities, understandings, and skills to do the job properly. All staff involved in community interaction should have basic training in conflict resolution. Options for training might include courses, workshops, preparation of a staff manual, or instructional videos.

As part of staff training, the role of staff in a process needs to be clarified. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for the staff to be both a technical expert and have professional views on a subject and be the "objective outsider" managing the public process. Similarly, a staff person cannot be an advocate and a facilitator at the same time.

5. Develop and Use a Public Involvement Planning Form or Check List. To improve the overall quality of public involvement in Vancouver, more attention should be paid to the initial planning and mandating of each process. One approach would be to create a planning form or check list for completion by those responsible for implementing the process. The form could range from a short checklist to a detailed several page form, as illustrated in Addendum 2 to this report, which might be "signed off" by those mandating the process.

This form could be designed to be used in the initial meetings with the public to help ensure consistency of expectations. It could also be a basis for altering the process if and when necessary, and for evaluating it when it is complete. This simple expedient would be a powerful tool in improving how the City initiates public involvement processes. Alternatively, the form could be formatted as a checklist, guidebook, or other technique to suit City departmental preferences and needs.

6. Establish a Core of Expertise in Public Process. While there are many very talented people working on public involvement projects within the City staff, they seldom have opportunities to learn from each other. Little is done to ensure that learning on one project is applied to the next. Staff do not have clearly identified in-house experts to turn to for advice. A core group of experts on public involvement should be established within the City structure. The group could review draft Planning / Mandating Forms prepared by process leaders and help them complete the forms clearly and appropriately. The group could also be available to support or "trouble shoot" processes as they are implemented. When needed, a facilitator or mediator could be brought in to assist project staff in resolving conflicts which are undermining a process. The group could also help evaluate processes to ensure that learning occurs from process-to- process, and that skills are developed.

7. Commitment to Evaluation of Each Process. Each public involvement process should be evaluated. The process should be documented and the results reported as part of the final report on the project. The participants in the process should have access to the evaluation results.

Consideration should be given to interim evaluations during complex or controversial involvement processes. For example, an interim evaluation could assess whether the involved people are representative of the impacted neighbourhoods or communities of interest. If a process does not appear to be involving a representative sample, then a survey technique could be used to check on public opinion. Another suggested direction from Phase Two is to consider taking political and policy issues to Council during a contentious process to provide direction and clarification.

8. Prepare and Maintain a Community Contact Database. The City should expand and maintain its centralized database of all community groups and regularly distribute it to City departments. This inventory would have to be updated regularly and should be cross-referenced for a variety of different areas of interest. It could be used by all departments to ensure that all appropriate community groups are involved in a public involvement process. Part of the closure of each process should include the updating of the central database with names of new group contacts.

9. Continuity of Contact and Public Involvement. The City should maintain and support ongoing linkages with neighbourhood groups which could act as a vehicle for continuous (rather than project-by-project) public involvement. These groups and the linkages to them may be newly established (e.g., a new Neighbour-to-Neighbour Program of staffed neighbourhood offices) or long-standing relationships (e.g., existing Community Centre Associations which already represent their neighbourhoods and have staffed offices). The City has a long-term, successful relationship with Community Centre Associations which are already very much involved in public involvement processes. Building on this success may be more appropriate and cost effective than building a new network of linkages.

If the City expects new or existing community organizations to be recognized as representative of their neighbourhoods and interest groups, then a set of requirements should be established for these groups to adhere to if they are to be integrated into the City's formal communication linkages.

10. Continuity of Staff Involved in Specific Neighbourhoods. Another potential direction to improve continuity of contact would be to work closely with staff already based in each community (such as the Neighbourhood Integrated Service Teams) and to manage staff resources so that expertise in specific neighbourhoods is developed over time. The City could undertake to re-organize staff across all departments involved in community policy and service delivery so that key staff obtain area-based knowledge and work on a co-ordinated basis among departments and with communities.

11. Training in Public Conduct. When Councillors and staff interact with the public, they should ensure that a basic standard of conduct is adhered to. For example, they should never ask for opinions and then discount those opinions. Among the alternative approaches to training are preparation of an agreed protocol, training sessions with a facilitation expert, or development of a training manual or video. Another approach might be to undertake an evaluation of a sample of public meetings or hearings to provide specific feedback to involved Council members and staff.

12. Training in Civics. The City and / or the Vancouver School Board should work with immigrant services, community organizations, and schools to set up courses in civics which train citizens in their role in public involvement processes.

13. Provision of Background Materials. The City should make general information, including technical and policy background information, readily available, either at meetings or through publications like "fact sheets". Appropriate information sheets could be prepared which would serve a number of different processes by clarifying basic roles and expectations for public involvement.

14. Broaden Use of Media in Public Involvement. Television, radio, internet, and the press should be used more effectively to access larger, less involved audiences. Specific targeted media (e.g. neighbourhood newspapers and "ethnic" media) should also be used to greater advantage. The new program on Rogers Cable has potential to both provide involvement opportunities for specific processes and to inform the public about their roles in participation in civic issues.

15. Improved Use of Survey Research. Random sample surveys of attitudes are an important tool in public involvement processes and are used regularly in Vancouver. Unfortunately, different approaches and methodologies used from project-to-project have reduced their utility. For example, in some cases, 50% + is set as the threshold

for agreement and in other cases, a higher level is required. There has also been concern about different reliability with subsequent surveys conflicting with those that were administered earlier. The City should adopt some guidelines for use of public surveys to increase consistency and reliability of result. This might involve the use of outside experts in survey research.

16. Enhanced Feedback and Closure. More attention should be paid to closure at the end of a process, including getting out feedback on how input was used in making decisions, and what the decisions were. Also, improved closure could include requesting feedback from participants as input into future processes and expressing thanks to participants.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

1. Mandating the Process

· The credibility, purpose, and objectives of the public involvement process are clear to all process participants.
· The roles and interests of all participants are defined and effectively communicated.
· The public is involved in making changes to processes in which they are participants.

2. Resourcing the Process

· The public involvement process has adequate resources (financial, staff, community) to achieve the stated mandate.
· Community resources and energies are used effectively and efficiently.
· The assigned staff are trained in the conduct of public involvement processes which are used during the process.
· The selection of resources considers the relative cost-effectiveness of alternative techniques to achieve process objectives.

3. Process Participants

· Everyone potentially interested in or impacted by a process has an opportunity to become involved.
· Public involvement processes have a balance of people who represent others and people who represent only themselves.
· Efforts are made to include under-represented and hard-to-reach communities in all public involvement processes.
· Any barriers to access are recognized and overcome, including physical, communication, economic, language, ethnic, and social constraints.
· Efforts are made to involve elected representatives and all affected City departments during the course of an involvement process.

4. Communications Strategies

· All communications for public involvement processes are effective, inclusive, and cover all necessary issues.
· The language of all written communications is clear, concise, objective, and free of technical jargon.

· Communication materials address relevant existing policy and procedure, history of the issues and past City initiatives, and alternative approaches to resolving issues and their respective advantages and disadvantages.
· Communication also regularly reiterates such basics of the process as the schedule, decision milestones, progress-to-date, and upcoming opportunities for involvement.
· Media is used regularly to provide general information to the public at large.
· Information or feedback is distributed regularly to those involved in the process and, at intervals, is also broadly distributed to anyone potentially interested in or impacted by a process.

5. Involvement Strategies

· The public involvement process is transparent and deals openly with conflict and imbalances of knowledge in order to maximize participant input.
· The scope and goals of the public process are repeatedly clarified during the process.
· The tone of the process fosters creativity and encourages civility and mutual respect among all parties to the process.
· Processes have a balance of proactive and reactive techniques to ensure that representative input is assured and everyone who wants can be involved.
· Input is obtained from those impacted both negatively and positively by proposals or projects.
· The involvement process addresses both agreement regarding the validity of the facts and understanding of varied opinions and values regarding the outcome of the process.

6. Closure

· Participants are convinced that a process has achieved its mandate at its completion.
· Evaluation of the process assesses its successes and shortcomings and communicates its results to the participants. The longer-term effects of the process on neighbourhood and community relationships and on perceptions of effectiveness of City processes are included in the evaluation.
· Affected communities are informed of process outcomes.

1. Departmental Process Improvements
1.1	Departments Will Pilot Changes to Processes Evaluated in Phase II	include in respective staff work programs; limited resources ($28,000) available within the existing PIR budget to provide consultant support or to pilot new ideas.		Yes	all departments	Service Group Managers will report back on progress as the work is completed over the next two years.
2. Developing a Corporate Framework for Public Involvement (Directions 1,5, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16)
2.1	Refine Guiding Principles for Public Involvement	-		Yes	PIR Working Group	the Principles will be refined/edited as the improvement work proceeds
2.2	Develop a Public Process Guide for Staff	will hire a consultant from within the existing PIR budget ($15,000).	Yes		Consultant (PIR Coordinator)	this will be developed by the consultant and made available to departments to assist with process improvements and refined as the improvement work proceeds
2.3	Create Inventory of Past Surveys; List of Survey Consultants	-	Ongoing		PIR Working Group /City Clerk's Office	this would simply involve passing on survey information to the City Clerk's Office
2.4	Provide Public Involvement Information to Community Groups	will hire a consultant from within the existing PIR budget ($7000)	Yes		PIR Working Group /PIR Coordinator	the consultant will work with community groups to develop public involvement information that will help them be effective and to know what to expect from the City
3. Improving Public Involvement Skills (Directions 3, 4, 6, 11)
3.1	Improve City Training Program in Public Involvement	include in existing Human Resources' budget	Ongoing		Staff Development Division of Human Resources	will liaise with Council and program managers to make adjustments to the training program
3.2	Create a Resource Group of Staff Experts	include in existing departmental work programs	Yes		PIR Working Group	the group will be identified through the departmental improvement process (Action 1.1)
3.3	Provide Training for Committees and Boards	include in existing City Clerk's budget	Ongoing		City Clerk's	City Clerk's will review the effectiveness of the program and depending on the results and resources available, offer to other advisory and appeal boards
3.4	Create a Course in Plain Language	include in existing Human Resources' budget	Yes		Staff Development Division of Human Resources	Staff will review the various language programs available, including those developed by the Hastings Institute, to develop the structure and content of this new course
3.5	Improve Council Report Language and Format	include in existing City Clerk's work programs	Ongoing		City Clerk's	-
4. Improving Community Contact (Directions 8,9,10)
4.1	Pilot Community Web Pages on the City Website	$20,000 from the Strategic Initiatives Fund	Yes		Corporate IT; with help from various dept's	funding needed for development and ongoing maintenance for the pilot period
4.2	Look for Ways to Improve Public Access to the City Website	-	Ongoing		Corporate IT; with help from various dept's	staff will seek out opportunities to partner with other organizations and levels of government
4.3	Maintain and Update the QuickFind Database of Community Groups	students from the Partners at Work Program; $2000 annually from both Engineering and Community Services.	Ongoing		City Clerk's	- this action is contingent upon the continued funding from Engineering and Community Services - staff will use this information to replace the outdated community contact information on the City website.
4.4	Improve Internal and Public Access to Geographical Data	include in existing departmental budgets and work programs	Ongoing		Corporate IT	-
4.5	Create a Community Recognition Program (Good Neighbour Awards)	include in existing departmental work programs		Yes	PIR Working Group /NIST Liaison Team	-
4.6	Sector Community Services Staff	include in existing Community Services' work programs		Yes	Community Services	staff are currently consulting with the public on this proposal
4.7	The actions listed under "Improving Civic Awareness" (Strategic Approach 5) are also key to improving community contact.
5. Creating Better Civic Awareness and Understanding of How the City Works (Direction 12)
5.1	Create a Proposal for a Citizen's Guide	the cost of developing the proposal will be included in existing staff work programs	Yes		Communications, with cooperation of all Dept's	- staff will report back with a formal proposal for the Citizen's Guide, including scope, format, production, distribution, and cost
5.2	Develop a Newcomer's Guide to the City	$12,000 from existing PIR budget for development	Yes		Social Planning /Communications	- existing funding will cover cost of research, writing, and graphic design - staff will report back next year with the finished product and options for printing and translation (approx. $28,000)
5.3	Raise Awareness Through the Media	-	Ongoing		Communications/ various	continue with initiatives such as the Greater.Vancouver program and look for new opportunities
5.4	Build on City Hall Public Tours	include in respective departmental work programs	Ongoing		City Clerk's, with cooperation of all dept's	will review the feasibility of building on the tours already conducted by dept's such as Permits and Licenses
5.5	Pilot Neighbourhood Level Civics Education Through the Community Visions Program	include in respective departmental work programs	Yes		Community Visions /Staff Development Division of Human Resources	will include staff from various dept's depending on the subject of the given workshop
5.6	Develop Civics Curriculum for Youth	$5000 from existing PIR budget	Yes		Consultant; coordinated by Planning	- build on the YouthView program developed for CityPlan - will liaise with School Board; Core Committee for the Civic Youth Strategy; PIR Working Group; other dept's
6. Creating A Multicultural Outreach and Translation Strategy (Direction 2)
6.1	Include Multicultural Outreach and Translation Guidelines in the Public Process Guide for Staff (Action 2.2)	include in consultancy for departmental improvements (PIR budget)	Yes		Consultant (PIR Coordinator)	-
6.2	Add Names of Staff Experienced in Multicultural Outreach to the Complement of Staff Experts in Public Process (Action 3.2)	-	Yes		PIR Coordinator	-
6.3	Improve Diversity Training Within the Staff Training Programs (Action 3.1)	include in existing Human Resources' budget		Yes	Staff Development Division of Human Resources	-
6.4	Create a Policy on Translation	include in existing departmental work programs		Yes	Social Planning/Communications with cooperation of all dept's	this will be reported to Council as a separate action.
6.5	Develop Introductory Guides to the City	see Actions 5.1 and 5.2
6.6	Create and Maintain a List of Translation Services	-	Yes		Communications	-
6.7	Place a Calendar of Important Cultural Celebrations on the Intranet	-		Yes	Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program	-
6.8	The actions listed under "Improving Community Contact" and "Creating Better Civic Awareness" (Strategic Approaches 4 and 5) are also key to improving multicultural outreach.

PHASE II EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. Mandating the Process - The credibility, purpose, and objectives of the public involvement process were clear to all process participants. Was the involvement process legitimate?

Were the staff and participants clear on the objectives of the process? To what extent did all parties involved have similar goals and expectations for the process?
What was the expected level of public participation in the process (advisory - decision making), and how was this decided? Was it appropriate?
Were clear roles established for and communicated to all participants in the process?
Was public involvement initiated early enough?
Was there sufficient commitment to the process and its mandate from the proponent agency?
How was conflict of interest in the process addressed (e.g. was City Hall a stakeholder?)

2. Resourcing the Process - The public involvement process had adequate resources (financial, staff, community) to achieve the stated mandate.

What was the true cost of the process for the proponent, participants, and City Hall? Was there a more cost effective way of achieving the same results?
Was there sufficient staffing to fulfil the process mandate, and were the staff adequately prepared?
Did staff have adequate training to conduct the public involvement process?
Were community resources/energy used effectively?
Were lessons from experiences in other cities and past experiences applied to this process?
Was adequate administrative support committed to the process?

3. Process Participants - All stakeholders affected by the issue of concern had an equal opportunity to become involved in the public involvement process and a representative portion of them chose to do so.

To what degree did all interested parties participate in the process? What kinds of opportunities did they have to do so?
Was the process responsive to cultural differences?
Were there any barriers to access -physical, communication, economic, social, and how were they overcome?
Did the process encourage the involvement of all stakeholders including the silent majority? How was the influence of pressure groups handled in the process?
Were participants representative of all the interests in the project and were an appropriate number of participants involved?

Were some participants involved in pursuit of an unrelated political agenda? How were they dealt with?
Did the public involvement process adequately involve elected representatives?
Were other City departments invited to be involved in the process by the lead department?

4. Communications Strategies - All communications for the public involvement process were effective, inclusive, and covered all necessary issues.

Were all communications, including surveys worded in a "value-free" objective manner?
Were participants adequately provided with timely, concise, understandable information in an appropriate medium or format?
Was there clarity regarding role of existing policy?
Did the process adequately address situations where participants have different levels of information?
Were citizens adequately advised on the consequences of specific actions or alternative solutions?
Was there an effective relationship with the media during the process?

5. Involvement Strategies - The public involvement process was transparent. Where necessary, it dealt openly with conflict and imbalances of knowledge to maximize participant input.

Did participants and proponents have a similar perception of what was being discussed and did the process allow for the development of a clear understanding of the impacts of the proposed project?
Did all participants understand the public involvement process structure and timing?
What was the tone of the process? Did it foster creativity and encourage civility and mutual respect for all parties? What was the level of reciprocal trust in the process?
Did the process need to be value-neutral ? If so, how successful was it?
Did the process involve problem solving? If so, how successful was it?
How was dissenting opinion treated in the process? Was it necessary to mediate between groups and was this successful?
Were there different ways to participate and were they all effective?

Was conflict resolution a part of the process? If so, were conflicts addressed at the appropriate time in the process? Was the conflict resolution successful?

6. Feedback and Closure - All stakeholders are convinced that the public involvement process, or a phase of an ongoing process, achieved its mandate and are satisfied with the results.

Was there ultimate success in the achievement of the goals of the public involvement process?
To what degree is evaluation built into the process?
Was there political and administrative support for the results of the process?
Did participants feel their involvement was worthwhile? Was participant input reflected in final decisions?
Did the public involvement result in greater benefits to the community or did it lead to long term community rifts?
Was the general public good addressed in the process? How?
Did the public involvement process meet Council's needs?
To what degree did the process lead to win / win results

7. Overarching Criteria

Did the process contribute to the development of long term relationships between the participants and the proponent?
Are there some types of municipal issues which normally do not have public involvement components but which should?

INTRODUCTORY GUIDES TO THE CITY

(i) Newcomer's Guide

A number of community service organizations were surveyed to further determine the need, content and usage of a newcomer's guide. They confirmed that a newcomer's guide will be helpful in overcoming some key barriers to accessing services - namely, the lack of knowledge of civic structure and processes, and general inaccessibility of some information.

The guide will provide an overview of the many functions and services of the City, including processes (i.e., how things work), how to access services and information, how to contact City Council, and how to participate in the electoral process. It will also reference other community services, such as schooling, health services, etc. It will be highly descriptive and written at a basic level, assuming "little understanding" of how City institutions and services operate.

It will be written and produced using existing resources. Staff will present Council next year with funding options for the translation and printing of the document, estimated to be approximately $28,000. The intent is to create the guide in English and translate it into Chinese, Vietnamese, Punjabi and Spanish. It will be distributed primarily through community agencies that deal with new immigrants or supply services to ethnic communities and be used in orientation sessions, ESL teaching, and volunteer and staff training. It will also be placed on the City website.

(ii) Citizen's Guide

The City has many disparate guides to its services. Staff are exploring the development of a guide that would provide all residents with a comprehensive listing of public services and amenities offered by the City. It would contain brief descriptions of major City services, as well as information on where to go, and/or who to contact. For example, Garbage and Recycling could describe their program and its goals, some basic do's and don'ts of recycling, and contact information (telephone hotline, Web site address). There are models of this from other cities.

While there would be some overlap of information with the newcomer's guide, the citizen's guide would assume a general understanding of how our public institutions operate, and therefore would not be as explanatory as the newcomer's guide. As well, the format and methods of distribution would differ - it would be more broadly available. The intention is to have the citizen's guide produced on an regular basis, perhaps annually, and be distributed to every household in the City. Depending on the budget, the guide may be distributed with tax notices, or phone directories. Electronic access would be through the City's website.

Several departments - Community Services Group, Park Board, Library, and led by the Communication's Office - are working to develop a detailed proposal of the contents, format, distribution and costs for the citizen's guide which will be presented to Council in the Fall.

* * * * *

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver