communities with unreliable internet
service such as the Rural Municipality
of St. Clements (www.rmofstclement-
syourfeedback.com/lets-talk-trash).
Done right, it can provide a fun and
interactive space to demonstrate
process transparency and distribute
project information through accessi-
ble, engaging and interactive means.
This may include pictures, infograph-
ics, videos and emerging forms of rich
media such as virtual reality. This is
how people prefer to be engaged for
convenience purposes. When text is
unavoidable, online engagement pro-
vides the ability to integrate screen
reader (read-aloud) technology, pro-
viding further accessibility. Examples
of accessible online engagement sites
include the cities of Oshawa (www.
connectoshawa.ca) and Niagara Falls
(letstalk.niagarafalls.ca).
Niagara
Falls introduces its online platform
and related projects using creative
and fun videos (https://letstalk.
niagarafalls.ca/jointheconversation).
Municipalities can use the platform
to readily share information in line
with recent open government ini-
tiatives which will add value for
residents as well as for management
and council.
A municipal website and social
media help inform citizens on a
myriad of topics. However, they are
not mechanisms for feedback or
debate. A municipal website might
offer some engagement through
surveys and forms, but it is not a dis-
cussion platform. Unless a website
is built explicitly for engagement,
gaps in reporting and analytics will
emerge. Social media platforms (i.e.,
Facebook) are effective for informa-
tion distribution; however, they do
not offer risk management controls.
Online engagement is best done with
a dedicated website provided by a
supplier with industry and practice
experience. For corporate branding
and consistency purposes, consider
having it integrated with social media
within a municipal website.
The online platform can be used
on an ongoing basis for multiple
projects to help build community
capacity. Providing a range of proj-
ects and initiatives will appeal to
more people and allow you to build
your community. Updating the plat-
form and projects regularly will
keep participants and returning visi-
tors engaged. Once people become
accustomed to engaging with the
municipality, they are much more
inclined to participate in the future.
An online engagement platform that
encourages registration will pro-
vide the ability to collect participant
demographics (i.e., yoursay.missis-
sauga.ca/users/sign_up) and reach
out through newsfeeds and emails.
This keeps participants informed
throughout a project’s life cycle and
enables targeting of subgroups for
future projects and initiatives. This
model ensures that administrators
don’t have to rely 100 per cent on pro-
motion to drive future participation.
Each new project adds value and the
administration team’s job gets easier.
Within the first year of introducing its
online engagement platform, the City
of Halifax (www.shapeyourcityhali-
fax.ca) grew its participant database
to well over 6,000 people.
The relative freedom of an anony-
mous online environment removes
the barriers of aggressiveness, loud-
ness and power that may be present
at community meetings and which
often stifle debate. Encouraging par-
ticipant registration provides the
ability to set and manage expecta-
tions regarding behaviour to ensure
a safe and respectful online engage-
ment space. Consider choosing
a vendor who offers a consistent
and reliable moderation service.
Third-party moderation provides
transparency. Moderation frequency
can often be aligned with the needs
of the project or initiative.
An online community engagement
platform can provide near-instant
feedback on any number of issues;
however, its real value is its ability
to share the debate and provide two-
way dialogue. This is accomplished
by using a variety of project-appro-
priate feedback tools and through
facilitation. While moderation is
about not losing people from your
projects, facilitation is about driving
deeper participation and/or keep-
ing people involved in the process.
Deciding on when, how, how often,
or indeed if project team members
should be involved in your commu-
nity’s conversations, is an important
strategic decision based on internal
resource availability. There will inevi-
tably be work upfront to get your site
launched, but resource requirements
(unless facilitation is deemed valu-
able) following the initial launch are
minimal.
Surveys have their place (i.e., eval-
uating alternatives or position), but
they are largely overused and can
lead to consultation fatigue. Surveys
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