HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 474-09TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER
DATE: DECEMBER 14, 2009 CMR: 474:09
REPORT TYPE: Informational
SUBJECT: Update on Council Priority: Civic Engagement for the Common Good
DISCUSSION
For the past two years, the Council has identified Civic Engagement for the Common Good as a
top priority. For a variety of reasons, the City has struggled to launch a consistent and sustained
work program around this priority. The first year of the priority saw the departure of both the
City Manager and Assistant City Manager, creating a leadership gap with respect to this
initiative. With the arrival of the new City Manager, a renewed emphasis on the priority began
as did the development of a work program. This renewed commitment to the priority resulted in
the attached memo that was presented to City Council in April 2009. This memo outlined key
initiatives to be undertaken as part of the Civic Engagement priority. Given the other issues
facing the City this fall as well as the continued vacancy in the Assistant City Manager position,
this initiative has not moved forward in the focused and programmed manner we seek. This
slower than hoped for progress is an unfortunate byproduct of the workload challenges being
faced in the organization.
The City Manager and other key staff remain committed to building capacity and support for
enhanced civic engagement both within the organization and between the organization and the
community. The principles and work plan outlined in the memo are still solid and have laid a
good foundation for making real progress on civic engagement as an effective practice.
Although staff have not made progress on the "major" initiatives outlined in the memo, the City
Manager has continued to consistently reinforce the importance of civic engagement with senior
staff. This has begun to manifest itself incrementally and firmer foundations are being laid but
clearly, we still have a lot of work left to do.
The City Manager remains committed to the concept of civic engagement and intends to revisit
the workplan in March to determine if and how some of the defined elements can move forward.
Staff will also continue to evaluate ways that civic engagement principles can be built into the
existing work we're doing.
RESOURCE IMPACT
There is no resource impact associated with this report.
CMR: 474:09
December 14,2009
Page 1 of2
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This report is consistent with City Policies and previous Council direction.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This is not an action requiring environmental review under the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: April 6, 2009 Memorandum to Cit
PREPARED BY:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
CMR: 474:09
December 14,2009
~'.D:b~'V1\!1'~RIU
Assistant to the City Manager
Page 2 of2
Attachment A
CITY OF PALO ALTO
Memorandum
TO: CITY COUNCILMEMBERS
FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
DATE: APRIL 6, 2009
SUBJECT: STUDY SESSION -SUPPORTING MATERIALS FOR COUNCIL
PRIORITY: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT FOR THE COMMON GOOD
In support of the Council study session on the 2009 priorities, staff has prepared the
attached materials as background on Civic Engagement for the Common Good. This
document outlines and provides more detail on the proposed first phase of the civic
engagement initiative. The intent of this information is to provide more context for the
proposed strategies and actions outlined on the Palo Alto See-It model.
KELLY MORARIU
Interim Deputy City Manager
Attachment
Where and How to Begin
Since the beginning of 2008, the City Council has had Civic Engagement as a top priority.
Although the City has embarked on a few individual initiatives towards this priority,
there has not been an overall or comprehensive strategy and approach. A small team
has been meeting to draw up a roadmap to help us move forward with this initiative.
This document outlines suggested first phase elements of the initiative. Three key
pieces of this initial phase include 1) the definition of the problem, 2) developing a civic
action plan, and 3) determining means of assessing progress utilizing several tools. This
is simply a starting place, and we will be able to build on this work as time goes on.
For this initiative to take hold and create real change, its focus will obviously need to
extend beyond one year. This does not imply that it remains a formal Council priority.
Rather, we need to build a foundation of good systems that will continue to serve the
community in the future. To that end, the things we choose to embark on over the last
six months of this year need to create synergy and involve major segments of the
community. We will learn as we try certain things that some will be better than others
for the issues we're facing. We will need to continually assess the elements of the
initiative and look for frequent feedback. Are these the right actions, methods, and
assessments? Are the programs producing results that will make people want more?
How might programs identify missing links or failed connections and provide what's
needed?
The initiative described here is a first step. All of the elements outlined have the intent
of building a foundation where the programs are mutually reinforcing and from which
the impacts continue to multiply over time.
Defining the Problem
SEA and Other Civic Engagement Indicators
Civic engagement for the common good is as much about the quality of interaction
regarding civic matters as it is about the reach and inclusiveness of this priority. The FY
2007-08 Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) Report provides several indicators
of the City's performance in the area of Civic Engagement. Although there are some
measures that have consistently high ratings, there are also some significant areas that
have seen a decline over the years and call out areas for improvement. Among the
consistently good scores, residents rated opportunities to volunteer and participate and
opportunities to participate in social events and activities as good or excellent, and
opportunities to participate in community matters highly. The City of Palo Alto also
ranks in the 97th percentile compared to other surveyed jurisdictions in overall image
and reputation. Measures of having attended some type of public meeting or
Civic Engagement Initiative Overview
April 6, 2009
Page 1 of 8
participated in a club or civic group are similar to other surveyed jurisdictions. In large
measure, these elements reflect the City's nonprofit sector and citizen initiatives. In
other areas, such as public trust, value of services, and impression of employee contact,
the SEA data point to areas for improvement. Negative public attention regarding the
Children's Theatre investigation, the City's redesigned website, and last year's homicide
and string of burglaries may have influenced adverse survey responses, but the data we
examined covered a sev~ral year period. In contrast to the 9ih percentile regarding
image and reputation, Palo Alto ranks in the 65th percentile for the value of services
received for the taxes paid to the City. The following categories have seen a decline in
approval rating over the past four years:
Percent rating the City's job at welcoming citizen involvement as good or
excellent (-13%)
Percent rating the City's job at listening to citizens as good or excellent (-8%)
Percent having contact with a city employee in the last 12 months (-10%)
o Good or excellent impression of knowledge (-11%)
o Good or excellent impreSSion of responsiveness (-11%)
o Good or excellent impression of courtesy (-6%)
o Overall impression good or excellent (-11%)
On the more specifically qualitative side, the problem-or better said, the challenge-is
to carryon city business so that citizens and staff bring to their interactions a particular
sense of both responsibility and ambition. The responsibility reflects stewardship of the
community, its image and reputation and the characteristics on which they are based.
The ambition involves our social and civic infrastructure, including our processes and
practices, and the goal of making them models of a leading edge, democratic, inclusive,
"ar:'ld effective community. As the familiar report card phrase puts it, it's about working
up to our potential in regard to civic engagement.
Proposed Outcomes for Initiative
1) Build skills and capacities that facilitate civic processes (e.g., meetings, planning,
problem-solving) and outcomes where people feel heard, understood, and
respected
2) Build collaborative partnerships between the community and staff
3) Foster an organizational culture that invites engagement
4) Develop a core staff team from among existing staff that can be deployed to
assist with community meetings and outreach
5) Develop a more comprehensive understanding of the City among residents and
staff -enlarge the perspectives of single issue constituencies
6) Shift thinking to "problem-solving" approach versus "pro-con" debate
7) Define civic and engagement as terms reflecting Palo Alto's aspirations
Civic Engagement Initiative Overview
April 6, 2009
Page 2 of 8
8) Frequently assess progress on initiatives in ways that lead to increased
effectiveness and satisfaction.
These outcomes would be tested as part of the assessment/community conversation
process.
Defining the Problem and Developing a Civic Action Plan
Assessment
The purpose,of the proposed assessment is to use existing data sources (namely SEA
and U.S. Census) to develop a number of meaningful measures to gauge how the City of
palo Alto is doing in terms of Civic Engagement. These will be good starting points, but
we will develop others as well. A survey of existing ways staff engages with the
community, as well as an inventory/survey of existing organizations with whom the City
already engages will contribute to an asset-mapping process. Asset mapping, as a
concept, identifies the skills and talents of local residents, as well as the capabilities
available or possible through local organizations and institutions. By identifying these
resources, Palo Alto can draw upon its unique and talented resources to address the
important issues impacting our community. This will determine how we can improve
our interactions with the public, as well as aid in outreach for the development of our
Civic Action Plan. The assessment will allow us to ensure the Civic Action Plan is
developed in a method to ensure we're matching our efforts to the community profile
of Palo Alto so that we make our best efforts to be inclusive in the process. For
example, it will be useful to see the frequency and distribution of internet
connectivity/access in the City, since we would propose to implement a lot of new web-
based tools as part of this initiative.
Currently, staff is working with the City At,tditor's 'office, to see if cross-tabs are available
for the different Civic Engagement questions in the SEA report. Possible cross-sections
in the community that would be of interest include age, race and ethnicity, home-owner
vs. renter, and geographic subareas. The evaluation of current methods for civic
engagement and community outreach will take place by sending a questionnaire or
interviewing key staff members and department heads who have a good understanding
of how staff interacts with the community. The City Manager's Office and department
heads would be a starting point to gather information we already have institutionally on
civic organizations, nonprofits, etc. Community conversations will also provide
opportunities for developing and assessing initiatives of a qualitative nature.
Civic Engagement Initiative Overview
April 6, 2009
Page 3 of8
Community Conversations .
The City will embark on a series of conversation with both the community and with staff
members. The intent of these conversations is two-fold: 1) to identify the existing
perceptions and expectations around the relationship between City Hall and the
community and between community groups as they interact with each other and 2) to
help define the problem and begin to define "civic engagement for the common good"
in the Palo Alto context.
The objective of the conversations is to help inform a baseline for assessment and to
build community in the process. The views and opinions of the community and of staff
are key to amplifying understanding of civic engagement and the common good and to
building unifying themes around which people can develop actions and strategies.
We aim to hold 10-15 conversations with a total of approximately ioo -150 participants
between May and July. The participants would be drawn from a broad cross-section of
the community, including: schools; faith community; emergency preparedness
programs; businesses; youtp; boomers and seniors; neighborhood associations; non-
profits; and others. The themes from the conversations would be coupled With those
from the "baseline assessment" and will be presented to Council as part of a
comprehensive Civic Action Plan. The Civic Action Plan will outline specific initiatives to
be undertaken over the next 1-2 years.
Civic Action Plan
After completing the community conversations and initial assessment, staff will develop,
in conjunction with key community stakeholders, a civic action plan. This plan will
identify and provide more detail about the specific actions and programs the community
should undertake as part of the civic engagement initiative. The .plan will synthesize the
results of the assessment to further refine the key steps for moving forward.
,
The plan will also help everyone answer the "so what?" question. Why is this initiative
important for the City? It should cultivate cohesion and consistency among the
different elements. How do they all fit together and lend themselves to the goal of civic
engagement for the common good? The plan should also have a way for assessing
results and feeding learning back into the design and implementation. The feedback
should be focused on assessing tangible differences in the quality of city goals and
services, citizen participation, citizen and staff satisfaction and civic pride.
Staff intends to present this plan to Council in mid-July. However, the definition of the
plan and its implementation should never be "done" in the sense of finished. We need
to continuously assess our initiatives and methods to ensure that they are consistent
Civic Engagement Initiative Overview
April 6, 2009
Page 40f8
and unified in purpose and implementation. The work of implementing the plan
presented would initially carry through the remainder of the year.
Identifying and Building Capacity
In concert with the development of the action plan, it will be important to begin
building key skill sets among staff and the community in order to further support the
Civic Engagement initiative. Using an athletic metaphor, we want a "deep bench." The
section below describes some actions that will help build some of these skill sets.
Kitchen Cabinet
This idea arose 'as a result of the amazing talent that exists in the community and on
staff. Developing a kitchen cabinet for Palo Alto is a metaphor for gathering around
civic engagement all of the tools and resources reflected in individuals representing
their own skills and capacities or those of organizations, schools, businesses, churches,
etc. When we need a certain tool or resource for specific issues, we will be able to open
up the kitchen cabinet and choose the one that fits best. The cabinet is divided-into a
staff resource team and a community resource team at this point but the two teams can
overlap or collaborate at any pOint.
Over the past six months, many different community members have approached the
City with different community engagement tools or mechanisms. The community
resource team would be a vehicle to bring these resources together in a collaborative
and systematic way. The intent would be to begin meeting monthly with this group and
to expand the membership as we identify additional resources.
The staff resource team would bring together a group of staff members dedicated to
enhancing the relationship between City Hall and the community and developing key
skills in this group. The group will help City Hall understand why it exists and will help
develop resources that will allow City Hall to work towards its purpose. This might take
the form of a group of trained facilitators that can be utilized for varied community
meetings. The group could also help design meeting agendas to maximize effective
outcomes. This effort could be coupled with the effective meetings proposal supported
by the Human Relations Commission/PAGE and outlined below.
Community Cafe Speaker Series
One key element of the initial civic engagement work will be to build awareness of the
effort among community members. To this end, the City could host and/or co-sponsor a
speaker series that would help introduce key civic engagement concepts to both staff
and the community. Currently, staff is proposing three sessions between June and
Civic Engagement Initiative Overview
April 6, 2009
Page 5 of8
November and is exploring different topical possibilities. A couple of ideas· include a
session focused on using technology to build community and a session exploring civic
engagement models in other cities/agencies/institutions. Staff would also explore ways
to incorporate an interactive or participative element to each session, thus allowing for
further input and feedback on the civic engagement initiative.
Leadership Palo Alto Program
A small group of community stakeholders, staff and Council members has been meeting
to discuss reinitiating the Leadership Palo Alto program formerly sponsored by the
Chamber of Commerce; This group is evaluating ways to rebuild or re-form the program
in a way that supports the Council's Civic Engagement priority. This proposal will likely
return to Council for further discussion in the coming months.
Effective Meetings Proposal
The HRC and PAGE have developed a proposal (more fully described in the companion
report from the HRC) that would help foster more effective meetings of various City
Boards/Commissions and other community groups. This will become a key component
of the staff and community skill-building that will occur over the first phase of the
initiative. The City's Executive Leadership Team will look for ways to implement the
ideas in the proposal throughout the normal course of City business, thus getting the job
done while simultaneously building community. Staff will also survey other City boards,
commissions or task forces to see if others would be interested in trying out some of the
ideas proposed by the HRC and PAGE. To assist with these trial efforts, a small team
could draft supporting . materials that might include gUidelines for chairs of
boards/commissions and tips for conducting effective meetings.
Building Civic Engagement Principles into Existing Programs/Initiatives
In addition to some of the elements mentioned above specifically aimed at defining civic
engagement and building skills, there is an opportunity to build civic engagement
principles into some of the City's existing programs and initiatives. As an example, staff
will look at ways in which City business can be accomplished that engage the community
more effectively and that build relationships as part of the process. These initiatives
have been identified previously and include: the Block Preparedness Coordinator
Program; the Community Environmental Action Partnership; the community website
committee; and the Comprehensive Plan update process. Staff will continue to explore
other initiatives to add to this list.
Civic Engagement Initiative Overview
April 6, 2009
Page 6 of 8
Two Visual Views of the Initial Phase
Two ways to view the Civic Engagement initiative are implicit in the above overview:
the organic/dynamic picture and the linear/time-based model. The organic/dynamic
picture (Diagram A) really shows the ~elationships among the elements and how each
element reinforces and supports the others. This model is consistent with early
suggestions and models developed by the community coalition supporting this Council
priority.
The linear/time-based model (Diagram B) will help identify and manage the action steps
needed to implement the initiative. The timeline and elements of this initial phase are
aggressive and will require substantial commitments of time and energy from the
Council, staff and the community. However, in order for this initiative to take root, we
need this level of commitment. This is not simply just another initiative -this is a
process that aims to fundamentally alter the ways in which we approach and engage
with the community during the course of City business.
The diagrams on the next two pages provide the two visual views of the initial phase of
the initiative.
Civic Engagement Initiative Overview
April 6, 2009
"Page 7 of 8
Civic
Capital
Diagram A: Organic/Dynamic Picture of Civic Engagement Effort
Civic Engagement Initiative Overview
April 6, 2009
Page 8of8
Social
Capital
Diagram B: Linear/Time-Based Picture of Civic Engagement Effort
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