Our weekly e-mail service brings you the latest in public opinion and public policy research.
Services We Offer
WORKSHOPS
Principles and Strategies for Successful Public Engagement
This introductory workshop provides essential background in the theory and practice of public engagement, as well as opportunities to begin planning public engagement campaigns and initiatives. Topics include:
Coming to public judgment: Yankelovich's seven-stage model
Guidelines and principles for successful public engagement
Public Agenda's Citizen Choicework approach to civic dialogue
Optional: An observed choicework dialogue can be arranged through a local focus group facility
Planning public engagement: First steps
Thematic Introductions to Public Engagement
This workshop covers most of the same topics as the introductory Principles and Strategies described above. The important difference is that "planning public engagement" is omitted and a module on a particular issue area is added, such as education, criminal justice reform or foreign policy.
This module includes a review of current public opinion research, an analysis of opportunities and likely resistances to engagement, and advice for planning a discussion or initiative around your theme.
Framing Choicework Dialogues
A core challenge in any public engagement campaign is selecting an appropriate theme and presenting it in a way that helps people understand the basic values, conflicts and practical tradeoffs that different solutions offer. This one-day workshop offers a hands-on exploration of principles of effective issue-framing by analyzing examples of public engagement materials, and by working on framing an issue of interest to participants.
Organizer, Moderator and Recorder Choicework Training
These sessions provide hands-on, practical training in Citizen Choicework for organizers, moderators, and recorders. They often make the most sense in the context of a customized program of technical assistance (below) but can sometimes be provided as stand-alones.
Public Agenda's basic technical assistance package will guide your community or organization from the initial planning stages through the holding of one or more choicework forums on a topic of your choice. Our aim is to ensure a successful start to your public engagement initiative and build your capacity to continue this work without us.
Typically, our program contains the following components, but we are happy to speak with you about tailoring our assistance to suit your unique needs.
Initial Site Visit
A site visit to meet with key local sponsors and organizers of the public engagement initiative to introduce them to the Public Agenda model, to start exploring the questions and issues that will need to be addressed in the engagement initiative, and to begin planning the design of the initiative. This initial meeting is usually coupled with a version of our Principles and Strategies of Successful Public Engagement workshop.
Focus Group(s)
Often, before an engagement initiative is launched, it is useful to hold one or more focus groups with a cross-section of community members. Pre-engagement focus groups help you as sponsors and organizers understand how the public thinks and speaks about the issue at hand in their own words, and can offer insight into areas where the public is generally in agreement or not yet decided in their opinion about a particular topic. Understanding the public's "starting point" is critical to designing a process in which citizens will want to participate.
Materials Development
Public Agenda has a large number of carefully designed Choicework dialogue materials in both print and video formats. If an initiative is using an existing discussion module, the work at this stage involves customizing it to fit your needs and situation. If a new discussion module is needed, this phase of work will be more involved, and may involve additional focus groups and video production.
Organizer Training
Public Agenda offers an in-depth full day of training with those who will be doing the hands-on work of setting up one or more initial community dialogues. This training reinforces the Public Agenda model, and covers both philosophical and logistical requirements for the initial dialogue such as who to invite, how to deal with the media, and who should moderate. A set of in-depth Organizer Guides will be provided.
Moderator and Recorder Training
Our approach to public engagement and our materials are aimed at engaging those who are not experts, especially people who do not usually participate in public meetings. Fostering civil discussion among diverse community members who rarely interact can at first seem to be an intimidating task, requiring skilled moderators who can manage time, maintain a nonpartisan stance and help people find their own voices. This one-day training session will help moderators learn and practice techniques through a combination of role play and formal presentation. And it will train recorders to work with the moderators to capture the conversations for future use.
Attendance at Initial Forum and Follow-up Planning
Public Agenda will attend the first dialogue forum to offer assistance and support. Afterwards, we will meet with organizers to evaluate the forum and plan immediate and long-term follow up.
General support
In addition, Public Agenda staff are available by phone and e-mail for assistance throughout the course of the initiative.
In addition to public engagement through Choicework, Public Agenda can help you design productive dialogues among diverse leaders, experts or professionals concerned with a public issue. Leadership dialogues can also be integrated with a more broad-based program of public engagement.
For more than 20 years, Public Agenda has specialized in carefully crafted, in-depth and innovative public opinion research on important issues of the day. These research tools can be a powerful means for planning and setting the stage for a public engagement initiative.
Prior to community forums, media campaigns or the production of informational materials, research can answer questions such as:
What is the public's starting point? Is a problem that is high on the agenda of community leaders even on the general public's radar screen? Are people aware of the range of potential solutions or are they stuck on a single train of thought?
What hurdles are likely to be encountered during the course of a public engagement initiative, such as misperceptions or side issues or alienated groups needing special attention? What is the most useful way to frame and present issues for public deliberation?
Often times, a few focus groups can provide significant insights into these questions. Quantitative research, such as the Public Agenda's Community Check-Up survey, can also be useful as a foundation for public engagement.
Public Agenda can consult with your organization to review and assess your relationship with the public. How well are you communicating with and including specific stakeholders and constituencies, as well as the general public, in the work you do? Through a systematic process of reviewing your communications activities and materials, interviews with critical stakeholders and the general public, and a self-assessment process, we can offer you an analysis and set of recommendations to improve your capacity for public engagement.
Whether you are a foundation, government agency, business or community-based organization, we can consult with you on designing and implementing a public engagement campaign to meet your needs.
