The end of one year; the beginning of another. It’s a perfect time to reflect and look ahead. The IAP2 USA board is now looking at what have we moved forward in 2014 and where can we improve in 2015. Early in the year, we’ve provide a progress report on our Action Plan developed in early 2014.
At the same time, we’re moving ahead on plans for 2015. At the most recent meeting, your board approved its strategic plan for 2015 and beyond. Your board has worked hard this year, advanced some great ideas and served the organization well. Beyond the board, many members have joined in on initiatives. To all of those who have contributed, a heartfelt thank-you for another year of advancing the practice. We have five new board members that will contribute in the coming year. That’s exciting.
If you have those you know who are interested in the practice, now is the time to join and become involved. 2015 will bring announcements about professional certification, opportunities for cities and agencies to become IAP2 group members, new member initiatives, new professional development opportunities and a September conference in Portland, Oregon.
That being the case, I hope to see many of you in person this year. Feel free to contact me (doug.zenn@hdrinc.com). In the meantime have a wonderful holiday season!
COMMITTEE UPDATES
NEWS FOR YOU
HELP SHAPE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE US
The Open Government Initiative defines Public Participation as “where citizens help shape and implement government programs undefined is a foundation of open, transparent, and engaging government services. From emergency management and regulatory development to science and education, better and more meaningful engagement with those who use public services can measurably improve government for everyone. “
As noted by the Open Government Initiative, a team is now working side-by-side with civil society organizations to deliver the first U.S. Public Participation Playbook, dedicated to providing best practices for how agencies can better design public participation programs, and suggested performance metrics for evaluating their effectiveness.
Developing a U.S. Public Participation Playbook has been anopen government priority, and was included in both thefirstandsecondU.S. Open Government National Action Plans as part of the U.S. effort to increase public integrity in government programs.
This resource reflects the commitment of the government and civic partners to measurably improve participation programs, and is designed using the same inclusive principles that it champions.
More than 30 Federal leaders from across diverse missions in public service have collaborated on draft best practices, or “plays,” lead by the General Services Administration’s inter-agencySocialGov Community. The playbook is not limited to digital participation, and is designed to address needs from the full spectrum of public participation programs. For more information,click here.
This is your opportunity to comment on the National Action Plans for Public Participation. The IAP2 USA Board, working with the Strategic Alliance Committee, will be providing feedback but we want to ensure that all members and friends take the time to read and individually respond to this important initiative as well.
Ashley Trimis the Research Coordinator at the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership at Pepperdine University. Her IAP2 Talks presentation at the 2013 North American conferencereported on two comprehensive, statewide surveys and the implications for local officials. She focused on how governments, community leaders, and community foundations can work together to overcome these obstacles and build a greater capacity for engagement and collaboration.
ERIC SHAW:
Eric Shaw, Director of Community and Economic Development for Salt Lake City, Utah, welcomed participants to the 2013 North American conference. He sharedstrategies the city has used to create holistic opportunities for community members to provide formal and informal input as part of an on-going relationship between city government and its residents. The city has added a “day of doing” to the way they finish all planning documents, creating the opportunity for city residents to help move from plans to implementation for major city initiatives. He closes by stating that the goal of all public involvement efforts conducted by the City of Salt Lake is to be dynamic, productive, responsive, and ongoing.
YOU, YES YOU!
Did you know thaton February 20, 2014, there were about 248 million blogs in existence worldwide? One of those blogs is operated by IAP2USA -- and YOU! Yes, You. You can post to the IAP2USA Blog site.
Click hereand share your news, insights, and lessons learned
WELCOME OUR NEW IAP2 USA BOARD!
New Board Members:
The results of voting are in, and IAP2 USA welcomes and congratulates five new board members:
Carol Ann Wolfgang
Kyle Bozentko
Myles Alexander
John Poynton
Stephen Prestwood
These board members will continue their terms in 2015:
Doug Zenn, President
Anne Carroll, Treasurer
Leah Jaramillo, Secretary
Francesca Patricolo
Kit Cole
Lance Robertson
David Hovde
MJ Bull
Matt Leighninger
Teresa Alvarado
Wendy Lowe
Tim Bonneman
UPCOMING EVENTS
January Learning Webinar
On Tuesday, January 13,2pm EST, we get to hear from two more Core Values Award winners on how their projects sparkled and caught the attention of the judging panels in Canada and the USA. Both were honoured in the Research Project category. Dr. Julia Abelson has been working with health-care agencies across Canada to come up with a way of evaluating the success of patient-engagement initiatives. Dr. John Poynton spearheaded a project to give parents a more meaningful role in public education in the St Vrain Valley School District in Colorado. He’ll be joined by one of the parents, Laura McDonald. The St Vrain project was recently awarded “Research Project of the Year” by the IAP2 Federation. To get more information and register, click here.
As always, these webinars are free for IAP2 members and only $50 for non-members.
Skills symposium coming this spring
Coming this spring – IAP2 USA Skills Symposium! Looking to shore up areas in your practice? Want to learn new methods, approaches, techniques? Watch this newsletter and the IAP2 USA website for details about the Skills Symposium in spring 2015.
To help shape the Symposium content, contact the Training Committee with specific course suggestions or skills you’d like to learn, or if you have a course to offer. Finally, let us know if your local P2 community or university might like to partner with us to host the Symposium.
The Transparency and Accountability Initiative (T/AI) is seeking a consultant to curate and promote the Open Government Guide<http://www.opengovguide.com/> in 2015.
The consultant's role will involve curation/development of new chapters, management of translations, updating of website, co-promotion to countries developing Action Plans with the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Support Unit, promotion at OGP events, potentially promotion to audiences outside the OGP, and tracking use of the Guide.
The Terms of Reference, consultant profile and guidance for submissions of interest can all be found through the webpage found here.
The deadline for submission is Tuesday 6th January, 2015.
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