Methods and Approaches to Public Engagement

Methods and Approaches to Public Engagement

A. Capacity Building in a Deliberative Society

B. Citizen Driven Agendas

C.  Material Deliberation

D.  Integration of Expertise:  Stakeholders and Experts

A. Capacity Building in a Deliberative Society

What this means? How we’re approaching it?

Civic capacity building involves the development of the particular intrapersonal, political, and civic skills necessary for participation in public life. The FCT team employed a variety of methods and approaches intended to provide participants with opportunities for capacity building. For example, throughout the three sessions, participants engaged in small and large group deliberations that included opportunities to foster connections between participants, develop communication skills, and foster critical thinking. Reflective writing was used to aid in the development of an understanding of the “bigger picture” and an interconnection between issues. Formal and informal interactions and exchanges with experts and educational material and outside readings provided participants with an opportunity to increase their subject matter knowledge as well as their understanding of how policy and political decisions are made. 

B- Citizen-driven agendas

What this means? How we're approaching it?

During FCT a citizen group meets for three different sessions over the course of a month. During the three-hour introductory session I, participants express their concerns about and interests in the future of Phoenix and the role technologies play in those concerns.  As organizers of the FCT, we set the agenda for Session II based on those concerns and interests.  The sites we visited for the all day walking tour,  as well as the stake holders, scientific experts, and corporate representatives we invited to participate in conversation at the different sites, were determined by  the participants’ interests.

C-  The importance of place and materiality and the relevance of multiple timescapes

What this means? How we're approaching it?

An important aspect of Session II, the tour, involves the participants documenting their experiences using multi-media.  For the tours we rely predominately on photography with some video and audio. We ask participants to find representations of past, present, and future of Phoenix, during the site visits and while on route to and from these locations.  Participants are asked, from time to time, to jot down notes about their thoughts and impressions of particular locations or visions of the city.  These impressions, particularly the images, are used as a means of an alternative approach to dialog during Session III, the synthesis and wrap up.  In addition, the images serve as the basis for a public exhibition.  This is open to the public at large and is a means to receive feedback from the greater Phoenix community on the participants' work. 

D- Integration of Stakeholder and Science and Technology Experts

What this means? How we're approaching it?

We attempted to choose participants who represent the demographics of Phoenix, but were limited by those people who self-selected to participate.   As part of these selections, we have invited "competent outsiders."  These individuals describe themselves as having leadership roles in their professions or civic life and can serve as gatekeepers of their communities.

In addition, we invited policy stake holders, scientists from a variety of career stages, and corporate business representatives to participate in our conversations.  Our goal is to lessen the privileging of the authority of those with science and technology expertise above the experience and expertise of other participants and to validate the expertise that all citizens possess in relation to their community.