Knight School of Communication

New Models for Neighborhood EngagementInnovation in Charlotte

Dr. Eric Freedman, DeanJennifer Hull, Director of Community ProgramsJayme Keefer, Knight Scholar Student

Knight School Neighborhood Workshop

Knight School Neighborhood Workshop

Central Questions How do cities communicate to their residents?

How do neighborhood residents communicate with each other?

Should a neighborhood develop a public or private communication network, or a hybrid model?

What are the existing resources (tools and information channels) neighborhoods can use?

How do cities communicate?

City website Citizen engagment management tools: civic apps,

push notifications (SMS) (EverBridge) Third party products: harness mobile and desktop

devices for social networking, city improvement and community building (PublicStuff)

Data driven decision making can transform a government agency into a nimble customer service organization.

How do neighborhoods communicate?

Neighborhood websites Newsletters (print or electronic) Email lists Physical spaces and places Third party products

Public, private or hybrid communication?

Are you looking to communicate beyond your neighborhood to promote your work and link with others locally, regionally and nationally?

Are you looking to host a private “conversation” among residents?

Do you need both public and private channels of information?

Do you need fixed or open communication paths?

Communication strategies

Define who you are – mission and goals Know who you are – create a basic fact sheet Involve community leaders Encourage feedback

What are the existing resources?

What are the existing resources?

What are the existing resources?

What are the existing resources?

What are the existing tools?

What are the existing tools?

Breakout Sessions

What are your goals for neighborhood communication? Report your top two goals.

What tools have you used? What has worked best? What hasn’t worked?

Knight School Community Leaders Workshop

How do we define community? How does information flow throughout Charlotte? What are the gaps in the information infrastructure? How do we build reciprocal relationships?

The Workshop TemplateCommunity

Who is your community? Where is your community? How do you translate that community into an

audience? How do you establish trust in your community as a

civic entity? What sub-communities would be useful to assess?

The Workshop TemplateLocal Ecosystem

How does information flow in the city? What is the level of local coverage on issues that

are central to your agency? How do people get information about your agency? What information models have you used in other

municipalities? What is unique about Charlotte, its community, and its information systems?

The Workshop TemplateActions

What one action might make a difference? Who needs to take action? What does progress look like? What opportunities exist for people to express

themselves and voice their concerns and their needs?

What does the actual physical network look like? Where are the dead zones?

The Workshop TemplateCollaborations

Change is not the result of a single civic endeavor. Change occurs through pockets of activity that

emerge and take root over time. We need to develop many and varied touch-points

for people who are stepping into and making their way through public life.

Community Survey Community Leaders Workshop Neighborhood Communication Workshops Digital Citizen Trainers (Student Trainers) Digitalcharlotte.org

Knight School of CommunicationInitiatives

Digital Media Literacy Index and Survey Datahttp://digitalcharlotte.org/the-digital-media-literacy-index/

Knight School of CommunicationData