MVP Cities: continue to engage your citizens after the workshops and public meetings
The Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program is a phenomenal program for towns and cities within Massachusetts that want to build resilience (defined as adaptation + mitigation) to climate change. Not only does the MVP program provide funding for planning and action phases, but they also provide a wealth of resources and technical support throughout the application and implementation phases.
The MVP program also does a great job of highlighting the importance of engaging the community (all stakeholders including residents) throughout the process. They stress an approach that is “community led.”
But, what happens after the planning workshops and public hearings are complete? Should you continue to engage your community?
Absolutely!
Continued, and expanded, community engagement is critical for 4 reasons:
1) Awareness of Town/City Actions
Citizens want to know what the town or city is doing relative to climate change – they want to know that their town or city is taking proactive, actionable steps to prepare for and mitigate climate change.
2) Future Community Support
Even if you don’t need community support currently, you will undoubtedly need community support down to the road to fund or pass resiliency related projects.
3) Citizens want to Help
Citizens want to know how they can help and what they can do that will make a difference – whether at a community level or simply in their daily lives.
4) Supports MVP Action Grant Applications
Community engagement focus is a critical evaluation component when applying to MVP action grants.
So how do you effectively engage your community? Below are 10 essential steps to creating an effective community engagement program. A more detailed description of these 10 steps can be found here.
- Identify your Focus Areas
- Set Engagement Goals
- Develop your Personas
- Identify and/or Set up your Outreach Channels – Digital and non-digital
- Define Outreach Campaigns
- Create your Project Plan
- Identify your Resources and Define Roles
- Identify Budget or Funds Required
- Execute on Plan
- Quarterly Measurements, Analysis, and Adjustments
It may seem like a lot, but most of it is proper planning. And with proper planning comes effective execution. For a more detailed description of each step, please view our 10 Steps to Effective Climate Action Community Engagement post.
We hope that you find the information on our site helpful and invite you to reach out if you have any further questions or if you are interested in our turnkey Green Community Homeowner Campaign.