Category: Building Trust
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I have met several civic leaders who complain that the average citizen is “apathetic”, and that only the “angry” citizens show up when public meetings are scheduled. These leaders have not had very positive experiences interacting with the public and are therefore reluctant to invest time and effort in public engagement. Most of us are…
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As we noted in out first post in this series on trust, building “trust” with the public requires thinking about a range of factors. Earlier this year we invited a number of different people working on civic engagement in different fields, including politics, agricultural policy, water policy, urban planning, and health, to share thoughts about…
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Trust is not some “touchy feely” thing. It is a real dimension of human interaction that, if not present, keeps people from productive interaction, or any interaction at all. It’s actually something you can analyze and something you can work to build. Trust is what affects your ability to get people in the room. It…
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As a culture, we easily fall into “power based” patterns in our discussions. Don’t believe me? Try filling in the blanks in this simple test: “I’m right and you’re____.” “It’s my way or the _____.” “I’m going to talk and you’re going to sit there and ____.” “You’re with us or _____.” The ultimate question…
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Sarah was on the road last week, speaking on “Collaborative Governance” at the Missouri Municipal League’s Annual Conference in Kansas City, and to the Central Indiana Chapter of the Association of Government Accountants in Indianapolis on “Trust, Relevance, and Citizen Engagement.” Copies of the slides for both programs are posted on our resources page. Sarah…