InSight Engagement Project
(April 22, 2011)
SF Environment launches Community InSight Project and online idea forum to engage San Franciscans on plans for a greener future
Public engagement effort will solicit ideas, report results
Melanie Nutter, Director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, announced today that the Department is launching the Community InSight Project, a public engagement effort designed to catalyze dialog on making San Francisco the world's leading sustainable city.
"We're engaging with San Francisco's diverse communities where they live and gather, soliciting concerns and ideas, and taking what we learn to improve and expand the city's innovative environmental programs and policies," said Director Nutter.
Community InSight will solicit new ideas and feedback through numerous venues. A central component of Community InSight Project is the online ideas forum at Ideas4SF.org.
The forum employs technology from San Francisco-based UserVoice, which allows users to create, discuss, and vote for ideas.
The project kicks off April 23 at Earth Day SF in Civic Center, and will include a video booth where attendees can record their thoughts about the environment and urban sustainability, which will then be posted on the Department's Youtube Channel. There will also be roaming InSight teams that will be talking with the public and collecting input in person.
After the Earth Day launch, Community InSight will roll out to San Francisco neighborhoods with InSight teams conducting outreach door-to-door and at community events. Other components of the project include distributing multi-lingual postage-paid feedback forms, special events including an "unconference," leveraging other engagement tools and applications, and collaborating with other organizations interested in public engagement all with an eye toward inspiring San Franciscans to volunteer with the Department and to provide input on making our communities greener, cleaner, and healthier.
SF Environment will compile the results from the Community InSight Project public engagement effort and produce a report quantifying results and action steps by year's end.