When engaging the public on complex initiatives it’s challenging to help stakeholders understand the issues let alone motivate them to participate. We design tools that create space for information sharing to increase understanding and engage participants in a way that provides thoughtful and actionable feedback. Building on your existing outreach efforts we look to expand and ensure that the public participation and outreach developed for your projects aligns with past approaches and preferences.
Raftelis has designed public participation and outreach programs that include both traditional methods, open houses, advisory groups, and customer surveys as well as non-traditional tools like tour programs or “pop-up” events at brew pubs, recreation centers, festivals, or other places people gather to attract a more diverse representation of participants. Our goal with any public participation and outreach process is to recruit people as they go about their daily lives and by meeting them in places where they are. People support what they help build, so when your project needs the support of your people, we develop a program that brings them into the process.
With an uncertain future and, in many cases, declining revenue, it’s hard to know what to say to customers at a time like this. On this webinar, hear from two utility communicators, Sam Coppels of Daphne Utilities in Alabama and Leslie Payne of Sweetwater Authority in California, who will share their storytelling experiences and strategies to connect with customers on rates and payments, and build a sense of “we”.
The Raftelis team assisted the City of Corpus Christi (City) with the development of a stormwater utility fee to fund the City’s stormwater management, operations, maintenance, and MS4 compliance.
Raftelis developed an extensive community engagement program to demonstrate that the City of Lakewood is advocating on behalf of their citizens in terms of an affordable plan to address regulatory concerns.
