Ultimately, Front Porch Forum‘s biggest impact is the one-two punch of increasing people’s social capital and civic engagement. Put another way, once FPF catches hold in an area, the folks who live there become more connected with neighbors and more involved in their community. Indeed, one survey found 93% of FPF members reporting increased civic engagement since joining their neighborhood forum.
Well, it turns out that “civic engagement” is a robust field, full of think tanks, academics, consultants, and the like. And, given President Obama’s call for community involvement, many of these players have come together to get organized… to try to seize this rare opportunity to advance the state of U.S. civic engagement… to take a leap forward.
Recently, a collection of such parties issued Seven Core Principals for Public Engagement…
In practice, people emphasize or apply these principles in many different ways, and often embrace additional principles. These seven principles reflect the common beliefs and understandings of those working in the fields of public engagement, conflict resolution, and collaboration.
1. Careful Planning and Preparation
Through adequate and inclusive planning, ensure that the design, organization, and convening of the process serve both a clearly defined purpose and the needs of the participants.2. Inclusion and Demographic Diversity
Equitably incorporate diverse people, voices, ideas, and information to lay the groundwork for quality outcomes and democratic legitimacy.3. Collaboration and Shared Purpose
Support and encourage participants, government and community institutions, and others to work together to advance the common good.[A]4. Openness and Learning
Help all involved listen to each other, explore new ideas unconstrained by predetermined outcomes, learn and apply information in ways that generate new options, and rigorously evaluate public engagement activities for effectiveness.5. Transparency and Trust
Be clear and open about the process, and provide a public record of the organizers, sponsors, outcomes, and range of views and ideas expressed.6. Impact and Action
Ensure each participatory effort has real potential to make a difference, and that participants are aware of that potential.7. Sustained Engagement and Participatory Culture
Promote a culture of participation with programs and institutions that support ongoing quality public engagement.
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[A] In addition to reflecting the democratic ideals of liberty, justice, and freedom for all, the term “common good” refers to things that optimize the well-being of all (like a traffic light in a dangerous intersection) or conditions that serve to benefit all involved (as in a consensus agreement focused on cleaning up the water supply).
An interesting footnote…
A note about technology: We believe the use of technology should be generally encouraged whenever appropriate to enhance and not impede these seven values — and also that these seven principles apply to both online and offline efforts to engage the public. However, there is not yet consensus in our field on standards for the use of technology that would warrant the inclusion of specific online or electronic guidelines in this document.
See America’s Heart & Soul at Palace 9 in South Burlington, VT, thru April 27. If enough Vermonters watch this documentary portrait of ordinary people doing extraordinary things (children free), then it will be released nationally! This movie shares much in common with Front Porch Forum… people pulling together to accomplish so much important work.
Clay Shirky’s much blogged about essay about newspapers is — surprising for a topic so over analyzed — fresh and mind-opening…
… there is one possible answer to the question “If the old model is broken, what will work in its place?” The answer is: Nothing will work, but everything might. Now is the time for experiments, lots and lots of experiments, each of which will seem as minor at launch as craigslist did, as Wikipedia did, as octavo volumes did.
Journalism has always been subsidized. Sometimes it’s been Wal-Mart and the kid with the bike. Sometimes it’s been Richard Mellon Scaife. Increasingly, it’s you and me, donating our time. The list of models that are obviously working today, like Consumer Reports and NPR, like ProPublica and WikiLeaks, can’t be expanded to cover any general case, but then nothing is going to cover the general case.
It’s a thrill to be deeply involved in one such experiment… Front Porch Forum.
From MeetUp.com‘s Scott Heiferman’s blog…
@JoeTrippi: “I live in a world in which BILLIONS of people live on less than $2 a day yet many of us will pay 99 cents for an IPhone app that makes our phone fart. But I don’t write this out of guilt or to guilt you. Its just a fact that I find really strange… I am not much of an idealist any more — at least not in the way I considered myself an idealist before I found my way to Africa last year — but I still believe in the power of people conducting simple acts together for the purpose of achieving what is right.”
That’s my approach to Front Porch Forum. It’s not single-handedly finding a cure for AIDS or reversing global climate change… but it is connecting neighbors and leading to increased civic engagement. And there’s something profound about helping humanize the guy next door, while directing people’s attention to local issues, conversations and actions.
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more