Community engagement in Guelph

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The City of Guelph's community engagement policy is supported by the City’s community engagement program which provides engagement planning and implementation support, and training and resources to City staff. The Community Engagement Framework provides City staff and decision makers with a consistent approach for community engagement.

We're proud of the work we're doing to engage our community while respecting the territorial and inherent rights of our treaty partners and Indigenous people living on this land we call Guelph. We're constantly learning and unlearning along this journey. Read our full Territorial Acknowledgement and learn more on our City website.

Our engagement promise

The City will help create the conditions for meaningful community engagement. To deliver on that, we promise to

  1. Nurture relationships so there’s an evolving sense of trust, safety, and cooperation between us, and within the community itself. We do this because relationships are at the heart of community.

  1. Build capacity for participation so you know about and understand decisions, know what the impacts of a decision will be, and know how and when you can participate in shaping these decisions. We’ll help you understand City processes and encourage you to participate. We do this because informed participation is a foundation of democracy.

  1. Ensure there are meaningful opportunities to influence City decisions so decisions reflect what is important to you. This means engaging when there is a true opportunity to influence decisions and looking for ways and means of engaging to gather more meaningful input. We do this because sharing power leads to better decisions.

Our Community Engagement Charter lays out when and how we bring this promise to life.

For more information about the City's community engagement program contact CommunityEngagement@guelph.ca.

The City of Guelph's community engagement policy is supported by the City’s community engagement program which provides engagement planning and implementation support, and training and resources to City staff. The Community Engagement Framework provides City staff and decision makers with a consistent approach for community engagement.

We're proud of the work we're doing to engage our community while respecting the territorial and inherent rights of our treaty partners and Indigenous people living on this land we call Guelph. We're constantly learning and unlearning along this journey. Read our full Territorial Acknowledgement and learn more on our City website.

Our engagement promise

The City will help create the conditions for meaningful community engagement. To deliver on that, we promise to

  1. Nurture relationships so there’s an evolving sense of trust, safety, and cooperation between us, and within the community itself. We do this because relationships are at the heart of community.

  1. Build capacity for participation so you know about and understand decisions, know what the impacts of a decision will be, and know how and when you can participate in shaping these decisions. We’ll help you understand City processes and encourage you to participate. We do this because informed participation is a foundation of democracy.

  1. Ensure there are meaningful opportunities to influence City decisions so decisions reflect what is important to you. This means engaging when there is a true opportunity to influence decisions and looking for ways and means of engaging to gather more meaningful input. We do this because sharing power leads to better decisions.

Our Community Engagement Charter lays out when and how we bring this promise to life.

For more information about the City's community engagement program contact CommunityEngagement@guelph.ca.

  • When we will engage the community

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    We'll engage you as early in the process as possible on projects where there are specific matters that affect you and that you can meaningfully influence.


    We know engagement needs to happen along different timelines.

    You can expect us to invest in nurturing relationships and building capacity for participation in ongoing ways (not just when there are specific projects your input is needed on!). Doing so builds critical foundations for deeper, more meaningful engagement.

    When there are specific matters that affect you and that you can meaningfully influence, we will engage you as early in the process as possible and not after all the decisions have been made. In these situations, you can expect the City to engage you to

    • identify your needs and aspirations

    • inform the creation of new projects

    • get feedback about existing projects

    • fulfill a Council resolution or legislated requirement

    • respond to a community-led request

    The City is mindful of engagement fatigue. To address this, we will build on engagement that has already happened and do our best to coordinate engagement across City projects. We will also consider what else is happening in the community and do our best to avoid or mitigate conflicts with busy times. We’ll also give you plenty of time to respond.

    When engagement is legislated

    Certain legislation like the Municipal Act and Environmental Assessment Act set out minimum standards for when municipal governments are required to get input from the community. In the City of Guelph, we aim to create more opportunities for community engagement than those required by law, and to make them meaningful.

    When we won’t engage

    There will be certain topics we don’t ask you about, like matters of immediate public safety, when change is legislated by other levels of government, or when change simply isn’t possible.

    The City might choose not to engage if there’s little or no public interest or if we cannot engage meaningfully. Other times, we might only talk to a small group of community members who are most affected.

    When we are not able to engage with you, decision-making will be guided by our commitments to the community, and the priorities established in Guelph’s community plan and strategic plan.

    Regardless of the decision, we will communicate it to you in a timely and transparent way.

    Learn more in our Community Engagement Charter.

  • What does engagement look like?

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    We'll make it easy and inviting for people from across the community to participate by taking your needs into consideration, sharing information to connect you to the work and delivering a variety of opportunities and activities that make your engagement experience impactful and maybe a little fun.


    We nurture relationships

    Constructive, cooperative relationships between City staff, Council and the community are important. Good relationships help foster trust, create space for respectful dialogue, and allow us to hear from a diversity of voices.

    You can expect the City to make time to develop relationships with community even when there’s no specific ask or project in mind:

    • you’ll see us around Guelph at places like community events, festivals, gatherings, and meetings

    • we’ll share, celebrate, and amplify community work aligned with the Guelph’s community plan and the City of Guelph’s strategic plan

    • we’ll facilitate conversations on topics that connect with City priorities and lead to collective impacts.

    • we’ll follow up when you reach out

    We build capacity for participation

    Informed participation requires us to strengthen organizational capabilities at the City and build capacity within the community.

    Through professional development, training, and mentorship, we will continue to invest in growing and aligning City staff’s knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values related to community engagement core competencies:

    • designing and implementing inclusive and meaningful communications and community engagement

    • collecting, analyzing, and sharing community engagement data and insights

    • developing and stewarding community relationships

    • evaluating and innovating toward continuous improvement

    The City and its partners will also work in the community to nurture informed participation:

    • addressing barriers to participation

    • delivering accessible and inclusive communications that clearly identify what’s at stake, explain potential impacts and describe required changes to diverse audiences

    • informing the community about diverse civic participation opportunities

    • developing the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values required to participate meaningfully

    learn more in our Community Engagement Charter.

  • What will you do with my feedback?

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    We'll seek your feedback at a level that makes sense for the project, sometimes we will co-crate a solution together, and sometimes your feedback is a piece of the research we need to make a decision, and everything in between.


    We ensure there are meaningful opportunities to influence City decisions

    You can expect to be engaged in different ways. This may vary from project-to-project or even within a project. It will also depend on individual interest levels and the decision being made.

    To guide what’s appropriate we use the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Spectrum for Public Participation (the Spectrum).

    The Spectrum reminds us that not every project or part of a project needs the same type or depth of community engagement.

    Determining how the Spectrum applies to each aspect of a City project is done with careful consideration. Community engagement staff with technical expertise advise project managers about what is appropriate under what circumstances.

    Regardless of the approach, you can count on us to explore and experiment with approaches that drive meaningful community engagement.

    Inform

    At a minimum, and regardless of the decision being made, we will provide you with balanced and objective information to help you understand the problem, options, opportunities, and/or solutions. In these situations, we won’t be asking for feedback, but we will communicate what we are doing and why.

    Consult 

    Some points of a project have limited options, or we have specific questions we need to ask to inform the decisions. In these cases, we might ask for feedback to understand your opinion or ask you specific questions about the work of staff and experts.

    Involve

    Some parts of the decision-making process require us to make time and space for deeper conversations with you. In these situations, the City works directly with you to ensure your concerns and aspirations are consistently understood by asking you questions, answering yours and continuing the conversation until we understand each other.

    Collaborate 

    Some parts of the decision-making process involve collaborating on a path forward with community members. In these situations, we collaborate with you to frame the issue, develop options, and/or identify solutions together.

    Empower

    Sometimes you’re better positioned to make decisions at certain parts of the process. In these situations, the City supports establishing an appropriate process for you to make the decision.

    *Adapted from IAP2.

    Though the Spectrum is internationally recognized as a framework for designing and delivering community engagement, we know that no single model can meet the complexity and diversity of every project and community. We are committed to ongoing learning about the application of the Spectrum and other models that support how we meet our community engagement promise.

    Learn more in our Community Engagement Charter

Page last updated: 10 Jan 2024, 12:52 PM