Draft Reference Proposal to Provide
Community Engagement and Fiscal
Sustainability Services to the
City of East Palo Alto
Submitted by The Lew Edwards Group
with FM3 Research & Public Dialogue Consortium
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November 28, 2022
City Manager Patrick Heisinger
City of East Palo Alto
2415 East University Avenue
East Palo Alto, CA 94303
Dear City Manager Heisinger:
Thank you for reaching out to The Lew Edwards Group (LEG) to invite us to consider a second collaboration with the City of East Palo Alto for its long-term community engagement and planning needs. LEG was pleased to have worked with the City in 2016 on a project designed to maintain the City’s diversity and support its fiscal sustainability. A second collaboration with LEG and its partners offers:
✓ A nationally recognized award-winning Black, woman AAPI-owned firm that reflects the diversity of California and your region, with prestigious accolades from the Pollie awards for innovative and culturally competent communications;
✓ An Opinion Research partner – considered one of the top firms in California-- for quantitative community data-gathering, who conducted successful opinion research for East Palo Alto in 2016 and has specific expertise in engaging diverse, multilingual constituencies in gathering quantitative data; ✓ A renowned nonprofit Community Outreach partner with experts who are veterans at managing inclusive discussions with key stakeholders and diverse communities on community visioning and policy issues; and ✓ A highly successful team with demonstrated success in the City of East Palo Alto and for San Mateo Countybased clients.
We so look forward to jumping in feet first!
Catherine Lew, President
The Lew Edwards Group
[email protected]
cc: [email protected]
510-594-0224 x 261w
510-332-7421m
Refresher on The Lew Edwards Group (Lead Consultant)
While The Lew Edwards Group (LEG) has represented the City of East Palo Alto previously, the following is a refresher on the firm.
LEG is an Oakland-based California corporation co-founded by partners Catherine Lew and Lloyd Edwards – we are celebrating our 25th year in service. LEG is a Black/Native American, Asian-Pacific Islander and woman-owned firm. Our organization is a nationally recognized, award-winning company in providing culturally competent communications and strategic services to California public agencies and local governments, having served hundreds of them over the past two and a half decades.
In 2016, the firm represented the City of East Palo Alto on its fiscal sustainability initiatives, leading an effort that included facilitating on-point quantitative opinion research and engaging the public around the City’s vision in a culturally competent manner.
Public agencies constitute more than two-thirds of LEG’s practice and our core team of seven professionals have served LEG’s client needs for years with expertise that includes media, social media, and Internet communication; coalition building; ballot measure and fiscal sustainability needs; and more.
Experts from LEG are sought after trainers and speakers for the League of California Cities, California Municipal Treasurers Association, California Society of Municipal Finance Officers, Local Government Commission, Institute for Local Governments, Municipal Management Association of Northern California, and others. LEG’s direct mail products have been recognized on multiple occasions in the prestigious national Pollie Awards.
LEG utilizes a multi-disciplinary public outreach format for distributing information, including online communications, paid digital advertising, USPS mailings, bilingual print and media advertising, engagement in partnership with community-based organizations serving unique constituencies, and more. On the revenue generation side of its practice, LEG has enacted approximately $42 Billion in public funding for community facilities and core services.
As the only POC-owned firm in California providing high impact revenue generation and ballot measure consulting services at this scale with a team representing California’s diversity, LEG embraces culturally competent communications and welcomes working with the City to provide translated materials and information in accessible languages. Besides the City of East Palo Alto, LEG’s other San Mateo County-based clients include:
✓ County of San Mateo Health Department
✓ City of Belmont
✓ City of Burlingame
✓ City of Daly City
✓ City of Half Moon Bay
✓ City of Millbrae
✓ City of Pacifica
✓ City of San Bruno
✓ City of San Mateo
✓ City of South San Francisco
✓ San Mateo-Foster City School District
✓ County of San Mateo
✓ Menlo Park Fire Protection District
Refresher on FM3 Research (Polling Subcontractor for Quantitative Opinion Research) As the City is aware, Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3) has been conducting public policyoriented opinion research since 1981 on issues of major economic and social concern. A California-based company, FM3 has 23 full-time employees working out of its Oakland and Los Angeles offices. FM3 is a mediumsized company that will continue to provide the attention and care the City would receive from a smaller firm, but with the capability of turning out the quick, accurate and sophisticated work you’d receive with a much larger (but less personal) firm.
Each of the research projects is led by one of FM3’s six partners, all of whom are nationally respected authorities on public opinion research. As in the past, the City will have direct access to not only the partner working on your project, but also several other key staff members with advanced degrees in public policy, research methods, and/or extensive experience working in state and local government.
Additionally, FM3 has its own in-house house data analysis and processing team, as well as graphic design resources. This allows the firm to provide rapid project turnaround and more sophisticated data analysis and presentations tailored to client needs.
In any given year, FM3 conducts more than 300 quantitative surveys, many of which are resident or local revenue measure surveys. This year in the Bay Area, FM3 has worked on projects on behalf of the Oakland Zoo, the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and the cities of Half Moon Bay, Pacifica, and Vallejo. Additionally, FM3 has completed a number of community satisfaction/issues and budget priority surveys for cities throughout California, including the Cities of Fullerton, Galt, Goleta, Ontario, and Pico Rivera.
Introducing Public Dialogue Consortium (Subcontractor for Qualitative Opinion-Gathering) The Public Dialogue Consortium (PDC) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization committed to fostering high quality communication in the public sphere. PDC has been working in the Bay Area since 1995 to bridge local governments, residents, and stakeholders using cutting edge communication techniques that move critical public issues toward resolution. PDC’s collaborative, customized approach builds relationships and creates trust, resulting in constructive public meetings, creative problem solving, and empowered decision-making processes.
The PDC’s process design and facilitation skills engage government agency personnel and diverse stakeholders in focused, outcome-oriented discussions, integrating input into the larger participatory process and goals. PDC creates effective meeting environments with careful planning and the use of facilitation strategies that attend to both work product and relational outcomes. PDC establishes and reviews ground rules that support productive communication, encourages interaction that maximizes participation and explores rather than avoids differences, and encourages participants to notice and address points of agreement and tension—all essential ingredients for
community and stakeholder-empowered engagement in a given City’s dynamic policy and communications environment.
ASSIGNED ENGAGEMENT TEAM
Assigned project personnel from LEG and FM3 are professionals who have served the City of East Palo Alto previously and have been with our respective organizations for years, providing the City with experts who have institutional knowledge of your County and community. Both of our firms also have an extensive vendor and resource network that has supported our successful projects for decades. LEG/FM3 are also looking forward to introducing the City to PDC, a wonderful partner of our team in other communities.
Catherine Lew, LEG Co-Founder and Senior Consultant – Lead Strategist Catherine Lew, Co-Founder and Principal Consultant of The Lew Edwards Group, is a premier consultant in California providing strategic planning, project management, and award-winning communications services and strategy to cities, counties, special districts, transportation, K-14 education districts, and other public agencies, private sector, and nonprofit clients.
Lew has over 30 years of experience in the communications and political arena. She is a veteran of more than 800 similar projects. In 2018, she was named by the Sacramento Bee as a California Influencer, joining selected statewide leaders in politics, policy, and government shaping the election dialogue through the Bee/McClatchy news mediums. Lew was the Lead Communications Consultant in East Palo Alto in 2016 and has represented multiple clients throughout San Mateo County, including the San Mateo County Health Department; Menlo Park Fire Protection District; the cities of Belmont, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, Half Moon Bay, Millbrae, Pacifica, San Bruno, San Mateo, South San Francisco, the San Mateo-Foster City Unified School District, and State Assemblymember Diane Papan.
Lew prides herself on her firm’s excellent service to each LEG client, diverse agencies and organizations that range dramatically in size and scope of strategic needs. She has earned a reputation as one of the State’s most effective specialists on behalf of local government.
A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and the University of San Francisco School of Law, Lew is also a member of the California State Bar, ensuring excellent team collaboration with client city attorneys to ensure that all strategies sponsored by public entities are within the bounds of legal permissibility. If retained as your Consultant, Catherine will function as Lead Strategist.
An additional LEG team-member will join Catherine in supporting the City’s efforts in 2023.
Curtis Below, FM3 Partner & Chief Operating Officer
Partner & COO Curtis Below brought his broad professional experience in the public, nonprofit and private sectors to FM3 Research in 2007. Since joining the firm, he has provided qualitative and quantitative research – and strategic advice – to government agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and candidate and ballot measure campaigns at both the state and local levels.
During the last several election cycles, Curtis conducted research contributing to the passage of a number of ballot measure campaigns, including California's Prop 1 (a $4 billion housing bond) and Prop 68 (a $4 billion park and water bond); two significant regional funding measures in the San Francisco Bay Area (a $3.5 billion BART bond measure and a nine-county “Clean & Healthy Bay” parcel tax). He has also represented the cities of Alameda, Antioch, Cotati, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Los Banos, Martinez, Milpitas, Orinda, Pittsburg, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa Rosa, Scotts Valley, Sunnyvale and Vallejo, and the counties of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Humboldt, Tuolumne, and Yuba counties among other clients.
Outside of the electoral realm, Curtis also works extensively assessing public opinion on a variety of issue areas, seeking to both understand existing perceptions and attitudes, and to develop messaging guidance that furthers awareness and inspires behavioral changes. This includes – but is not limited to – work on water conservation, environmental and open space protection, energy use and generation, public safety, education, residential waste disposal and waste reduction, public transit use, parks and recreation, and issues related to development, income, and equity.
In addition to his time at FM3, Curtis also has experience in the public sector (working for the California State Legislature and serving as the Vice-Chair of the City of Oakland's Public Ethics Commission, in the nonprofit sector (working for the Environmental Defense Fund), and the private sector (as co-founder and Vice President of Get Active Software, an Internet software and services company that provided online constituent mobilization and engagement tools for nonprofit organizations).
Education: Curtis received his bachelor’s degree in Geography/Environmental Studies from UCLA and both his Master of Public Policy and Master of Public Health from UC Berkeley.
Miranda Everitt, Vice President
Vice President Miranda Everitt has focused on her research on drug policy reform, conservation, and climate policy. Miranda also extensive experience in fiscal sustainability data research for scores of cities, counties and school and special districts throughout the country.
Miranda's research contributed to historic victories for drug policy reform across in the country in November 2020. Voters legalized marijuana for adult use in traditionally conservative states including Montana and South Dakota and approved medical marijuana in Mississippi. In Oregon, she worked to help develop Measure 109, which will allow promising psilocybin therapy to treat depression, end-of-life anxiety, and PTSD. Measure 110, which will decriminalize personal use possession of all drugs, redirecting resources to public health and treatment. Initiative 81 will make entheogens Washington, D.C.'s lowest law-enforcement priority. Since 2015, she has contributed research on campaigns to allow medical or recreational marijuana in a dozen states and helped local governments approach taxation and regulation of this new industry; her work continues to inform legislative and ballot-measure drug reform campaigns in other states.
Miranda came to FM3 with experience in communications and policy research at California Budget and Policy Center, SEIU Healthcare MN, Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute for Law and Social Policy, Justice in Aging, and the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Prior to her policy career, she worked for the Oakland Tribune, San Jose Mercury News and Toledo Free Press.
Education: Miranda holds a Master of Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley and a journalism degree from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Dr. Shawn Spano, Engagement Facilitator – Public Dialogue Consortium Dr. Shawn Spano is a Founding Member of the Public Dialogue Consortium, with over 25 years of experience designing and facilitating stakeholder meetings, training workshops, community forums, and off-site retreats with executive staff, elected officials, middle managers, commissions and boards, and local residents. Shawn is a Professor in the Communication Studies Department at San Jose State University, teaching courses and conducting research in organizational communication, small group communication and public dialogue. He has published numerous articles and chapters, including the book, Public Dialogue and Participatory Democracy. Shawn will lead and/or support the project’s qualitative data collection through on-site or virtual stakeholder and public engagement.
Jennifer Mair, Engagement Facilitator—Public Dialogue Consortium Jen Mair brings over a decade of experience providing facilitation, stakeholder and public engagement to communities and agencies working on large scale planning projects. She has extensive experience developing customized outreach and engagement plans to engage stakeholders and community members virtually and creatively, with emphasis on engaging the hard to reach. Jen specializes in collaborative strategic planning and process design, conducting situation and stakeholder assessment, as well as training and capacity building. Jen collaborates closely with clients and project teams to strengthen relationships and deploy technologies that support creative and inclusive engagement from diverse stakeholders. Jen will function as an Engagement Specialist/Facilitator to this project for qualitative data collection.
CASE STUDIES: CITIES OF MERCED & BELMONT
City of Merced
Specialists from this team have all supported long-term policy and fiscal sustainability initiatives in the Central Valley community of the City of Merced, a community with agricultural farming roots and a diverse community that includes, among others, vibrant Latinx and Hmong constituencies.
With some members of our team having worked with the City dating as far back as 2006, both quantitative and qualitative data has been essential in assessing how the community itself and its perspectives have evolved over time, along with community needs.
In our most recent collaborations since 2017, our services to this long-standing client revolved around engaging the community around issues such as:
▪ Public and community safety issues
▪ How to address deteriorating public facilities
▪ COVID impacts and how to prioritize the services of greatest need in an evolving pandemic environment ▪ How to address the twin crises of housing affordability and homelessness ▪ Whether the community was supportive of Universal Basic Income ▪ City Charter Updates
▪ The viability of a variety of approaches towards protecting core services and the City’s long-standing fiscal sustainability
To allow the City staff and Council to make informed decisions on policy matters, our scope of services in 2022 included:
✓ Updating the City’s quantitative opinion research through a phone/online survey conducted by FM3 Research
✓ Facilitating and compiling perspectives from six on-site multilingual qualitative focus group input sessions to identify additional stakeholder, community, and key influential input ✓ Communicating results of this input and informing the public of the City’s fiscal sustainability vision City Manager Stephanie Dietz can speak to this project:
City of Merced
Stephanie Dietz
City Manager
1-209-388-8670
[email protected]
Long-term LEG/FM3 client with strong community-based engagement approaches and quantitative/qualitative data collection to inform policy development and long-term fiscal sustainability initiatives.
City of Belmont
Closer to home, your in-County neighbor, the City of Belmont has been represented by LEG for the better part of 20 years on a variety of policy initiatives to maintain and improve local quality of life in the areas of fire safety, library services, and fixing deteriorating streets and roads. Transformation of the City’s outdated community center, the potential siting of Stanford University within city limits, addressing ongoing traffic snarls and updating the City’s outdated business tax structure are just some of the many policy initiatives still on the horizon.
Over the past year, LEG developed an amazing community engagement program called “Your Voice, Your Belmont” which the City adopted for its overall branding and communications over a range of issues and platforms. Over the past year, 1,000 residents have been engaged in a visioning process for the City through quantitative and qualitative data gathering, a remarkable achievement in a City that size.
City Manager Afshin Oskoui can speak to this project.
City of Belmont
Afshin Oskoui
City Manager
1-650-595-7408
[email protected]
Long-term LEG client with strong community-based engagement approaches and quantitative/qualitative data collection to inform policy development and long-term fiscal sustainability initiatives.
RECOMMENDED APPROACH
Our team’s services can be summarized as follows:
1. Provide Lead Project Coordination with all assigned City staff and project professionals
2. Update and interpret quantitative Public Opinion Research/data collection
3. Engage stakeholders and the community around their priorities and needs through qualitative data collection
4. Recommend how both qualitative and quantitative data should be considered by the City for this project
5. Develop Strategic Plan, recommend ongoing Communications/Engagement throughout the process Lead Project Services
LEG continues to pride itself on a supportive, team building approach with consistently scheduled planning sessions. With the input of all participants, LEG will develop meeting agendas and facilitate sessions to support the timely deployment of key project activities.
Specifically, LEG’s effective project management is based on the firm’s embrace of an integrated, multidisciplinary professional approach. The following are the core issues and agenda topics typically covered in a LEGled launch:
▪ Overall project timeline and how our respective disciplines should be coordinated on the City’s behalf ▪ Current City demographics and community dynamics
▪ Current public views and priorities in light of a fluid post-pandemic and environment of economic uncertainty
▪ The effective use quantitative and qualitative data collection The high-level Lead Consulting services LEG provided to the City in 2016 included:
✓ Serving as the Lead Communications Consultant to help navigate dynamic, evolving project needs and supporting City staff and other professionals in achieving a well-coordinated effort ✓ Collaborating closely with FM3 on quantitative public opinion data collection, independently analyzing results, and providing Strategic Recommendations and Plan ✓ Continuously updating and refining a Project Timeline, Activities, and Budget ✓ Recommending a public education program to inform the public of the City’s vision ✓ Training/re-training city staff on informational outreach message delivery ✓ Developing earned media/web-based strategy and content for informational collaterals ✓ Adding value to City materials
LEG approaches its partnership and Lead Consultant role with personal dedication, enthusiasm, and a commitment to excellent service, recognizing that our ultimate consumer is not only the City of East Palo Alto, but most importantly, the constituents and stakeholders the City represents.
Getting Started
As we’ve discussed, LEG recommends that opinion research to collect quantitative data on East Palo Alto residents’ current attitudes and needs be conducted as the first step in our collaboration.
Over the course of 2022 and 2024, LEG/FM3 recommend that the City of East Palo Alto conduct two quantitative data surveys – first a 2022 community survey to assess current resident opinions and priorities, and then a voter survey in 2024 to test the feasibility of potential revenue and policy initiatives.
As shown in Figure 1, FM3 will approach conducting these surveys in three phases, which is described in more detail in the following sections.
Research Design
For each survey, the sample will reflect both the demographic characteristics of East Palo Alto’s population as well asits geographic distribution. The City’s adult resident population is 22,646, with 8,734 of those being likely November 2024 voters. Typically, FM3 would aim to complete 400 interviews for a city-wide quantitative survey; given the number of residents and voters within East Palo Alto, however, it is more reasonable to expect approximately 300 completes (using our standard contact and data collection methods).
FM3 recommends utilizing three or four different contact methods to reach potential respondents (telephone calls, emails, and text messages for the voter survey and telephone call, email, text messages, and postcards for the resident survey) and two different data collection modes for both surveys (telephone and online interviews).
One of the benefits of working with FM3 is that the firm has been conducting similar kinds of survey research for decades (including in East Palo Alto), enabling us to come to this project with many recommendations on how to potentially structure the quantitative survey questionnaire and what specific questions to include. In addition to behavioral, attitudinal, and situational questions, the survey will ask a variety of relevant demographic questions such as race/ethnicity, age, educational attainment, family type (does the respondent have children, and if so, what age(s) and do they live with them), household income, and homeownership status (homeowner/renter), among others.
Survey Languages
Given the City’s large overall Latino population, as well as the large population of Latinos who are likely to vote in the November 2024 election, the research specifications align with the City’s desire to conduct interviews in Spanish (see Figure 2). FM3 is also potentially available to conduct interviews in Tongan, if the City desires this option. For reference, please see Figure 2 for an estimation of how many interviews (based on the City’s overall Tongan population as well as the number of likely Tongan voters in November 2024) we expect to complete among Latino and Tongans respondents, some portion of which will be in Spanish and Tongan, respectively.
Phase 1
DATA RESEARCH DESIGN
Phase 2
DATA COLLECTION
Phase 3
DATA ANALYSIS & REPORTING
Figure 1: Research Phases
Figure 2: Estimated Number of Completed Latino and Tongan Interviews Ethnic
Background
% of Total Adult
Population
Projected # of
Interviews (Resident
Survey)
% of Nov. 2024
Voter Population
Number of Interviews
(Voter Survey)
Latino 52% - 56% N=400: 208-224 30% - 34% N=400: 128
Tongan 5%-7% N=400: 20-28 3% - 5% N=400: 12-20
Data Collection
Based upon the final sample specifications, FM3 will set a target number of interviews to be completed online. To mitigate against potential data collection mode bias, FM3 currently recommends a relatively even balance of online and telephone completes. For the resident survey, a random sample of residential addresses will be selected and matched to public and commercial databases for contact information. For each address, we will have at least a mailing address, phone number and/or email address, allowing FM3 to contact potential respondents via email, text, or phone call—and for homes without such contact information—a postcard with a link to the online survey. For the voter survey, likely voters will be taken from the voter file—which contains phone numbers and email addresses—and contacted in a similar manner (with the exception of no postcards).
Throughout the data collection phase, researchers and statistical analysts assigned to your project will review responses daily to ensure data and sample integrity and that survey questions are "working." If necessary, FM3 will bring to your attention any questions that appear to be generating confused responses and suggest potential questionnaire modifications to address those issues.
Data Analysis
Within two days after interviewing has been completed, the topline survey results will be generated and FM3's initial analysis will begin. These results will show the overall percentage of respondents that chose each answer option for all survey questions. The final result will be a comprehensive set of cross-tabulated results that include a table for each question or demographic variable in the survey, with a series of up to 180 columns indicating how various subgroups of residents responded to that question. The cross-tabulated results will make it possible to detect how responses differ, if at all, among various subsets of the sample. For example, it will be possible to compare answers provided by men and women; residents of various age categories, income levels, and ethnicities; homeowners and renters; parents and non-parents; residents living in different communities; and many other subgroups.
Reporting Deliverables
FM3 will generate a summary of the key survey results in a PowerPoint presentation, including demographic breakouts and summaries of key findings and recommendations. These results are typically presented in draft format to the client team and then further refined based upon feedback from that group. A version of this presentation will also be developed in a format suitable for FM3 to present in a public forum or through a webbased release.
Finally, after FM3’s final deliverables have been completed, Team FM3 remains available to answer follow-up questions and present results to additional key stakeholders. We view the responses to the survey/s as an ongoing data resource; if needed, FM3 can conduct further analysis to provide answers to any follow-up questions that may arise.
Proposed Research Specifications and Estimated Costs
Methodology Dual-mode resident survey
Dual-mode voter survey
Data Collection
Mode
Telephone and online/mobile interviews
Respondent
Contact Method
Telephone calls, email invitations, and text invitations (and postcards for the resident survey)
Population &
Sample
Resident survey: 400 adult residents are recommended
Voter survey: 400 likely November 2024 are recommended
Margin of
Sampling Error*
±4.9% for a sample of 400 interviews
*At the 95% confidence level (i.e., in 95 out of 100 cases) Public Engagement and Qualitative Data Collection
Following assessment of the City’s updated quantitative opinion research, as noted in the preceding section LEG will develop a Recommended Community Outreach/Visioning approach and plan. As we’ve preliminarily discussed, the baseline resident study should be viewed as only the first step in the community outreach process, one that can be built on through different modules of engagement, including qualitative data collection. ❖ The City’s routine budget process is an opportunity to collect qualitative data input from the community.
LEG has tremendous success working with its agencies to transform what would otherwise be a somewhat dry and technical financial process into something more dynamic. Everyone wants to share their perspectives on what their needs and priorities are! Let’s capture some of that energy and the needs of the community.
❖ LEG would work with the City to develop messages to effectively solicit qualitative data input, respond to questions from, and inform/engage the public and the City’s diverse constituencies on their vision for the future, including the City’s ideas.
❖ LEG would provide structure and effective communications outreach content to educate the public and business stakeholders about the needs, the City’s Fiscal Sustainability vision, and the City services your team wants maintained, restored, or enhanced.
❖ LEG encourages use of all available vehicles, including stakeholder and community meetings, direct mail, and social and digital media/Internet-based communications platforms to inform and engage the public to add layers of qualitative data input to the first resident survey.
Message and Communications Toolkit Development
Our project collaboration will have the goal of informing the public and raising awareness of the City’s current quality of life vision, safety, and fiscal sustainability needs. The first resident study will give us a clear sense of the current interests and needs of the public, which will allow our team to more effectively frame and focus the additional layers of outreach using “two-way,” collaborative dialogue with your public and stakeholders.
Stakeholder Engagement/Qualitative Community Focus Groups PDC will lead efforts to collect qualitative data from the community. ✓ Attend selected planning meetings with consultant and City staff team. ✓ Develop process design as well as meeting goals, materials, and agendas to elicit community input in the form of qualitative input – which builds on the quantitative data. ✓ Translate meeting materials and offer interpretation as needed.
PDC is prepared to conduct up to three stakeholder focus groups (in person or virtual) with East Palo Alto community groups, organizations, and individuals. Please note that the recommended formats are not “open Town Halls” but are more carefully calibrated to ensure a balance of perspectives and quality engagement from each participant.
Other Public Education Program Elements: Direct Mail/Social Media/Digital Media LEG continues to recommend a multi-faceted communications plan that will allow the City to raise awareness of city needs beyond stakeholders and key influentials, to a broader public. As in the past, your City website, social media, and a broader Speakers’ Bureau program (whether online or in-person) will all be utilized.
Since 2016, LEG clients have expanded their digital media reach and communications. Since the advent of COVID, more people are getting their information online. LEG advises the City to utilize paid digital as part of your engagement/communications toolkit. Please note this is different from boosting social media posts but is messaging that follows your target audience to the online sites they visit.
Supporting Media Response and Maximizing Media Opportunities LEG will review earned (non-paid) media press opportunities with the City PIO. Balanced press coverage will build additional community and stakeholder engagement. While LEG does not function as a spokesperson, our team can support the City’s communications efforts by developing additional collaterals such as project-related press releases, media backgrounders, talking and rapid response needs, as necessary.
THUMBNAIL OVERVIEW OF RECOMMENDED 2023 PROJECT ACTIVITIES January: Launch Project, determine project goals
Develop Quantitative Resident Survey questionnaire
February: Conduct Quantitative Resident Survey
March: Complete Quantitative Resident Survey, conduct data analysis Update City Council
Develop Visioning/Engagement Approach, Timeline/Plan
Add key events into Timeline: Budget adoption process, State of the City, National Night Out, more
Update Opinion Leader Database
Develop engagement web copy for City website
Spring: Launch 2023 Qualitative Community Visioning/Engagement Use qualitative data/community input to add value to budget process Issue Interactive Mailing #1 to solicit qualitative input/data Conduct two stakeholder/community outreach focus group sessions Include engagement/qualitative data findings in staff budget presentation to Council Conduct business/merchant outreach
Issue Opinion Leader Update #1
Summer 2023: Adopt Budget
Issue Community Update Mailing #2
Issue Opinion Leader Update #2
Develop Community Outreach presentation
Launch community outreach presentations
Fall/Winter 2023: Conduct parent outreach
Conduct 3rd community outreach focus group
Issue Opinion Leader Letter #3
Evaluate 2023 activities
Develop/refine plan for 2024
Develop Voter Survey Questionnaire
CALENDAR YEAR 2023 COST PROPOSAL
LEG recommends a two year sequencing of fees and activities as follows.
LEG Professional Consulting Fees NTE $6,000/month = NTE $72,000 • 12-month term January – December 2023
• Rate constitutes a discounted rate to LEG’s 2023 rate of $6,500/month
• As the City may recall, without exception and consistent with previous collaborations LEG does not invoice or track work on an hourly or time and materials basis.
FM3 Resident Survey NTE $37,000
• Survey of residents in the City of East Palo Alto. Approximately 20 minutes, up to 400 dual-mode interviews conducted in English, Spanish and Tongan over the phone (online is English only). • These costs assume the City can provide FM3 with a list of residential addresses in East Palo Alto with unit numbers for multiunit buildings.
Public Dialogue Consortium Meeting Facilitation/Engagement NTE $20,000 • To participate in selected planning sessions, assist in outreach, conduct process design, and facilitate up to three qualitative focus groups, and document/report on engagement outcomes. • Estimates approximately 70 hours at PDC professional hourly rates of $200-$300 and translation.
Invoices will reflect hourly billing for this line item.
Direct Mail Production NTE $20,000
• Two all resident mailings are recommended: one perfed interactive, one 11x17 book fold (householded) inclusive of graphic design, printing, mailing and data costs. Any preceding mailer needs to be fully paid for prior to initiation of the subsequent mailing/s.
Projected total for 2022-2023: NTE $149,000*
*Use of the City’s translation services for materials is presumed and are not budgeted for in this proposal.
In closing, the team of LEG-FM3-PDC thanks the City for its consideration of a continued successful collaboration into 2023. Can’t wait to get started on this critical work!
APPENDIX ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES
REPRESENTATIVE WORK SAMPLES
Selected City of East Palo Alto Quantitative Data Slides 2016 (Our team would “track” some of these data findings in any 2023 research project)
City of East Palo Alto Qualitative Data Mail Survey 2016
City of East Palo Alto Report-Back and Community Engagement Materials (2016) 2016 Influencers Informational Presentation Sample
(Selected samples from other cities on the following pages)
Selected City of Merced Quantitative and Qualitative Community Data-Gathering C N T NT N T N T P C T N C T C E 2 4 10
11 27
22 15
31 5
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don t know
Total
upport
49 Total
ppose
4 ome people have proposed providing monthly guaranteed cash payments of up to per month to single parents and emancipated foster youth in erced paid for by the state. o you generally support or oppose this idea
12 here have been no ne a ordable housing units built in erced since . n order to address erced s a ordable housing shortage and overall housing a ordability crisis people have proposed a number of policies. ne of these policies involves crea ng a regional a ordable housing trust fund using state and federal dollars hich ould be used to construct a ordable housing in erced and neighboring communi es. o you generally support or oppose the idea of an a ordable housing trust fund 45 2
7 16
4 Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don t know
Total
upport
3 Total
ppose
22 13
45 21
12 1
4 Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don t know
Total
upport
Total
ppose
30 ome people have proposed the City of erced provide a one me ha ard payment of for essen al or ers during the coronavirus pandemic. o you generally support or oppose this idea