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1 Community & Economic Development Department
Inclusiveness, Community Engagement and
Governmental Processes Committee
December 7, 2022
CITYWIDE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
POLICY AND TOOLKIT UPDATE
RiversideCA.gov
2 BACKGROUND
1. The Envision Riverside 2025 Strategic
Plan, 2025 General Plan and State law
(CEQA) include public participation in
the decision-making process.
2. Community engagement helps preserve
Public Trust and is a key cross cutting
thread of the 2025 Strategic Plan.
3. The City has no formal or consistent
Community Engagement Policy in place
today.
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3 BACKGROUND CONTINUED
4. On August 5, 2020, this Committee directed staff to:
a. Initiate a citywide community engagement framework;
b. Provide input on elements to consider;
c. Engage the community to seek input; and
d. Return with a draft framework for Committee input prior to finalizing a citywide policy for City Council
consideration.
5. On February 20, 2021 , after significant research and development, an initial rough framework is discussed
through a “Community Engagement 101” virtual workshop
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4 BACKGROUND CONTINUED
6. Thereafter, from March 2021 through June 2021:
a. Staff hosted 5 additional virtual workshops to seek input; b. Workshops focused on “What, How and Why’s of Community Engagement;
c. Best practices were identified through discussion, research, and review of other municipal policies within the region and state; and
d. 23 community members and 12 City team members participated to construct a draft Communi ty Engagement Policy (CEP) framework.
7. In July 2021, a revised version of the CEP was distributed and shared with internal stakeholders within the City organization for further input and refinement.
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5 POLICY AND TOOLKIT
1. April 2022 - Draft CEP is
finalized
2. Soft Launch Occurs- Five
Internal Partners
3. Modifications to
engagement approaches
4. Next Steps – Full
Implementation
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6 WHAT IS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT?
• When the community is and feels a part of
a process.
• A collaborative process that connects
City Staff with the community in a mutually
b e n e f i c i a lw a yb yt h es h a r i n go fn e w
ideas, skills, knowledge, expertise, and
experience.
• The range of opportunities for public
involvement in the decision-making
process, relationship building, and
community strengthening.
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7 POLICY INGREDIENTS
CEP Includes:
a. What is Community Engagement?
b. Vision and Commitment
c. Why, Who, When and How we Engage
d. Roles and Responsibilities
e. Ties to 2025 Strategic Plan
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8 TOOLKIT
What is the Community Engagement Toolkit?
a. Getting Started
b. Stakeholders
c. Tools & Resources
d. Successful Facilitation
e. Appendices & Worksheets
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9 TOOLKIT CONTINUED
The Community Engagement Toolkit utilizes Policy framework and acts as a resource for City Departments and community members. Because these documents work together, the Citywide Community Engagement Policy should be reviewed before working through the Community Engagement Toolkit.
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10 OUTREACH SOFT LAUNCH
Examples of “Soft Launch” Outreach Workshops:
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11 NEXT STEPS
Next steps to implement the CEP
and Toolkit:
a. Receive feedback from this
Committee;
b. Update documents based on
recommendations as needed; and
c. Return to Committee or proceed to
City Council for consideration and
implementation
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12 STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
Strategic Priority 2 – Community Well-Being (Goal 2.4 - Support programs and innovations that enhance community safety, encourage neighborhood engagement, and build public trust)
Strategic Priority 5 – High Performing Government (Goal 5.3 - Enhance communication and collaboration with community members to improve transparency, build public trust, and encourage shared decision-making) Cross-Cutting Threads
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13 RECOMMENDATION
That the Inclusiveness, Community Engagement,
and Governmental Processes Committee:
1. Receive an update on the Citywide Community
Engagement Policy and Toolkit; and
2. Provide direction to staff on the next step for
adoption and citywide implementation.
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