PublicInput.com For Local Government Organizations

Leverage software that integrates every step of public engagement

Overcoming the engagement status-quo

Local government organizations have found themselves thrust into a new era of public engagement. With dozens of new communications formats, most teams are doing more work than ever before, yet facing similar challenges:

  • Difficulty reaching beyond the same handful of people
  • Engagement efforts are siloed across teams and disconnected tools
  • Feedback is uninformed or off-topic

The natural outcome of these challenges is that:

  1. Engagement happens less often – and later in the process (when stakes are higher)
  2. Under-represented voices are mostly left out
  3. Public trust remains fragile and dependent on ‘big wins’

Sound familiar? Don’t fret, you’re not alone. And there’s good news:

Forward-thinking leaders moving past the engagement status quo.

We partner with teams like yours to apply a unified, consistent approach to engagement. By bringing together disconnect processes, tools and teams, innovative public organizations are achieving better outcomes and building public trust.

The entire public engagement process

Integrate every step of your strategy—from outreach to reporting.

All from one dashboard

Every engagement and communication channel in one interconnected software.

Powering data-driven decisions

Ensure equitable feedback, get clarity, and benchmark your progress to build momentum.

REACH BEYOND THE USUAL VOICES

The current state of public engagement empowers a handful of voices to dominate the conversation. However, government organizations are reaching underrepresented groups and building a database of engaged residents through targeted outreach and an integrated dashboard for all communication and engagement, including:

  • Email
  • Text message/SMS
  • Social media
  • Online town halls
  • Workshops and pop-up events

Automated analysis tools make it is easy to understand participant geography and demographics, and segment those groups for re-engaging during a project and for future projects.

San Diego Parks was able to identify underrepresented groups online, then hold public meetings in those areas. 

Read more: How do I get the word out? The first step of public engagement

Engage residents by meeting them where they are

Going to residents instead of expecting them to come to you lowers the barrier to participation and increases equitable engagement. When all communication and engagement channels are interconnected, you can combine your tactics to meet people where they are.

  • Engagement websites/surveys
  • Text message/SMS
  • Email
  • Live polling
  • Social media
  • Paper surveys

Instantly translate surveys, engagement pages, and social media comments to and from 100+ languages so everyone can participate in their native language and staff can quickly assess all comments.

Raleigh Parks gained national attention from an integrated engagement approach that combined online and in-person tactics

Since using PublicInput.com for public engagement, our projects have been able to reach a greater number and diversity of people than we could achieve in the past. The interface, survey design options, and integration with our official channels makes visiting project webpages seamless and easy—driving greater participation and yielding higher quality results …This mixed-methods approach helps our planners to understand the key issues and clearly communicate results to executive staff, citizen advisory boards, and elected officials.

– TJ McCourt, Planning Supervisor,
City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources

Read more:

Capture all input in one public participation database

Government practitioners are starting to realize the benefits of using a mixed mode strategy to better engage all residents for representative feedback. However, using a variety of methods for engagement creates a need to reliably capture and organize all public input in a way that makes it easy to understand without letting anything fall through the cracks. Software is now making it possible for residents to engage however they prefer – online or offline – and store all input and communication into one public participation database, building resident profiles and segments along the way.

The City of Austin was able to gather input from every city district and follow up for additional feedback in multiple engagement stages. Download the free case study:

Read more:

Leverage best-in-class data analytics and reporting

Telling a clear story and seeing the big picture only happens when you can make sense of the data in front of you. Use the built-in data analytics suite to visually understand participant responses, demographics, qualitative insights, and overall sentiment. 

Publish dynamic, easy-to-share reports for internal and external communications. Give your organization the tools to conduct data-driven planning with the peace of mind that decisions are improving the quality of life for all residents.

The City of Williamsburg used data analytics to segment input specifically from William & Mary students and improve town/gown relationships on affordable housing. Download the free case study:

Read more:

While our ferry was out of service for regular maintenance, the PublicInput.com platform was invaluable in allowing our team to share regular photos and updates of the work. PublicInput.com was an easy way to keep our residents up-to-date on the progress of the work, and let them know that their concerns were being heard and their questions were being addressed.

– Bronlea Mishler, Communications Director, Skagit County, Washington

Start Getting Better Public Engagement Outcomes

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