Letter to the Editor – Engagement, transparency, facilitation urged for Commons

Dear Editor,

The measure of a community engagement process is the degree to which it produces quality data and builds community.

A high-quality community engagement process:

• Begins at the beginning. It starts with discovering and understanding who and what we are as a community, then explores who and what we want to become and, finally, what we need to do to get there—exploring identity, needs, hopes and dreams before considering strategies and solutions.
• Includes everyone. A project that has the potential to significantly alter the future of the whole community should be envisioned by the whole community. Therefore, the community engagement process involves homeowners, renters, employers, employees, veterans and visitors. Every voice is actively sought out, valued and incorporated into a vision and plan—tapping into the deep well of knowledge, experience and creativity that exists within the community. It’s open to any idea, any perspective, any suggestion from anyone. All are received and considered without prejudgment, unleashing the collaboration and buy-in we need to create the kind of future we want.
• Includes everything. It’s comprehensive and examines every aspect of the community —businesses, organizations, neighborhoods, traditions, resources, infrastructure, history, geography, etc. — and creates a vision that integrates these into a coordinated plan. A comprehensive examination of the entire community is particularly important to the success of the YES (Yountville Elementary School) project because housing is just one aspect of affordability. Creating “affordable” housing without addressing other aspects of affordability is unlikely to lead people for whom affordability is a priority to move into Yountville. Every aspect of affordability must be examined to create an “affordable” place to live.
• Practices uncompromising transparency. Every meeting, event and decision is transparent. All information is accessible to everyone.
• Builds community by enhancing communication, forging relationships, generating trust.
• Is designed and managed by a professional facilitator. Only a professional facilitator can provide the level of expertise and objectivity demanded by a project of this scale.

High-quality engagement processes have been used for decades by businesses, organizations, and communities. They are well researched, documented, and proven. No need to reinvent the wheel. Just hire an excellent facilitator experienced in one of these processes and let them do their job.

Will Hays
Yountville

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