Challenge

How can we help communities express their priorities to encourage government response?

Background

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) came to us with the goal to help them increase the life expectancy of the people of Georgia by better prioritizing and understanding unique community needs.

There had been a series of focus groups across various counties of metropolitan Atlanta. During these meetings, members of the community had been tasked with sharing their top needs and ideas for community improvement. There persisted a need to understand which of these was most pressing and impactful to the community, which became the lens for the project.

Project

The project proceeded in three phases. Phase I encompassed the recruitment of partner organizations and the creation of a roadmap. Understanding that meeting community needs expressed by residents would require a coalition, we set about helping ARC put this process in motion. We developed definitions of “community champion”, identified possible coalition partners, and created community event descriptions for recruitment. We also drafted a roadmap to guide the process during and after our involvement as an organization.

In Phase II, the focus was on designing a voting tool to help communities express their needs at local public events. We designed a modular, customizable voting tool at our studio in downtown Atlanta and gave each community their own (along with a manual for future use and care).

In Phase III, we participated in various community events in and around the Atlanta area. Our team at OSB trained ARC team members on how to use the voting tool and worked alongside them to collect community votes during these events.

Final Deliverables

Community Voting Tool: ARC received a version of the voting tool complete with instructions for future use.

Roadmap: OSB provided ARC with a roadmap they could follow to continue the project after our time on it. Additionally, they received suggestions for the future development of the project and potential pitfalls they may encounter while scaling.

OSB Insights

Deliverables can provide value long after the project formally ends. Provided they are designed intentionally, deliverables should be designed to provide ongoing value. To do that, however, our team has to be able to firmly and clearly set expectations about our projects. This allows us to understand the places we can add value beyond project deliverables.
Handoff plans are key. Having plans for implementation and monitoring is vital to long-term sustainability in the public sector. One way to do this is through handoff plans. These are detailed lists of tasks and deadlines that need to be completed to transfer responsibility for a particular project from one team to another. They help to ensure a smooth transition and provide clarity and structure to the handoff process. Particularly when implementation and evaluation will take place under the direction of an external partner or on an extended time frame, implementation plans are crucial to ensuring the long-term viability and sustainability of projects.

Takeaways for your organization

Everything we do here at OSB is rooted in exchange of value. What is the actionable next step to move forward? For this, anytime you ask a stakeholder for advice, information, etc., you owe them feedback and transparency on their data was utilized. Especially in community-based settings, this is vital for gaining and reciprocating trust and is fundamental to future partnerships.