Extending Our Reach: Increasing Participation and Diversity in Public Engagement

A great survey allows us to incorporate important public input into our projects. However, creating a survey that only has a few participants is like throwing a party where only one person shows up. There’s a lot of effort that goes into preparing information and inviting public comment – we want everyone at the party. So how can we extend our reach and connect with not only more participants, but with participants that represent the population of our communities? In this presentation, we’re sharing examples of actions taken in projects in the Roanoke Valley Transportation Planning Organization (RVPTO) and in communities in British Columbia that have helped us increase both participant numbers and diversity.