Mesa Public Schools (MPS) has partnered with the National Civic League to embark on the Democracy Innovations for Better Public Meetings project. The goal of the partnership is to generate ideas and solutions to improve the public meeting experience. The League chose Mesa Public Schools as one of three pilot civic organizations to generate ideas and solutions for best practices in public meetings. MPS is the only school district represented in the pilot.
The project will launch at the Nov. 14 MPS Governing Board meeting. Meeting attendees, both in-person and virtual, can share feedback through the Civic Engagement Scorecard. This tool features a rating system for community members who are participating to provide feedback on the civic health of public meetings. The online scorecard will be available during the Nov. 14, Nov. 28, and Dec. 12 Governing Board meetings. Information gathered will be used to guide improvements.
Better public meetings are possible, sustainable and measurable. By creating a localized strategy, MPS will work with the League to design an inclusive and collaborative formal process with the public. There are two main components of the project’s research design:
Civic Engagement Scorecard: This tool features a rating system for community members who are participating to provide feedback on the civic health of public meetings. The online scorecard will be available during all Governing Board meetings beginning Nov. 14 through Dec. 12, 2023. Community members are encouraged to provide feedback based on their experiences at these meetings.
Interviews with Community members: This feedback mechanism consists of interviews with community members involved in various capacities with public meetings, including local leaders and members of non-profit organizations.
Based on the collective findings, the League will make recommendations to Mesa Public Schools about innovations to try at Governing Board meetings. There will be opportunities in early 2024 for the public to provide feedback on these recommendations.
About the National Civic League
The League advances inclusive civic engagement through our community assistance programs, including tools, trainings and facilitation services, our award and recognition programs, and nationally recognized research and publications. We promote efforts that seek to listen to, and to learn from residents in ongoing conversations and leverage those insights to help reshape communities so they will thrive.
The project is being funded by the AAA-ICDR Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization established to fund projects that promote conflict resolution and prevention in communities across the country and around the world.