People Powered Policy
by Amy Wilson, with support from Mariah Lichtenstern
City governments often struggle to obtain real-time feedback from their constituents on impending policy decisions. At the same time, constituents from disenfranchised communities often struggle to get the attention of elected officials to drive policy change. People Powered Policy (P3) is a website and strategy that encourages two-way communication between city governments and their constituents. Communities will have a place to share stories, thoughts, and questions about topics they care about, and the platform gives them a direct line to city staff. The platform also allows city officials to solicit input on policy questions and create feedback loops throughout the policymaking process. P3 is being piloted with the City of Oakland, and the project team hopes the model can scale across city governments.
Click below to view various resources for navigating communication in local government including a policy brief, an infographic detailing how to add an item to a city council agenda, and a website with user-friendly forms tailored to agenda-setting and information requests.
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