Spreading the Word About Your Engagement Results
After conducting your public engagements, disseminating the results of those engagements provides transparency and lets the
community know you were listening. Keep in mind that community engagement – particularly with historically underserved populations – requires developing and maintaining trust. The community members need to be able to trust your court to listen and to take concrete action in response. Communicating results and any next steps back to the community helps maintain that trust-based accountability and increases the visibility of your efforts in general.
Key steps to consider in disseminating project outcomes include:
- Which audiences do you want to disseminate results to?
- What content and methods are most appropriate for your audiences?
Audiences
Identify the different audiences who may be interested or who you would like to take an interest in your engagement results.
These audiences may include:
- Engagement participants: Members of the public who joined and participated in your engagement activities
- Project partners: Organizations that worked with your court to design, plan, promote, or implement engagement activities
- The legal system: Court actors or other institutional policy makers whose work is relevant to your engagement project, or who have the ability to change or influence structures based on engagement results
- Stakeholders: Other public, private, or community-based entities who have shared interests in your engagement work
- Sponsors: Foundations or institutions that have financially supported your engagement work
- The media: News organizations that can amplify your results and messaging
- The public in general: The wider community that your court serves
Content and Methods
Deciding the what, where, when, and how of communicating results will depend on the audiences you selected, and their expectations and needs. Your court may have a diverse range of target audiences. Each audience may be best reached through different formats or mediums for communication. It is good practice to assume that your court should disseminate information about your project results in multiple different ways. Your project partners also may have ideas or resources to help you spread the word.
Potential dissemination approaches include the following:
A formal written report would typically contain a full-length description of your overall project, goals, necessary background information, methodology, and a detailed presentation of all results. A shorter executive summary may be included to summarize the main points.
An issue brief or issue summary is a short, one or two-page written document that succinctly outlines your court’s issue of interest and some key findings from engagement activities. An issue brief should be more accessible to a general audience than a formal report, and short enough so people will read the entire document.
Public Engagement Pilot Team Examples
- The Texas Office of Court Administration developed and provided a report about its engagement project to the Texas Judicial Council – a legislatively created body of judges and community representatives who make recommendations to the Legislature, Governor, and Texas Supreme Court.
- The Franklin County Municipal Court's 2019 Annual Report summarized its local public engagement efforts about its specialized dockets.
- Each of the pilot teams participated in the preparation of a report of their pilot activities and results.
A press release directed to news media outlets can help extend visibility of your project and its results to the wider community. Press releases should have an interesting “headline” and present key information that matters to the wider community. Oftentimes press releases can be incorporated directly into a newspaper or online news article. Engaging the media early on in your project may help facilitate greater coverage. It may be valuable to consider a variety of different news outlets for a press release, and not just the more established print or broadcast outlets. Newsletters of community organizations, professional bar associations, magazines, local radio programs, and online-only sources may be valuable.
Public Engagement Pilot Team Examples
- The Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court wrote a newspaper opinion piece discussing its tribal engagement initiative and other efforts to improve access to justice.
- The Nebraska Consortium of Tribal, State, and Federal Courts, issued a press release describing its engagement efforts and activities.
A video can be more attention-grabbing and emotionally engaging than print. Video is also easily shared and accessible online, and its popularity is growing. A video clip can tell the story of your engagement project in a very memorable way, highlighting actual scenes from engagement activities, interviews with participants or partners, audio narration, and text or graphical displays. While professional video production may be costly, it is also possible to use low cost or free alternatives.
Public Engagement Pilot Team Examples
Several pilot teams created videos featuring interviews with project leaders or community members about their engagement projects.
Social media posts can help spread news about your efforts to interested people in the wider community and direct them to more detailed information. Working with partners or other stakeholders to cross-promote communication efforts through social media can be fruitful, as well as easy and inexpensive.
Public Engagement Pilot Team Example
- The Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Court posted images on social media about their engagement activities with high school youth.
Look for opportunities to present your results to interested organizations and audiences in your community. Local civic organizations or schools may welcome the opportunity to hear about engagement results from court actors in person, ask questions, and extend the dialogue. Staffing a booth or display at a fair or community gathering is a great opportunity to disseminate more information about your engagement efforts on a person-to-person level.
Public Engagement Pilot Team Example
- Chief Judge Patrick Runge of the Winnebago Tribal Court discussed the work of the Nebraska Consortium of Tribal, State, and Federal Courts in an interview with the Omaha Bar Association.