Options for Engagement

A media campaign provides education or information to the public through traditional media (e.g., newspaper, radio, television, brochures), social media, or advertising. Courts may use media campaigns to inform the public about new processes or policies.

Media campaign tools may be used as part of your larger engagement efforts by providing the means to

• let the public know about your efforts
• invite the public to participate
• provide information at your engagements
• let the public know the results of the engagements and how you are responding to issues uncovered by your engagements

Displays and exhibits are physical public displays of information. They are often available to people passing by their location and require little or no facilitation. On the other hand, an organizational representative may be present to answer questions and engage in dialogue with those who engage with the exhibit. Court exhibits can vary widely (see examples under "learn more").

For an open house, residents are invited to stop by on a set day to learn more about the institution. During open houses, organizational representatives may be present to give tours, provide information, and answer questions. Open houses are typically used in conjunction with displays and exhibits to provide opportunities for structured and unstructured learning opportunities for attendees. In addition, surveys and small group discussions can be used during open houses to provide more than one-way communication.

Surveys are questionnaires which can be self-administered on paper or via online methods or may be administered by an interviewer over the phone. Other features of surveys include:

• Surveys can solicit standardized input from a large number of persons.
• Volunteer or convenience sample surveys can be completed by anyone who has the survey instrument, and may allow more people to be heard, and help people feel heard.
• A random-sample survey can be conducted to estimate the prevalence of views in a population.
• Surveys typically include:
  • A set of standard questions that all persons are asked.
  • Both closed-ended (e.g., rating or multiple response options) questions and open-ended (text response) questions.
  • Questions that can be answered in a short period of time (e.g., less than 10 minutes).

Interviews involve meeting one-on-one with people to ask them questions about their views or gather input about a topic.

Focus groups are small group meetings during which the organizers/facilitators ask for input about a topic. Focus groups are often comprised of 8-12 participants per discussion to ensure the participants can all have a chance to share their views and hear a diversity of other views.

Focus groups are often accompanied by:

• surveys conducted before and/or after the group
• a structured set of questions and follow-up prompts to ask of each group
• a trained facilitator/interviewer to guide the discussion, administer the structured questions, make sure everyone has a chance to give input

Listening sessions are medium or large group assemblies which emphasize active and deep listening by court professionals as participants share their experiences. While similar to focus groups, these sessions may be more open ended to allow participants greater opportunity to steer the conversation to topics important to them. Some engagement practitioners recommend groups should be small to ensure everyone a chance to talk. However, others find success with larger group formats. Typically, listening sessions focus on understanding the challenges and opportunities in a situation from the perspective of those invited to attend.

Town hall meetings are often medium to large public assemblies during which organizers present information, answer questions, and sometimes gather public input about a topic. They typically include prepared information presentation and one or more moderators/facilitators who assist with keeping the discussion focused and progressing.

More recently, some varied formats for town hall meetings also use technology and social media as a means to allow more people to participate from varied locations.

During panel discussions, court professionals, subject matter experts, and/or persons with unique perspectives provide information and answer questions about a topic. Facilitated discussions often occur among the panelists while the public watches. The public often is also invited to ask questions and make comments as part of the discussion.

Citizen advisory committees or boards are typically made up of various community and organizational representatives (e.g., from governmental to public) that represent specifically targeted groups. The committee then provides input and feedback on issues and solutions via discussion with the courts. The advisory members may be appointees, nominees, or volunteers. Committee/board members can be asked to deliberate and form informed opinions about issues after receiving information.

World café processes involve breaking a large group into small groups for facilitated discussions around rotating themes. Participants gather together, are welcomed by a host and asked to follow certain ground rules during their discussions. They break into small groups of 4-5 for a brief (e.g., 20-minute) discussion of a topic. At the end of that discussion round, they leave their small group and join a different small group for discussion. Specific questions guide the discussion to help participants focus on different aspects of the chosen topic or issue. After a few rounds of small group discussion, participants gather as a large group to share or “harvest” what they discussed or learned in their small groups.

A number of engagement methods emphasize more intimate exchanges among small groups in which individuals get to know one another better as they discuss a series of questions or topics over the course of the engagement. For example, Livingroom Conversations, emphasize getting to know one another and the sharing of one’s core values prior to discussing a potentially controversial or conflict-ridden topic. By first doing introductions, and then sharing core values, participants find many areas of agreement and commonality. When they discuss the focal topic, they are primed to relate their views to their core values, and to see how core values also drive potentially opposing views. By focusing a final round of conversation on reflections and next steps, participants are encouraged to share how their views changed and actions they can personally take to address the topic or issue.

Similarly, Conversation Cafés emphasize getting to know one another in a respectful, open, informal context. A Conversation Café emphasizes first listening without comment and then then taking the conversation deeper using questions that can be adapted to any topic. Like many facilitated discussions, designers of the method recommend all participants follow certain ground rules or “agreements” for discussion such as being open-minded, sincere, accepting, and curious.

Deliberative discussions are small or large group discussion and dialogue which occur after providing background information and the chance to ask questions of experts. This method often involves use of a random sample or representative sample of the public. Often deliberative discussions aim to give diverse stakeholders a full and fair opportunity to influence a decision or outcome.

Deliberative discussions typically include:

• Briefing materials
• Baseline surveys
• Expert presentations and time for questions and answers
• Small-group discussions
• Large-group plenary discussions
• Post-event surveys

These discussions use social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter to host real-time discussions about topics. Creating such an engagement typically includes creating a webpage, social media page, and/or hashtag to bring people and content together.

In televoting, people are contacted and invited to be interviewed or surveyed about their opinions at a future date. Prior to that interview or survey, they receive information on the issue of concern and are asked to carefully consider the information and discuss it with friends, family, and neighbors. Panel discussions of the topic can be televised or otherwise broadcast prior to or on the day of the survey. By allowing people to also call in with questions, the method becomes more bidirectional. Finally, after considering the information (and televised panel discussion if relevant), the participants provide their opinions and reasoning on the survey questions.

This method typically includes:

• Interview/survey format, combined with self-guided deliberation
• Information provided ahead of the actual voting activities

It is important that the interview or survey is conducted by a person, so the respondent will feel accountable to adequately consider his or her views.