KLA Perspectives

Communities large and small are grappling with the COVID pandemic and civil unrest related to police violence. Deep, historical inequities have been laid bare. Once again, our most marginalized neighbors are bearing the heaviest burden.

 As you contemplate future community engagement -- as part of a planning process (comp, transportation, sustainability, resilience, climate action plan, etc.), piloting a new program, or spreading the word about assistance opportunities -- equity must be at the core of your approach. Your RFP can help set that expectation and ensure you get more than checking the box style engagement. 

"Integrating Equitable Engagement Into Your RFP Process" is a cheat sheet for local governments to set clear expectations for, ask the right questions of and effectively evaluate consultants on the ability to deliver equitable community engagement.

Here at KLA, we love to show off our clients’ accomplishments. And this year we really mean SHOW off.

In 2020 we produced 9 videos (with more in the works) that showcase their climate action and resilience initiatives -- highly effective tools for community outreach. These clients – Beverly and Salem (joint Resilient Together initiative), Concord, Dedham, Devens, Watertown and Weston all in MA – are using these videos to engage people in their planning processes, launch their final plan, and encourage people to be part of the solution as the plan moves into implementation. An additional three clients – Columbia, MO, Encinitas, CA, and San Antonio, TX – have new :30 videos (optimal for social media and embedding on websites and in emails) to promote their climate and sustainability websites.

Why was video a key part of our work on these projects? As a visual species, humans find videos more engaging, more memorable, and more popular than any other type of content out there. Video is an incredibly strong tool for storytelling and information retention. In fact, viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text.

Take a look at these 9 short videos to see the power of video in action. We break down unique features and format for each along with why we took the approach we did.

In a sign of how busy we have been at KLA even before the stress of COVID, we are just now able to share with you a conversation I had in late 2019 -- seems like eons go! But, like it or not, the topic of waste reduction is just as relevant today. 

Indeed, from grappling with changes in the recycling industry to setting ambitious Zero Waste goals, local governments have to grapple with the realities of waste processing -- not to mention the increasing amount of waste we're generating -- even as they pursue waste reduction strategies. 

Which is why I'm excited for you to listen to my SAS Talk with Kim podcast with Dona Neely of the Eco Efficiency Center in Devens, MA. They run The Great Exchange which keeps about 50 tons of material out of the landfill every year while supporting local businesses, nonprofits and schools. 

New year, new face at KLA. We are thrilled to welcome Kari Hewitt to the KLA Team as Director of Client Services. She joins us from VHB after 10 years, most recently as Director of Sustainability -- and where she and I worked together. 

Kari will hit the ground running leading our work with the State of Delaware in developing their Climate Action Plan, supporting our MVP action grant clients in Massachusetts, and continuing to expand our reach throughout the country.

Many of you already know Kari and will share our excitement about adding her expertise and energy at this critical time. For those who will just now have the pleasure of working with her, I did a quick Q&A with Kari so you could hear from her in her own words. 

In the local government world, we are constantly trying to push information OUT to members of our community. A new initiative. Results from a previous initiative. A planning process. A public forum. A revamped website. Even when we’re seeking people’s feedback, we’re asking them *our* questions in a survey.  

Which is why I found my recent conversation with Rowena Alegria for KLA’s SAS Talk with Kim podcast so fascinating. Alegria has the supremely cool title of Chief Storyteller for the City and County of Denver, Colorado, and the even cooler goal to “change the history of Denver,” one story at a time. 

Her team’s approach -- the core of which is a “storytelling lab” -- has had the amazing result of turning interactions with residents into two-way conversations, the holy grail of community engagement. And these aren’t just the usual suspects. Denver’s storytelling labs have drawn a diverse array of Denverites and catalogued stories that you won’t hear at a typical public meeting. 

Concord. Devens. Dedham. Holliston. Holyoke. New Bedford. Milton. Northampton. Wakefield. Watertown. Wellesley.  Weston.  

To say we’ve been busy helping all of these clients with their Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) work is an understatement. We tap our experience working with cities of all shapes and sizes nationwide -  from Encinitas, CA, to San Antonio, TX, and West Palm Beach, FL - and bring to the table a range of innovative approaches to climate, resilience and overall sustainability with strong results for smaller Massachusetts communities.  

And with a new round of MVP funding just announced, we're ready to keep rolling. 

KLA's Summer Intern takes a look at our latest resource, a 4-step guidance document on adding "street teams" to your community engagement strategies.

By: Claire McCoy

We know that one of the most effective ways to effectively engage your community during a planning or similar process is to get out in the community. To be present at community events. To convene small get-togethers. To show up at the places where people live, work, play and commute. 

But for busy local government staff, that can be a time and resource intensive exercise. And you might not be in the best position to get honest feedback. 

That’s why a key ingredient for robust, equitable engagement is street teams. 

Given the questions about and interest in street teams on our recent Equitable Engagement webinar, we pulled together a resource on the topic. It includes:

• a detailed 4-step Recruit-Train-Coordinate-Evaluate process
• best practices for getting your municipality’s first street team up and running
• pro tips
• resources like job descriptions and contracts 

Guest post by Annie Suttle, KLA's Director of Marketing and Communications and Charlottesville, VA, resident.

Equity is a nut many cities are trying to crack, often creating new staff positions to get to the root of the problem. That includes Charlottesville, Virginia’s Youth Opportunity Coordinator, charged with outreach primarily to young African American men, who joined us for a recent episode of our Sustainability Action Series podcast. 

Equitable engagement has been a prime area of focus for KLA and our clients in recent years, as cities from Indianapolis, IN, to New Bedford, MA, have worked with us to bring to the table folks you don’t always hear from -- and often the most vulnerable and disenfranchised in our communities. 

So I took notice when my local community publication Charlottesville Tomorrow ran a piece about the city’s relatively new Youth Opportunity Coordinator, Daniel Fairley. The position and its charge seemed like a unique way to start tackling the problem in a place with a sullied reputation on this front. Let’s be honest, you hear “Charlottesville” and you probably think of it as the scene of the deadly white supremacist “Unite the Right” events of August 2017. Locals also know that just a year later the New York Times and Pro Publica ran a zinger of a story about the persistent racial divide and achievement gap in Charlottesville City Schools that led to, among other changes, a series of public forums, revamping of the gifted program, and the hiring of the first supervisor of equity and inclusion.