This session will highlight creative methods for engaging diverse groups of residents so that everyone can have a say in the future of their community. Hear how towns have used the Orton Family Foundation Community Heart & Soul™ method to involve new voices, and through the process, created plans that both endure and thrive. Mike Bestor, City Manager (retired), City of Golden, CO Caitlyn Davison, Associate of Programs and Communications, Orton Family Foundation, Shelburne, VT Patricia Hart, Vice President, Evaluation, Market Decisions Research, Portland, ME Kat McQuade, Director of Marketing and Communications, Orton Family Foundation, Shelburne, VT

1. Empowering communities to
shape their futures
while upholding their unique
character.
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

2. Kat McQuade
Director of Marketing & Communications
Orton Family Foundation
Mike Bestor
Retired City Manager
City of Golden, Colorado
Pat Hart
City Councilor
City of Gardiner, Maine
Caitlyn Davison
Associate of Programs and Communications
Orton Family Foundation
Presenters
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

3. Share with your neighbor
a time when you had a
positive experience
engaging in your
community as a citizen.
5 min
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

4. Rediscover what’s special about where you live
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

5. People feel united, not divided
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

6. Towns have clear direction
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

7. Towns completed
Foundations
Currently in process
Active interest in
Community Heart & Soul
Applied Community Heart & Soul
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

8. Increased civic participation
Greater sense of place
Increased trust and
relationships built across
historic divides
New leaders and alliances
Remarkable results with Community Heart & Soul
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

9. Engagement is the meaningful involvement
of individual citizens in policy or program
development, from agenda-setting and
planning to decision-making,
implementation and review. It requires two-
way communication that is interactive and
iterative with an aim to share decision-
making power and responsibility for those
decisions.
Source: Canadian Institutes of Health Research
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

10. Thick or Thin
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

11. Storysharing
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

12. Data
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

13. ENGAGEMENT
GOAL
FRAMING
QUESTIONS
ENGAGEMENT
METHODS
OUTPUTS
Understand existing
conditions and
perceptions
How are we doing? What
is happening in our
community?
Summary of issues,
trends, and conditions.
Develop community
recommendations
What is our vision? What
should we be doing that
we are not doing? What
are we doing that is
working?
Draft recommendations.
Evaluate
recommendations
Given limited resources,
what are the most
important
recommendations that
can be done in the short-
midterm?
Prioritized list of
strategies and an Action
Plan.
Engagement Strategy
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

14. Make connections through interviews
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

15. Keep it simple
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

16. Make engagement activities fun!
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

17. Know your audience
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

18. Use their language
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

19. Use technology
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

20. Create an idea wall
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

21. Draw on nostalgia
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

22. Host block parties
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

23. Involve creative people
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

24. Offer multiple channels for engagement
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

25. Brainstorm one way to get
input on your town’s
future.
Come up with a creative
way to share your idea.
15 min
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation

26. Thank you for joining us
as we come together to build
successful futures for small cities and
towns across America.
NADO Conference Session
Creative Engagement Methods
Copyright 2016 Orton Family Foundation