Sponsored: Community engagement – Calletatters

We have all heard the stories of the low percentages of political participation of Americans and how much we are excluded from the government. In the 2024 presidential election, tens of millions of registered voters chose not to vote. Even less, they participate in other ways, such as volunteering for campaigns and writing letters to our selected employees. But in a recent Political-cytrin in a laboratory survey in the laboratoryWe have found that 68% of California registered voters said they would want more opportunities to share their experiences and ideas with government leaders.

Read the short: California survey of problems

At the same time, many voters in California say that government policies simply do not work as they are currently designed and implemented. In fact, in the same study, we find that the majority believes that government policies themselves contribute, instead of dealing with some of our most fundamental economic challenges. Completely 82% say state policies are increasing prices and about 81% say the same about federal policies.

In order to improve government policies and programs, we need to engage more in mind in the process of assisting in solving the problems we face as a state and nation.

Outside the election, the current approach to the community’s commitment – both in California and throughout the country – is usually to ask residents to take the time from their busy days to express their opinion on public meetings and mayoralties, and then hope that the elected representatives reflect their contribution when it comes time to make decisions. This system is outdated, dysfunctional and includes only the views of those who have the time and resources to participate in the policy development process. Moreover, it is not a little guarantee of real accountability to the various perspectives, experiences and beliefs from the population of our country.

In the context of increasing political polarization, low levels of trust in the government and increasing income inequality, it is increasingly successful that daily residents have better ways to effectively participate in the future for their communities and the future of California.

It is time for the community engagement effort to make more than a checkbox just to say that it has happened. If we want true A percentage of people orientedWe need to design processes that allow us to hear the voices of people who do not have, cannot or cannot appear in mayoralties, voluntary time for civic efforts, or to contribute money for political campaigns. This is especially true when it comes to reaching low-income residents, colors of colors and young people who usually show lower levels of political engagement and civic participation.

In new research, we explore innovative examples of how the state government in California designs civil engagement, policy development and community. Emphasis on how state departments and agencies work to connect and empower communities, we emphasize a number of recent state -owned civil commitment efforts. In addition, we identify the emerging practices, tools and strategies-booting from digital participation platforms to shares-oriented models-how state organizations are trying to create more responsive and joint management.

Our state of engagement report includes cases that cover the empowerment of young people, the use of the land, the reaction of fire and tribal relations. These examples embody three criteria that are potentially key to successful engagement:

1. Inclusive -The engagement deals with barriers that prevent participation, focus on joint management and/or works to build long -term confidence and community relationships.
2. Intentionally – The commitment has a clear purpose, goals and intended results. It focuses on community -oriented approach. There are subsequent accountability of the contribution and the prospects shared by the participants.
3. Innovative – The engagement is intended to define ideas in new ways: whether by testing new instruments and methods, creating unexpected partnerships or exploring the ways to actively include the votes of those who have previously been excluded from the policy development process.

Read the Report: State of engagement
Take a look

Whether through digital democracy tools, cafes for policies, participation budgets, pop-ups, or reliable envoys, building new methods and platforms for public contribution can enable communities to share their ideas, cooperate on decisions and influence their public policies. But the most important thing is that they can help us make public policies that more effectively deal with the critical problems that shape people’s lives.

Together, the work we emphasize in our research is intended to show that the votes and experiences of the Californians matter. He demonstrates that trust in the government ultimately trusts people and that systems operate more efficiently when those who are directly affected by social problems are significantly involved in the formation of policies that affect life, families and communities.

To learn more, visit the UC Berkeley Ability Lab Community Community site