April 2015 – June 2015
PDC was hired by the San Bruno Community Foundation to conduct a Community Engagement and Listening Campaign as a first step in the Foundation’s strategic planning process to determine how to effectively use the PG&E restitution funds to benefit the entire San Bruno community over the long term. This fast paced, five phase project engaged broad and diverse citizen participation to identify community needs, challenges, and visions for an enhanced quality of life for all San Bruno residents. The goals of the project were to engage the community in the planning process, educate the community about the Foundation and its activities, and gather input on community priorities and resources.
PDC worked with the Foundation Board of Directors, conducted community interviews, held focus groups and community meetings, and utilized online engagement to collect community input, and help identify community assets, needs, and priorities.
For additional project information: https://www.sbcf.org/community-listening-campaign
Category: Uncategorized
“PDC’S skillful listening and clarifying helped define the process into something custom made for the Center… people learn to listen to others when they know that they are really respected and heard… This experience stays with people and the effect has rippled through our community.”
–Diane Snow
Senior Center Director, Cupertino, California
Cupertino Community Project
“The Town of Los Gatos has retained PDC to design and implement communication plans for a variety of issues and projects. Community members, elected and appointed officials, staff, and other stakeholders have all been constructively and positively engaged in processes developed and implemented under PDC’s guidance. PDC fosters frank and honest dialogue which results in tangible products achieved through true consensus– goals, plans, strategies. Participation in PDC’s processes also has long lasting effects: consequent conversations among participants continue to be approached openly, with candor and good humor. They are truly communication experts!”
–Regina Faulkner
Community Service Director, Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos Town Council, Planning Commission, and Staff Retreats
August 2012 – Present.
MROSD contracted with PDC to advise and assist in public engagement to help inform a vision plan that will guide the agency’s goals and priority actions for next 20 years and beyond. PDC is working with MROSD in a five phase, two year process, engaging citizens across two counties to identify public priorities related to open space lands. PDC is assisting the District in the overall vision planning process, designing and facilitating meetings of a Community Advisory Committee of key stakeholders, engaging staff, and engaging a broader public through interviews, deliberative public meetings, and an online engagement platform where citizens weigh in on visions, goals and priorities.
1/13 – 1/14 The Transfomative Power of Dialogue: Festschift for Barnett Pearce in Santa Barbara, CA, during Fielding Graduate University’s doctoral session. Join colleagues and friends as the life work of Barnett Pearce is honored for its impact on our understanding of how we make social worlds.
For information and registration details visit http://transformativedialogue.eventbrite.com
11/3/10 Annual conference of the American Planning Association, California Chapter, in Carlsbad, CA. Shawn Spano and Sandra Holder of PDC conduct a workshop session titled “Citizen Engagement Toolbox”, provided participants with an overview of citizen engagement and in-depth analysis of the communication perspective. Participants learned how to use the communication perspective to design and facilitate engagement events in response to planning and land use issues and projects. Over 30 government and private planners attended the session. Several participants told Sandy and Shawn that it was the most useful and stimulating session of the conference!
For information and details about the conference visit http://www.calapa.org/2010-conference
10/29/10 The 1st NorCal regional conference for the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD). PDC directors Jennifer Mair and Janice Son join the NCDD planning team to co-create a collaborative event aimed at building working relationships between local government leaders and dialogue practitioners. PDC President Shawn Spano moderates and co-facilitates afternoon workshop sessions.
For information and details about the event visit http://ncdd.org/events/sanfrancisco.php
10/16/10 Public Engagement and Civic Maturity: A Public Dialogue Consortium Perspective is published by Kim Pearce of Pearce Associates, Founder and Board Member of PDC.
For information or to order a copy, go to: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/public-engagement-and-civic-maturity-a-public-dialogue-consortium-perspective/14305051
10/15/10 The annual Municipal Managers Association of Northern California (MMANC) conference in Cupertino, CA. Shawn Spano, Linda Blong and Sandra Holder of PDC lead a workshop titled “Civic Engagement: The Public as Partners.”
For a session description, click here: http://www.mmanc.org/2010AnnualConference/SessionDescriptions/tabid/154/Default.aspx
PDC offers a free 1-hour initial phone consultation to assess your needs and goals. Our senior consultants will work with you to construct an action plan of optional services to address the challenges at hand.
Working with the New Mexico Consensus Council, the Interstate Stream Commission, and the State Department of Environment, the PDC helped to design and facilitate a three-day summit of leaders on water-resource management in New Mexico. Over 250 people attended. During the summit meeting, participants received training in collaborative problem solving principles and then developed approaches to better manage this vital and diminishing natural resource.
The PDC worked with the New Mexico Conference of Churches to design dialogue processes for churches in the state to explore issues of land as a matter of faith. The collaboration involved statewide focus groups that were used develop a curriculum of study materials and dialogue guidelines for church coordinators, who implemented the programs in their respective churches.