KEEPING THE FAITH: MAINTAINING COMMITTEE MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT

Thursday, October 20, 2016

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Keeping the Faith:Maintaining Committee Motivation and

Engagement

SNEA

PA 2016

Who are we?

Alison LeFlore, AICP

Jennifer Goldson, AICP, JM Goldson

Judi Barrett, RKG Associates, Inc.

Steve Sadwick, AICP

Town of Tewksbury, MA

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Best-case scenario:Tewksbury Town Center Master Plan Committee

• Long-term process created excellent foundation for committee and consultants

• Committee worked well together, with Town Staff, and consultant team

• Committee was motivated and engaged throughout

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But… that’s not always the caseMany things can go wrong!

Example Problem:Committee isn’t appointed in time

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But… that’s not always the caseMany things can go wrong!

Example Problem:Committee and client disagree on committee’s role

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But… that’s not always the caseMany things can go wrong!

Example Problem:Committee members stop showing up

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But… that’s not always the caseMany things can go wrong!

Example Problem:Members cannot agree on approach or vision

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But … that’s not always the caseMany things can go wrong!

Example problem:Committee doesn’t understand the consultant’s scope of work (or hasn’t been told)

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Setting the foundation

• Committee success begins before the committee is appointed

• Job description, expectations, level of commitment, and timeline need to be made clear to potential members

• Review/reinforce roles and expectations regularly, especially as projects enter new phases or as committees tackle new tasks

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Working with a consultant

Committee

StaffConsultant

• Expectations• Momentum• Homework• Engagement

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Consultant sets clear expectations –Who’s doing what? When?

• project stages• meetings

dates • deliverable

due dates

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Momentum is critical

• Don’t let them get bored!• Slow progress can kill

enthusiasm• Keep the momentum going

o Moderately aggressive project schedule

o Timely deliverables

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Homework for the committee

• Isn’t that what we’re paying the consultants to do? Yes, but. . .

• Homework can help keep the committee engaged and provide valuable insights o Review of deliverables

(with deadlines)o Communications/PR tasks

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Engagement 14

Give committee members a visible role in public forums

– Reinforces committee ownership of process and outcomes

Facilitate small group discussion

Staff open house station

Tip of the trade: educate

• Whenever possible, work with client to ensure the project structure matches the project goals

• Work together to answer important questionso What kind of project?o What are the expectations?o What can the project team expect of

committee members?

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Advisory or steering committee?• An advisory committee is more limited in its

role and level of engagement• A steering committee is more involved and has

greater ownership of the project

Choosing the right type of committee is important to a successful planning process.

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Recognizing problems• Keep your finger on the committee’s pulse• Notice changes, even if they seem small at first• Talk to committee members outside of meetings• Consultants, encourage your clients to foster

relationships with committees so they can help recognize problems

• Pay specific attention to meetings: are members coming regularly? Do they participate?

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Righting the ship

Ok, you’ve figured out you have a problem with committee engagement and motivation… what do

you do now?

Reflect, Communicate, Regroup, Reassess

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Reflect and communicate

• Are you seeing what you think you’re seeing?• Do others recognize the problem or feel the

change?• Talk to the project team, client, trusted

committee member to determine if the problem is real or perceived

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Regroup

• Does the committee’s role need to change? Have members’ other commitments changed?

• Use the next meeting as a check-in and review roles and project timeline and milestones

• Remind committee members of the progress they’ve made

• Change the meeting format to bring more excitement into the meetings

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Reassess

• Work with the approach and structure for awhile before reassessing

• Were members more engaged? Less engaged?• Did you correctly identify the problems?• Be flexible… many projects go through several

approaches before finding the one that’s just right for the specific project and personalities

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Regulatory board challenges

• Many members are appointed over and over, which can lead to fatigue

• Some personalities may not get along with others, but they must work together year after year

• How to break the cycle? Create breaks or times when the board “resets” itself as part of its regular pattern, work to create new excitement

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Now, where is that plan?

ImplementationStarts at the beginning of the process, not at the end!

• Committee’s first comment to the consultant:“We don’t want a plan that just sits on the shelf.”

• Plans that can be implemented don’t sit on a shelf

• Critical to assess local capacity at the outset of a planning project – and committee is an invaluable resource

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Implementation

• Work with the committee to look for “early success” opportunities

• Is there something the community can do now to address a problem?

• Inspire action . . . promote efficacy . . . build capacity

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Our volunteers• Will probably be around long after the

consultants are gone and the city/town staff have moved on to better jobs

• The plan is in their hands (so to speak)• Planners need to:

o Give committees the best available information so they can make good choices

o Recognize that education goes both wayso Identify & train volunteers – constantlyo Manage expectations

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Capacity building

• Volunteers tend to stay with planning projects when:o Their authority and responsibilities are clearo Their responsibilities are realistic o Their expectations are realistico They have a sense of efficacyo They think their work will actually mattero The committee is set up to succeed

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A public participation plan!

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Public participation plan

• Work with the committee to . . .o Identify outreach and public information /

public education taskso Media plano Identify key people and keep them in the

loopo Periodic “check-ins” with potential

opponents• Write the plan

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Task

Who’s going to do it?

And when?

Other thoughts• Thank the committee members – and thank

them often!• Mentor new committee members• Make sure chairs have what they need to lead

their committees• Reduce participation barriers• Every city and town should have a volunteer

committee handbook . . .

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• Tell us about a time when a long-term project went awry. Was the ship righted?

• What approaches have you used to establish and maintain committee engagement & motivation?

• What approaches have you used to get a committee back on track if things have gone off course?

Discussion32