The Center for Public Service at Portland State University’s Hatfield School of Government has awarded its inaugural Oregon Innovation Award to Metro to help develop a new inclusive public engagement model.
The award provides Metro’s Planning and Development Communications work team and 1000 Friends of Oregon with 1,000 hours from an Oregon Fellow to improve how Metro works with community-based organizations over the long term, and explore better ways to measure the effectiveness of the agency's public engagement.
The model is designed to be co-created with community leaders and be replicable by other public and nonprofit organizations.
The new model, being co-created by Metro senior public affairs specialist Peggy Morell and Sam Diaz of land use advocacy nonprofit 1000 Friends of Oregon, aims to improve Metro’s public engagement approach by focusing on how to reach communities in the region who historically have not been adequately represented in the decision-making process.
“The leadership and experience of the Center for Public Service can help us craft a more inclusive style of community engagement that builds on recommendations we’ve received from past engagement efforts,” Morell said, explaining the inspiration for the new model.
Most importantly, the entire model is designed to be co-created with community leaders and be replicable by other public and nonprofit organizations.
“Community participation has long been an integral part of Oregon land use decision-making,” said 1000 Friends executive director Jason Miner. “This award is about inspiring a new generation to get involved, and reinvigorating that tradition with new ideas and innovations.”
In an email, Professor Marcus Ingle praised the way Metro's application "closely aligned with the Oregon Innovation Award's 'leave a lasting governance legacy' aspirations and 'core values of inclusive democratic process to build trust in our public institutions. In addition, they articulated a clear approach for 'co-production' of the breakthrough innovation."
The award, announced at an April 18 gala, was created by the Center for Public Service to “enhance the practice and culture of breakthrough innovation in Oregon’s public sector institutions and organizations.” The gala also marked the 40th anniversary for the center, which has been housed at Portland State University since 1996.
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