{"id":22818,"date":"2019-06-11T15:44:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T15:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/temp.publicinput.com\/2019\/06\/11\/national-survey-of-municipal-planning-organizations-mpo-reveals-real-challenges-gaining-public-involvement\/"},"modified":"2019-06-11T15:44:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-11T15:44:00","slug":"national-survey-of-municipal-planning-organizations-mpo-reveals-real-challenges-gaining-public-involvement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/2019\/06\/11\/national-survey-of-municipal-planning-organizations-mpo-reveals-real-challenges-gaining-public-involvement\/","title":{"rendered":"National survey of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) reveals real challenges gaining public involvement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contact: Hunter Gardner FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Email: hunter@publicinput.com<\/p>\n

National survey of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) reveals real challenges gaining public involvement <\/strong><\/p>\n

Results also found discrepancies in perceptions between Executives and Communicators<\/em><\/p>\n

RALEIGH, NC – June 11, 2019 – A nationwide survey of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) serving metropolitan areas of 200,000 or more citizens offers new insights into how challenging it is to gain public input for important public works projects. One of the most revealing aspects of the survey was the differences in perception of the public involvement process and shared hurdles across MPOs among Communicators (Communication Directors, Public Information Officers) and Executives (Executive Directors, Senior Planners).<\/p>\n

Participants responded to a set of questions ranging from familiarity with common public mandates, reaching communities of interest (Limited English Proficiency – LEP, Environmental Justice – EJ, rural communities), and the importance of public involvement practices commonly laid out in public participations plans.<\/p>\n

Comments from MPO professionals raised concerns about \u201creaching the public that is too busy or don\u2019t think they care about our projects,\u201d as well as comment tracking, aggregation, and in-depth analysis of this public feedback, along with the ability to reach key demographics, capture meaningful input, a lack of engagement performance metrics, and the need for building \u201csustained relationships\u201d.<\/p>\n

While both Executives and Communicators felt their MPO was doing a \u201cGood\u201d or \u201cExcellent\u201d job of reaching potentially impacted communities (Executives, 76%; Communicators, 73%), Executives were much more likely to consider these efforts \u201cExcellent\u201d at 29% compared to 8% of Communicators. A nearly identical sentiment was found with rural communities, with 61% of Executives and 58% Communicators reporting \u201cGood\u201d or \u201cExcellent\u201d; however, 22% of Executives responded with \u201cExcellent\u201d compared to just 8% of Communicators.<\/p>\n

Both groups agreed that reaching LEP communities was their single biggest hurdle, with 73% of Communicators stating a \u201cNone\u201d, \u201cLow\u201d or \u201cModerate\u201d ability, and Executives reporting similarly at 61%. Environmental Justice groups were also troublesome with 49% of all survey participants reporting that their ability to efficiently identify and engage EJ communities was \u201cLow\u201d or \u201cModerate\u201d.<\/p>\n

The public involvement practices requiring the most effort, regardless of position, were:<\/p>\n