NCI recently had a chat with PR expert Ben Brown about working with social media in public projects and found his following advice and insights valuable.
Ben recommends that if there is a hot political climate surrounding your plan, perhaps you should avoid starting your own project blog. Rather, do some homework to seek out [...]

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NCI is researching the use of social media for public involvement. Who is effectively using Facebook, Twitter, etc.? What are the pitfalls? Is it really a good idea to have your own project blog or, rather, should you interact with existing influential blogs the way you would a newspaper, providing them with content and letting [...]

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The topic of social media’s role in public planning processes is a hot one. NCI continues to research and present on the topic as we did at the annual Congress for the New Urbanism in June where Bill Lennertz of NCI and Ken Snyder of PlaceMatters spoke on “Hi-Tech, Hi-Touch Public Meeting Facilitation Tools for [...]

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Of all the arguments for using the charrette method, none comes into sharper focus in times like these than the bang-for-the-buck advantage. Well-planned, well-managed charrettes can save both public and private sector clients a ton of time and money. But here’s the hitch: To realize the savings, clients have to take on more responsibility in [...]

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By Ben Brown
If you’re getting bad press—or no press—for a good project, you don’t have a communication problem, you have a management problem. So engage the media the way you engage other key stakeholders.
Here’s how:
1. Do your homework. Know where locals get their news, and reach out to reporters and editors who specialize in topics [...]

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A charrette is not usually the first model that a developer has in mind when choosing a project process. Developers are often concerned that broad stakeholder inclusion may lead to a loss of project control and demands for unfeasible design solutions. This fear is often based upon their experience with collaborative processes that waste time [...]

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The first few weeks following a charrette represent a window of opportunity in which to guarantee positive momentum for the project. If weeks pass without communication between the project management team and the stakeholders, then any person or group has the opportunity to control the discussion. A lack of attention during this short time frame [...]

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The first few weeks following a charrette represent a window of opportunity in which to guarantee positive momentum for the project. If weeks pass without communication between the project management team and the stakeholders, then any one person or group has the opportunity to control the discussion. A lack of attention during this short time [...]

[Read more →]