Striking the Right Balance Engaging With Residents Online

Source: Route Fifty By Molly Bolan, Assistant Editor

A new survey looks at preferences around giving input to local governments virtually, versus in person. It also finds most people don’t recall ever being asked for feedback.

While online public meetings have made engaging with local government easier for some people, others still prefer in-person gatherings, according to a recent report. 

A survey, conducted by software company PublicInput, found that 29% of respondents thought in-person public testimony is one of the best ways to share input with their local governments, while only 24% said the same about speaking up during online meetings. 

For professionals and elected officials who have grown accustomed to frequent virtual meetings, it can be easy to forget that not everyone is familiar with the format, PublicInput CEO Jay Dawkins told Route Fifty. 

It’s important to remember, he added, that participants in local government meetings can include “a very broad array of people from different backgrounds and different comfort levels of tech.”

This appears to show through in the survey results. Thirty-one percent of respondents said they don’t feel comfortable joining virtual meetings, and almost an equal share said they’re not comfortable speaking publicly when they do join.

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