Q&A
CORE's online engagement and community input methods
1:47:19
ยท
6 min
Linda Tigani explains CORE's online engagement strategies, including surveys and feedback forms. She discusses the response rates, challenges faced, and insights gained from this digital outreach.
- CORE offered online surveys in 12 languages, with additional translations available upon request
- Over 535 responses were received through the online survey
- The organization shared the survey link across social media and in email communications
- Feedback indicated a need to simplify language in community equity priorities
- Respondents provided specific suggestions for priority wording and agency operations
- Input ranged from broad issues like reparations to specific agency operational concerns
Nantasha M. Williams
1:47:19
Thank you.
1:47:21
CORE allowed individuals and organizations to submit input online via CORE's website.
1:47:26
Could you provide us with more information on the input received in this manner?
1:47:30
Would you say received more public engagement on these topics or do you believe this option has allowed you to reach a wider audience?
1:47:41
Could you share how many responses you received via the online forum option and what sort of outreach CORE has done to inform the public of its opportunity to provide input?
Linda Tigani
1:47:52
Sure.
1:47:52
So with respect to our online option, community members have the opportunity to either fill out a survey in one of the 12 languages, whichever language they preferred.
1:48:03
If an individual requested a different language, we did work with the mayor's office of immigrant affairs to get the survey translated that went for individuals and or organizations that requested another language.
1:48:17
For our survey we used Microsoft forms which sometimes works for other people or their computers or sometimes didn't.
Nantasha M. Williams
1:48:25
I hate Microsoft platforms but I know it's like a government thing.
1:48:28
I hate them.
1:48:28
Well also I just wanted to say on record Microsoft platforms are just annoying to me.
1:48:34
Some of them.
1:48:35
Most of them.
Linda Tigani
1:48:36
Well for us we used Microsoft Forms because that was the most immediate tool that was readily available to us.
Nantasha M. Williams
1:48:41
I understand.
1:48:42
I just wanted to say for the record that I do not like these Microsoft platforms that you all are forced to use.
Linda Tigani
1:48:49
Well so through the online survey we received over five thirty five responses.
1:48:56
We believe we did get people who were not able to come to a community conversation.
1:49:01
We had shared the survey link across all of our social media pages.
1:49:06
Many of our staff also added the survey link to every email that went out, whether it was to a government partner or a member of the public.
1:49:15
So we had a fairly robust campaign, however we did not at the time use any paid advertisements which is something that we are planning to do in the next round.
1:49:27
With respect to the feedback form, what we learned was that it was long and where people struggled was in the way the draft community equity priorities were written.
1:49:41
And so a lot of the requests that we received was to simplify the language which we did for the final round.
1:49:48
We also received a lot of both added themes, requests for changes that the public wants government to make in the open ended section.
1:50:02
And we had a range of people that agreed and disagree with the community equity priorities.
1:50:08
Some feedback was so specific.
1:50:11
For example, we had a draft community equity priority that started out with reduce the number of people of all ages in jail, prison, and court monitoring, and transform jails to rehabilitation centers.
1:50:27
We had community members say to us, if you had started the priority with transform jails into rehabilitation centers, we would have been more likely to agree.
1:50:38
And so we got very specific feedback that was both the arrangement of the themes that we were presenting in addition to what they would like to see and how they would like to see the priorities be operationalized by the city agencies.
1:50:53
We did receive, just to note back to local law 'ninety one and 'ninety two, several members of the public say we need reparations now.
1:51:02
And so people wrote in any topic that was important to them.
1:51:06
And we had young people also talk about the cost of food and housing on behalf of themselves and their families, and we had elders talk about what resources are provided for young people.
1:51:19
We had single mothers talk to us about whether or not they felt the community equity priorities was gonna make their life in New York City as a single mom more manageable and what we can do to support them as well as their kids.
1:51:33
And then we had again very specific requests for can we change this one specific operation in an agency.
1:51:43
The primary example that comes to mind is families saying can you make DOE get our children IEP services early in the year rather than at the end of the year?
1:51:57
And so again it really ranged from reparations, this long standing promise that absolutely must be met, to let's dive into one particular agency that was directly impacting that individual at the time and raised that operation.
1:52:12
And as we know racial equity is both a process and an outcome.
1:52:16
So we needed to hear what are the specific things impacting people and what feedback do we need to give to MOERJ and city agencies to ensure that it's in the plan.
1:52:30
And this is also I know we just talked about budgeting but just want to uplift that the comment, the public comment that CORE is going to make after seeing the plan is really going to help us better understand how much of the city agencies work is actually shifting structure.
1:52:49
What are some early signs of shifting structure and investment?
1:52:53
And we are gonna specifically be looking for which community equity priorities are they sinking their teeth into and how our feedback can not only help move that process further along, but also provide city council with both content as well as some like content for the hearings that are coming up, but also some thought provoking questions that we hope you will integrate into your preliminary hearings.
Nantasha M. Williams
1:53:21
Yeah that sounds very good and I'm looking forward to You know I think again back to talking about myself because I guess I'm an elected official, know we say a lot of like macro concepts but we don't know like the how or the why which is why I'm again just very personally passionate about the work that MOARJ is doing and that you're doing because I think it gets us to the how and why and I don't think we focus enough attention on that.
1:53:50
Again, we know these systems are inherently racist, we say it all the time, but so much of the work that you all are doing whether it's the true cost of living, the racial equity plans, the engagement with the community provides the support and foundation for us to understand how and why and to work towards tangible solutions versus just like rhetoric on the equities.
1:54:14
So I appreciate that.