Digital Workshops to the Rescue

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions everyone to be prepared for the Coronavirus. The City of San Francisco has declared a state of emergency, one conference after the next is being canceled, and other large public gatherings are starting to be discouraged. How might a pandemic affect attendance at public meetings? How can you still reach stakeholders if people are staying home? What if public meetings are no longer an option at all?

How might a pandemic affect attendance at public meetings?

At the time of this writing, we’re hopeful the Coronavirus can be contained and won’t affect our communities (even though we recommend being prepared for any outcome). So let’s rewind and start over...

You know the feeling… You’ve spent hours preparing for your public workshop. The flow of your stations is perfect, and your posterboards are flawless. You’ve rehearsed your presentation and carefully chosen the snacks. You are ready for 100 people to show up and be wowed by your thoughtful execution. Then it’s five minutes after start time, then 10, and 15… and only three people have shown up. How are you supposed to get the needed input and buy-in for your project to be successful?

Let’s face it - people are busy.

Even if you have cotton candy and pony rides at your meeting, many people probably still won’t come. (Okay, maybe a few more will come for pony rides, but still probably not the number you want). So what is one to do?

Konveio was designed to help!

It’s easy to use Konveio to build digital workshops to hear from people who are not able to attend your events in person. Konveio enables you to:

• Build one-page digital workshops online to share meeting information, upload presentations, and collect feedback directly on your poster boards or other materials.
• Reuse all the same meeting materials, posters, and presentations you are already creating... no extra effort required!
• Collect feedback in ways that match your in-person activities, such as using comments as sticky notes or surveys to replicate dot voting.
• Save time managing and analyzing input using Konveio’s powerful commenting and reporting features.

The City and County of Denver used Konveio in 2019 to create a digital workshop for their East Central Neighborhood Planning Initiative. They uploaded a video of the presentation that was given at the in-person meeting held on February 5, 2019. They also uploaded the same posterboards used at the meeting, which website visitors were able to comment on directly, just as they would be able to in-person. They even replicated the dot voting activity using integrated forms.

Or take a look at the City of Arlington who used Konveio to build a digital workshop for their Lee Highway Plan. The same five stations set up at the in-person meeting were replicated on the website, enabling visitors to engage with the material in much the same way. They also uploaded video presentations and background materials so website visitors wouldn’t feel like they missed anything.

The advantages of a digital workshop over an in-person workshop are numerous:

• It allows people to access the same information when it is convenient for them.
• They don’t have to feel like they missed out by not being at the meeting.
• Visitors can take their time digesting the information and making comments.
• They are able to edit their comments if they change their mind or think of something to add - or submit that great idea they had in the car on their way back from the event.
• Visitors can see each other’s comments, enabling them to engage with each other in dialogue.
• Staff can respond to questions and engage in dialogue with visitors.

Whether people are not able to attend your meeting due to a global pandemic or simply because they are busy with work, kids, and life, Konveio can help you prepare for low attendance due to circumstances outside of your control. Contact us to see how we can help you!

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Konveio was built to support internal or external stakeholder engagement for civic projects. Our web application gives you the tools you need to convey information, collect informed feedback, and create buy-in. Watch our short, recorded demo to learn more about Konveio.

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