RDCO engagement

Public engagement at the RDCO

Public engagement, also referred to as public participation, creates opportunities for the public to contribute to problem-solving or decision-making about RDCO’s policies, programs, projects, and services.

It is based on the belief that residents, stakeholders, municipal and indigenous partners should have meaningful opportunities to engage in the decisions that affect their communities.

It moves past one-way communication and welcomes participants into the decision-making process by ensuring timely information and awareness of opportunities to provide input before decisions are made.

Spectrum of public participation

The spectrum of public participation is provided by the International Association of Public Participation to explain levels of participation in public engagement. It outlines the public's role in any participation and their impact on the decisions to be made.

The spectrum moves in increasing impacts on decision making from:

• Inform
• Consult
• Involve
• Collaborate
• Empower

RDCO's engagement guiding principles

The RDCO will engage with the public based on the following engagement guiding principles:

• Transparency: Public engagement opportunities are developed so that participants clearly understand their role, the level of engagement and the decision-making process. Feedback is shared publicly.
• Consistency: Engagement opportunities are presented in a predictable and consistent manner to build understanding of participants’ roles and how they can be involved.
• Inclusivity and diversity: Public engagement processes allow all community members a reasonable opportunity to contribute and share their perspective. Effort will be made to ensure diverse voices are identified and these voices invited to participate.
• Timeliness: Public engagement is commenced as early as possible so the community and stakeholders have enough time to learn about the issues and actively participate.
• Plain language/clear communication: Information and instructions related to public engagement are provided in clear and simple language and easily understood by the community. Complex ideas will be shared in ways that are easy to grasp and the impact of different decision options will be explained.
• Suitable process: Design and implementation of public engagement processes that reflect the size, complexity and community impact of any initiative.
• Regional perspective: The RDCO recognizes the unique values and perspectives of its varied and diverse communities and stakeholder groups. Engagement activities are developed to balance the specific needs of individual communities with the region as a whole.

Public Engagement Policy

The RDCO's Public Engagement Policy (BP11-2021) outlines the purpose, scope, guiding principles and responsibilities for public engagement.