“You may not agree with where we end up in terms of how we spent the money, but you’re going to know how we got there.”
Miriam Aschkenasy, Select board member and ARPA Co-Chair, Town of Brookline
Description
This POWER Play focuses on the critical role of transparency in decision-making processes and its impact on building and maintaining community trust.
Why it matters:
Transparency is more than just a buzzword; it is a fundamental principle that underpins trust, accountability, and inclusivity. Demystifying decision-making processes and making information accessible bridges the gap between governments and communities, enabling marginalized groups to actively participate in and influence decisions that affect their lives.
How to do this:
- Develop a framework focused on future decision-making, implementing digital platforms and real-time data and policy updates. This can be as complex as an automated, data-driven dashboard, or as simple as a web page maintained manually with up-to-date information. Be mindful of who digital platforms might exclude and ensure that up-to-date information is available in print form and at community meetings.
- Creating a FAQ document can help strengthen transparency efforts. Here is an example of a FAQ document that can be adapted for funding initiatives.
- Conduct public forums and Q&A sessions, ensuring community members can provide input in various formats.
- Here is an example of a community meeting agenda that can be adapted to solicit input on funding allocations in real-time.
- Foster open dialogue and mutual respect through consistent, genuine interactions with community members.
- Learn more about how some of these principles are put into action in this blog.
- Implement outreach initiatives that cultivate reciprocal relationships based on shared goals and learnings, as opposed to transactional relationships.
- Read this racial equity tool for collaborative governance for examples of ways to guide racial equity practices that build cultures of accountability and work towards racial equity outcomes in decision-making.
- Recognize that building trusted relationships is a goal in and of itself. It takes time and there might be bumps; acknowledging and addressing such challenges and setbacks is part of the trust-building process.
- Learn more by looking into the tools, case studies, and templates found here.
- Regularly assess and benchmark transparency efforts against national and international standards, such as the Federal Data Transparency standards detailed here.
- Participate in learning exchanges with other municipalities and cross sector partners to share best practices in transparency.
- Learn about how the Massachusetts Municipal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coalition does this here.
- Implement a feedback system, including surveys, feedback boxes in public spaces, and community meetings to gather input.
- Learn more about using data and metrics to support accountability and transparency efforts here.
- Use feedback to refine policies and processes. Communicate back to the community how their input has influenced decisions.
- Read about how the city of Boston does this here.
Example in practice:
In Brookline, Massachusetts, the ARPA Review Committee serves as a positive example of how transparent decision-making can contribute to community engagement and trust. The committee—made up of five select board members who are elected for 3-year terms—partnered with the Brookline Community Foundation to facilitate a robust community engagement strategy to identify funding priorities. This approach led to an equitable grant process that prioritized fairness, inclusivity, responsiveness, and accessibility in the distribution of funds. Due to the accessible process, over 80 grant requests totaling $180 million, the committee demonstrated adaptability by dividing the process into two phases, learning from one to improve the next.
Learn more about how the town of Brookline did this on the Brookline ARPA Fund Tracking website and the Brookline ARPA Review Committee website.
Tools and resources to support learning:
- The Planner’s Playbook: A Community-Centered Approach to Improving Health and Equity
- Best Practices for Meaningful Community Engagement: Tips for Engaging Historically Underrepresented Populations in Visioning and Planning
- Washington State Department of Health: Community Engagement Guide and Checklist
- Foundations of Community Engagement Modules
