Public Engagement is a way of bringing citizens, community non-profit organizations, businesses, and government together to solve problems that affect people’s lives.
It is a very inclusive problem-solving approach to deal with complex public problems. When everyone in a community is affected by a problem, everyone should take part in finding solutions to that problem. In this way, a partnership is formed where people work together to achieve a common goal.
With public consultation, government asks people to give it ideas about what they think should be done to solve a problem. This often happens through a process where citizens, community organizations and the business sector make recommendations for government to act on. Government then goes away and makes a final decision about what will be done. Government then takes action. There is little dialogue and citizens, community organizations and the business sector do not participate in making the decisions as to what will be done, nor are they expected to act on any of the solutions suggested.
With public engagement, everyone comes together to talk about a problem. Citizens, community organizations, the business sector and government contribute to finding solutions to the problem. They express their ideas and opinions, listen to each other and decide together what needs to be done and who will do it. There is a lot of dialogue, thought and learning as the partners make a plan to address the problem. And then, everyone takes action.
The goal of this public engagement initiative is to develop a plan for reducing poverty in New Brunswick .
Poverty is a problem that affects us all. Therefore, through this public engagement initiative, participants will:
As sponsor, government has agreed to bring people together to find ways to reduce poverty in New Brunswick . It has provided both dollars and expertise to organize the engagement initiative and to support the leadership team throughout the process. In this sense, government is acting as the coordinator to bring citizens, community organizations, the business sector and government together. Government will also make sure they have the information needed for the dialogues.
However, government also has the role of partner at the table. Government will participate as an equal partner in the dialogue, the debate of issues and the selection of solutions. It will suggest solutions and arrive at agreement on what our priority actions should be to reduce poverty in New Brunswick . It will come prepared to commit to action, as will all other partners.
Citizens must be prepared to participate in the dialogue by attending a session in their area, or by sending their ideas and thoughts on poverty reduction by email, fax, and regular mail or by using the Internet. They will read the background materials to learn more about the issues. They will express their opinions, be willing to listen to others and be open to new ideas. They will suggest solutions and arrive at agreement on what our priority actions should be to reduce poverty in New Brunswick .
Community non-profit organizations and the business sector must be prepared to participate in the dialogue by attending a session in their area, or by sending their ideas and thoughts on poverty reduction by email, fax, and regular mail or by using the Internet. They will read the background materials to learn more about the issues. They must be willing to share their own expertise and experience freely, listen to others with different life experiences and be open to new ideas. They will suggest solutions and arrive at an agreement on what our priority actions should be. They will come to the table prepared to commit to action, with ideas on what they will do to reduce poverty in New Brunswick .